A Management Tip to Multiply Your Productivity

Episode 27 | Host: Emilie Aries

When I was in my first management role, I benefited from having a boss who was chock full o’ tips for getting more done, more deliberately. With a team of interns and volunteers to manage, it was good training ground for me to better understand how to effectively delegate. I don’t know about you, but as a recovering perfectionist myself, I really struggled with delegation. I used to get caught up in thoughts that went like this:

“Well, I could do this myself.”

“I know how to do this best.”

“It’ll be faster if I just do it now.”

You know the feeling, right? The ol’ saying, “If you want it done right, do it yourself?”

Well, let me tell you, that thinking was really holding me back in becoming the best manager I could be. Part of being a great manager is about creating growth opportunities for others. Making time to delegate is a big part of that: even if it comes with some startup costs. Here’s what I mean: it might take me twice as long to explain to a colleague how to export data and pull reports from our client database than to just do it myself, but after you effectively teach someone else how to do it, you can save all kinds of time in the future by delegating it.

But, the challenge with this is always: Who has the time? Who has the time to delegate and instruct and coach folks you work with? My manager taught me this: when you’re making your TO DO list for the day or week, always take a moment to ask yourself: what on this list can be delegated? And, do that delegating FIRST. Delegate at the start of your day or week and it’s akin to multiplying yourself. Instead of waiting until you’re done with other work you’ve got going on to give someone else a pathway to productivity, you’ll essentially be handing them the keys to get started right away, too. In other words, don’t be the bottleneck that’s slowing down your team’s productivity. Don’t let things sit with you, when they could and should be passed on. Plus, it’s just courteous to give your colleagues as much time as possible to set their own workflow whenever you can. You don’t want to get issues handed to you that need immediate attention, and neither do your colleagues, so delegate first to give them as big of a jump start on deadlines as possible.

This week, I want to hear how delegating FIRST works for you. Whether we’re talking about giving the kids chores to do at home, splitting up duties with your partner, or prioritizing delegation at work, I want to hear how handing things off your TO DO list before you get to any other tasks for the day works for you. Hit me up on twitter and instagram at @bosseduporg and @emiliearies or post your comments below. And as always, join in on the conversation on how delegating can multiply your productivity in the Bossed Up Courage Community on Facebook!