Delegation — How to Get Someone Else to Do it

Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.

–George S. Patton

In the previous lesson, we discussed how to create self-discipline, the first key to successful execution of a plan.

In this lesson, we’ll explore how to scale results through delegation.

As we saw last time, execution hinges on setting a clear goal or vision, then creating a habit to carry it out.

Once you’ve developed a habit, it becomes natural.

However, while it’s necessary to develop some habits (like goal setting), is it possible to avoid creating others?

For example, if one wanted to perform a task routinely, one could develop that skill and create the habit. Alternatively, could one simply find someone with the skill and enable them to carry on the habit?

As much as possible, with anything you do, consider whether it’s necessary for you to personally do it.

For anything you do, especially things you don’t particularly enjoy, or things you’re not particularly good at, consider whether you could find someone else who enjoys it more or is better at it. If so, consider asking them to do it.

Believe it or not, things you don’t like doing are actually like a reward to others who enjoy doing them!

• You may just find someone who likes doing it so much, they’ll actually do it for free.
• You may find someone who’s so interested in learning to do it, they’ll do it for free (in corporations and schools, these are often called interns).

Practice

Answer the following questions, and place the answers in your PowerBoard:

1. What are you doing as a habit now, that you need to do, that you don’t particularly enjoy?
2. What are you doing now, that you don’t do particularly well?
3. Of those things, who do you know who may enjoy doing them, or who may do them better than you?
4. Schedule time(s) in your calendar to discuss what it would take to hand off these responsibilities.
5. What new habits do you see would be most useful to develop? (Hint: consider making the following three habits:
   1. setting goals,
   2. looking for things you don’t want to do or aren’t good at, and
   3. looking for people who are good at them and like to do them.)

Reflect

Answer these questions in writing, and put the result in your PowerBoard.

• What was most useful for you here?
• Write one thing you learned that you did not previously know.
• What one idea can you put to use immediately?

Results

You now have at least one more action you can take to move your initiative forward, and you have at least one more technique on your PowerBoard you can put to use in all areas of your life.

More Information

Image Credits

Hands Passing Baton at Sporting Event. Photo by tableatny via Flickr. Link.