Don't Take the Monkey ??

When I first started working as a manager 6 years ago, every day after going home I felt that I spent the whole day finishing the ToDo lists of my direct reports rather than my own.

Here’s an everyday conversation of what happened back then:

• My direct report: Hi boss, I’ve got this big problem and I don’t know what to do.
• Me: oh ok! Sure, leave it to me.
• My direct report: Thank you so much!

Fast forward to January 2021 when I read The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey, it’s a great book that completely changed the way I delegate tasks!

Whenever someone comes to you with a problem and you say leave to me, there’s an imaginary monkey that jumps from their back onto yours.

If you manage five people and they gave you two monkeys a day, you’re taking 10 monkeys a day and that’s too much to deal with.

Here’s what to do instead

Imagine the following conversation.

#1 “Boss, I've got this supplier and you know, he's causing me trouble, what shall I do? ??♂?”

• ? Don't say leave it to me. That monkey will jump.
• ? Say: What have you tried so far?

#2 “Well, I've tried this, this and this ??”

• ? Don't say leave it to me. That monkey will jump.
• ? Say: Well, have you tried this?

#3 “I have now 3 options but I don’t know which one to choose”

• ? Don't say leave it to me, I’ll think about it. That monkey will jump.
• ? Say: How long would it take you to decide which one to pick?

#4 “I chose an option but we need the approval of the Marketing Manager”

• ? Don't say leave it to me. That monkey will jump.
• ? Say: ok no problem, just send her an email and CC me.

This delegation principle has changed my life.

It’s a common pitfall that managers take too much responsibility and don’t give and trust their team with enough responsibility.

Don’t take the monkey ??