The wrong Pasta Sauce

My mother always used to say that if a man did the shopping and he got a different pasta sauce to the one you wanted DON'T give him a hard time. He won't want to help in the future.

To this day I witness people huffing and puffing and commenting when partners have done something "wrong".

Let's delve into this a bit further shall we...

Isn't asking someone to do something for you a form of delegation.

What if you don't specify what pasta sauce brand you wanted (they should just know as we've been using that particle brand for years.....)

What if you gave the person the list verbally and they don't have good auditory recollection (like me).

What if you told them once a year ago and expect them to remember.

Now, I know I'm oversimplifying this, but my point is that there are two parties here and if someone gets something wrong, or it's done in a way that is not what you had in mind, maybe you had a part to play in this...

We often just make it the other person's fault.

Delegation is a two way street.

A business owner needs to have systems in place so that your staff can know your "company way" of doing things. They cannot read your mind.

Even if you're a one-person show or very small you will create a delegation nightmare if systems are not developed as you grow.

It can be as simple as checking in every morning to clarify tasks and outcomes for the day or recording how you like something done verbally on loom and then getting your VA to turn into it instructions (for themselves and future team members).

Both parties need to be proactive, change what's not working and as always own their mistakes.

Just avoid blaming someone when they buy the wrong pasta sauce. :)