One of the most powerful skills in the universe is the ability to delegate, motivate and inspire other people to get things done in the same way or even better than you would have been able to do yourself!
The great power of delegation is that, by letting others take responsibility for tasks, you make space to think and achieve even greater things yourself.
Yet it's amazing how rare these skills are. In a business context - there are many people stressed out and driving themselves to distraction through the inability to delegate to others effectively. Parents are running around trying to fix the domestics and keep the house tidy while the kids watch TV. Sometimes it's "quicker to do it myself", or "I don't think they will be able to do it as well as I can". Other times it's simply that the person is so busy being busy that they haven't got the space to put their head above water to prioritise and see how they could spend their time better.
To be a true delegator means being able to trust others to do something - my disctionary says "to entrust another person with a task". The key word being TRUST. And if you've been trusted yourself, you know what a powerful feeling that is - to know that another human being rates you and your abilities.
If you can't trust someone else to do things for you, what does that say about you?
Are you surrounding yourself with the wrong people?
Are you worried that, by letting go of some activities, your own role and status will be impacted?
Are you simply too busy and disorganised to sort out and brief the tasks that could be done by someone else?
Maybe the task doesn't HAVE to be done as you would do it? Perhaps someone else could bring a new perspective?
Looking at the world's successful people; no one makes it on their own. We are all part of a support community and, deep down, we all feel more fulfilled by helping each other and collaborating than by working in isolation.
Think about children - how do they ever learn to cope or develop life skills if they aren't trusted with tasks and responsibilities of their own? And often, they'll surprise you by coming up with a completely new twist on getting things done!
What are you doing today that could be trusted to someone else? Embrace your support team!
Posted by Rhian
