What I Learned About Delegation (From One Day Of Actually Doing It)

Yesterday, I posted that my days as the full-time manager of Jeremiah Davis have come to an end. I’m passing that baton to a team of hungry, capable content hustlers. It’s exciting. I’ll be working with Jeremiah’s new team over the course of the next few months, getting everyone set up for success. I’ve arranged our contract such that I only work on Mondays, which allows me to set up the schedule for the team, delegate all my previous tasks, and get them all the materials they need to accomplish the week’s items. Yesterday was the first day of doing this. I learned a lot. 

Typically, I have been horrible at delegation. I find it hard to trust that people will do a job as well as I can. (Some call this “pride.”) I also find it difficult to explain my process to people in a way that gets the finer points across. (Some call this “laziness.”) I’m the last person in the world to have any insights about how to delegate. So, this is a blog explaining what I learned about delegation from one day of actually doing it. Hopefully, if you suck at delegation too, this blog will give you some insights–from one beginner to another. I’m only one day ahead of you. Come join me. 

First, a little more context. I’ve been officially on with Jeremiah since the summer of 2017, and have been helping him with creative projects since 2015. I know all there is to know about his business, his interests, his projects, his creative style. Additionally, running a lean business has been a key value of ours since the beginning. All this to say: I did everything. I am the ultimate bottleneck. 

Finally, on to what I learned about delegation yesterday. 

Delegate like there is no tomorrow 

As I mentioned before, my contract schedule has me only working for TOBK Studios on Mondays. As I stared at the laundry list of productions and projects we have, my initial instinct was to save some work for later in the week. Then I remembered: I’m not working later in the week. There is no tomorrow. I need to delegate things today.

The goal of delegation is to free up more time in your schedule. If you let projects and delegations bleed into the next day, you aren’t freeing up more time. You’re just procrastinating. The resistance to delegation is strong. Your brain will come up with a thousand justifications for why you can’t delegate this task today. Don’t believe it. Delegate like there is no tomorrow. If you do, you’ll have a better tomorrow. 

Delegate like there is no you

Another goal of delegation is to get work off your plate for good. As I considered how the team could best accomplish the list of projects and productions over the course of this week, I started filling my name in next to a lot of the tasks. My brain immediately went back to old habits. Then I remembered: there is no me. Come tomorrow, I’m out of the equation. 

Yes, delegation is scary, but think of it this way: in the worst-case scenario, you can always swoop in to save the day. And in the best case scenario, the team member you delegate to will handle this task for the rest of time. You’ll get work off your plate for good. I know it’s scary. But you need to ask yourself “How would I delegate if there was no me anymore?” It’s a difficult task, but it’s worth it. Today I’m feeling free as a bird.

Delegate things step-by step 

I used to have a poor view of delegation because I tried it and it didn’t work. Do you know why it didn’t work? Because I delegated poorly. This was me getting in my own way. It’s the delegation resistance I mentioned earlier, stemming from pride, that sabotaged my potential freedom. If you delegate, and it doesn’t work, it’s not because delegation doesn’t work. It’s because you suck at delegation. The good news is is, you can get better. 

In his book, Free To Focus, Michael Hyatt advises business leaders to map out their processes step-by-step, leaving nothing out. He says to notice what you’re doing, document it in detail, optimize the steps, test it on yourself, then share the process. By mapping your tasks out step-by-step, and not assuming that people will fill in the gaps, you’ll create a foolproof system for any qualified individual. 

Delegate like you trust people

Delegation gets a lot easier when you trust your team members. If you’re 100% confident that your team will tackle the task with no problems, delegation isn’t an issue. It’s the doubt that keeps up from delegating. 

This is a classic chicken-or-the-egg situation. You don’t want to delegate because you don’t trust your team members. But your team members haven’t earned your trust yet because you haven’t given them any chances to accomplish your tasks. You’re in charge here. Take the leap. Lead with confidence. You didn’t get in this position by playing it safe, and you won’t get where you need to go by holding everything so close to your chest. Take a risk. If you choose a great team member, it’s probably a much smaller risk than you think. 

Closing

Good luck with your delegation goals. We all know it’s important, and we respect people who have mastered it, but we get in our own way when it comes time to delegate. I’ll leave you with a quote from Hyatt’s Free to Focus.

“Time is fixed, but you can buy more. And you will simply never become free to focus on the things that really matter–your top priorities, your key relationships, your most important projects–until you learn how and why to delegate.”