Shifting from Do to Through

Do you find it difficult to get other people to do what you need them to do in your team? Do you tend to hold everything in because you just say things like: “It's easier if I just do it myself”??

Well, stick with me because this week, I want to show you how you can give yourself more energy and get more done.??

Hi, this is Grant Herbert, VUCA Leadership and Sustainable Performance Coach, and today I want to continue our conversation in this area of people leadership by helping you to shift from DO to THROUGH.??

I work with people all the time who tell me that they're busy, don't have time to do the things they need to do, and they're overwhelmed. Yet, those same people have a team, and they're not giving them things to do by delegating effectively.??

The number one reason for this is a lack of trust.??

We talked about when dealing with our professional leadership, which is about getting the results from our own efforts, our performance and productivity. But, as we work with other people and take them on the journey with us, we need a new set of skills to help us go from getting the results from doing things alone to getting our results through other people.??

To do that, the first thing you need to do is work on those identity issues that are holding you back. Everything that I teach in leadership goes back to that foundation of who you believe you are, and who you believe you're not, and to those 3 universal fears of not being enough, not belonging, and not being liked or loved.??

And when, as a leader who is already really busy, the most logical thing you can do is simply go: “Hey, I'll get some other people to help me.”???

However, when they're faced with that opportunity, they sometimes overlook it because they think: “Well, if I were to give this job to someone else and they didn't get it right, they're actually representing me. So other people are going to think things about me. If it's not good enough, they will blame me and look at that as more evidence that I can't rather than I can.”??

When you think about such things, you may have a mindset that will hold you back from logically doing things that would help you and everyone, which is to trust others to do what they can to bring some progress to the to-do list that we're all working on together.??

The first thing that you need to do, if you're someone who is finding it difficult to get things done, is to ask yourself: “Am I distributing the load out to other people and if I'm not, WHY?”??

I use this filter in everything that I do, and it starts with: For what purpose am I doing this or would I do this?”?

And then, “At what cost?”??

So, for what purpose would you hold on to things that others could be doing???

And if that purpose is that you don't trust them to represent you well and therefore, you're in that approval addiction and performance trap where you're worried that other people are going to judge you on that, then you need to look at what's the cost.?

Well, the cost is exhaustion, burnout, feeling overwhelmed all the time. And the other cost is that you're going to need to continue to do those things forever in a day because the biggest cost with a lack of delegation and trust in giving other people things to do that you used to do is nobody develops those skills.??

If it’s just you then you become a bottleneck. And that is not good for you, for them, and it's certainly not good for the organisation.?

So, the first thing to do is have a shift in mindset and look at the fact that:?

1. It's not about getting it perfect; it's about getting it done.?
2. It's actually not better for you to just do it yourself.??

For example, if you have those times when you reconcile holding things in by going:?

?“Look, it’s going to take me longer to teach someone else how to do it.”?

No. That's not the real reason you're doing it.??

So, the first thing you need to do is to call those thoughts out for what they are....

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: https://www.grantherbert.com/blog/shifting-from-do-to-through

Grant Herbert (aka The People Builder) describes himself as an ordinary guy, with an outstanding wife and 5 amazing kids, who has a passion to help people escape the performance trap and regain their authenticity in every area of life. He is a VUCA Leadership Mentor, Sustainable Performance Coach, Master Coach Trainer in Social and Emotional Intelligence,?and the founder of People Builders.

Visit www.grantherbert.com to find out how you can connect.