Tag: delegate

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Task Framing | Eisenhower Matrix | Not Important and Urgent

Delegate and batch as much as you can

Here is an uncomfortable truth.

A lot of the time we spend on a project or at the job are things that keep the machine running.

These are tasks that are

  • Routine
  • Not interesting
  • Usually the stuff your boss gives you

Unfortunately, as much as we like to think that our incentives come from the top two categories in the matrix, most of our lives are stuck here.

These tasks are what the boss sees, and so, this is where most of our tasks lie when we are honest about the word “important.”

When you can, try to delegate this in chunks to the team around you or batch them in the afternoon. Much easier to put your favorite album on and crank through email and timesheets on Thursday afternoon.

If it’s consistent, then you’ll save time for the other two things by keeping people off your back.

Win/Win.

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Don’t Under Share – Get Expectations and Why’s

dont-under-share-get-expectation-and-why

Context is critical. Don’t lose it.

It is easy to under share.

What is under sharing? “Under sharing” is when we don’t give enough context about a project. It’s when we hide because of fear(they should know so I better not) or expectation(they should know so I won’t).

Under sharing destroys working relationships. Why? Just because we under share doesn’t mean we “under expect,“ which leaves both sides at a loss.

It easily leads to:

  • Under share -> under expect [lead]
  • Under share -> under deliver [report]

For example, say a critical project comes to your desk. You decide to put one of your sharpest people on it. You have high expectations, and you expect this person to get through.

The last time, on a “regular” project, they didn’t need context and knocked it out of the park. You decide that they don’t need it here too. Besides, that might insult his or her intelligence. I mean, they should know, right? Aren’t you busy enough?

Wrong. At best, you’ve just handicapped a competent person, at worse, doomed them to fail.

This is in your future.

You have to direct and give them a chance to win.

A way to force yourself to do this is to add two items to whatever medium with how you communicate.

Those two things: expectations and “why” step out of the instruction and focus entirely on context.

i.e.

Don’t fall into the trap of under sharing.

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Delegating is About “We,” Not Me

delegating-is-about-we-not-me

How do you make them look good?

When we ask someone to do something, its easy to stare at the objective as the only thing that matters. This way of thinking is the “stick” mindset. When you are in the “stick” mindset, you use fear and it’s compatriots (guilt, shame, anger, etc.).

In a pinch, this can work. Eventually, however, you lose. Growth stagnates with harsh treatment. This is bad news if you delegate.

Corporate America has worked this way for years, and now they wonder why employee engagement is at an all-time low (don’t blame millennials, this is almost every age sector).

Limited growth = limited engagement.

What is the alternative?

When you delegate something, either:

  • Connect something meaningful to the other person at the end (what do they want?)
  • Put them in a position to look good to the people they find important

When people know you’ll do right by them, you avoid traps of arrested mental development.

Do this enough, and people can’t wait for you to ask them to do something.

Even better, their improved esteem shows up in all of their work.

What is better than that?

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Get Out of the Way

get-out-of-the-way

Once you delegate, leave.

There is a natural instinct to help someone when you ask them to do something when you are good at it.

Resist this urge.

“Hey, when I did it before, all I had to do was…”

This causes problems.

  • Your actions block the other person’s creativity by framing them in a particular thought pattern
  • You are teaching them not to think because you have the answers
  • And you take away agency because those direct reports are just “following orders.”

Once you are clear about your ask and you clear an LZ (landing zone), the best thing to do is to get out-of-the-way.

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Make a Landing Zone – Give Your People a Chance

Make a Landing Zone

A starting point

Helicopters are a unique tool for the military. They create quick access and pickup in war zones. The downside is, they are vulnerable.

To account for that vulnerability, before the helicopter lands, it needs a landing zone (LZ).

Landing zones are the primary reason helicopters survive.

Success means extra resources(more troops, supplies or tools) or an emergency evac (a clean escape).

In combat, to survive is to succeed.

Failure could mean the loss of resources and the death of everyone inside. That is a massive blow to morale.

I think people who delegate tasks need to treat the starting point like a LZ before the helicopter lands. 

Create an environment, before you assign the work, where the person you give it to have a point of departure.

Failure may not mean the end of life. It does, however, create distrust and defensiveness in the organization. These [distrust and morale] erode morale

Before you delegate out the task, give someone a place to start. Create the LZ. 

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On the Other Side of the Table: When You Ask and it Doesn’t Happen

Vantage Points

Tell a story, follow-up, understand

When I had my first startup, I would bark orders at people. This method didn’t work. I didn’t follow up. I just punished people when it didn’t happen.

When I worked at my corporate job, I would type friendly emails to people as requests.This method didn’t work. I didn’t follow up. I just resented people when it didn’t happen.

Now, when I talk to people I work with, I make a request with a story. This method works for me. When it doesn’t, I follow-up and learn about the situation. I don’t punish, I don’t get resentful, I try to understand.

Three takeaways:

  • Include a piece of yourself, along with the why connects people to your ask.
  • Ask, instead of punishing or become resentful, opens up the insight that allows a connection. People start to like working for and with you. They give more.
  • You calibrate for the future. You know a bit more, so you know when to ask for more or less.

Those takeaways are indispensable when you delegate.

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