Create more time by giving others responsibility

Give responsibility to others!

My 5 year old came down wearing one sock over the weekend. I sent him upstairs to find the other one. He returned with a different sock which didn't match. "It doesn't matter" he said...and he was right! In the grand scheme of things does it really matter if he is wearing odd socks? And is it worth crushing his fledgling independence to make him conform to my prior beliefs and expectations? I don't think so. Today I am going to ask how much responsibility you give when you delegate a task to your kids, partner, colleagues or friends.

Quick Quote

 "The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence" ~ Dennis Waitley

Benefit from delegating

I'd like you to think about how often you delegate, both at home, and if relevant, at work. What are your aims?

Do you aim to:

• get the job done to the highest standard 
• receive the output you are expecting?

 Would it be better to:

•  get the job done to a "good enough" standard
• develop the person you are giving responsibility to
• learn from how the other person approaches the task?

Don't moan about how much you have to do - ask for help. As an example (but there are many more!), next time you ask for help loading the dishwasher, don't re-do it afterwards because its not exactly how you normally do it - this makes your helpers feel undervalued and will put them off helping again. Instead, when asking for help to complete a task:

• Work out how much it matters and what "good enough" is
• Assess the ability of the person you are delegating to and give them guidance in areas you think might help them
• Specify the things you are particular about so they get it right first time (but try to restrain yourself from specifying every last detail!).