February 7, 2012

Five Delegation Thinking Traps that Trip Almost Everyone Who Wants to Scale Up

published this at 7:39 am

Scaling Up Requires Pushing Down Lower-Level Tasks

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In the companies I worked with and for, product development schedules were cyclical, with seriously tight deadlines at certain times of the year and a more relaxing pace when those deadline had been achieved. To even out this ebb and flow of deliverables, we would hire freelancers, off-sire staff, and development groups. Even the most entry-level full-time people were managing and influencing the performance of someone else.

The ability to influence another person’s performance in positive ways affected how quickly employees could grow in their individual roles. The ones who scaled up most quickly were the ones who understood that to take on higher-level tasks, they would have to delegate effectively the lower level tasks that they’d already mastered. They delegated well.

Those who couldn’t scale were often tripped up by five thinking traps.

Learning to delegate well is critical to growth. Anything we do ourselves limits the time we have to get to higher-level tasks. Want to scale up? Avoid these five thinking traps and you’ll be better equipped to recognize great candidates who can contribute to your success.

You may wonder how to find great delegation candidates, especially if you have little or no budget to begin. Look to the people around you — those who want experience in what you do. Talk to local colleges to find interns. Ask your friends. Finding the people to delegate to isn’t nearly as hard as learning to delegate well. It will also be easier to attract temporary help, the best VA, or volunteer interns, when you know exactly what the job specs are and how to communicate your needs. the people we delegate to will be more interested in making the same great choices we would make.

What else do you find critical to scaling up?

Be irresistible.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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Filed under Business Book, Successful Blog | 6 Comments »


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6 Comments to “Five Delegation Thinking Traps that Trip Almost Everyone Who Wants to Scale Up”

  1. February 7th, 2012 at 8:08 am
    kicky said

    I love all this advice. I am making these mistakes. But I feel trapped…they keep piling on the work but we are a skeleton crew, and have reached critical mass. How do you delegate when everyone is pushed to the limit? We aren’t allowed interns.

  2. February 7th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
    Nea | Self Improvement Saga said

    Oh wow…I’ve been guilty of all 5. I was the ultimate perfectionist for so long and I just couldn’t fathom that someone else could get the work done to my satisfaction. Eventually, I realized that “my satisfaction” (or lack thereof) was the problem.

    I’ve since learned to let go and accept that it doesn’t have to be my way in order to be okay. I’ve also had to realize that perfection is borderline obsession and it does more harm than good when you look at the big picture.

  3. February 8th, 2012 at 4:58 am
    Five Delegation Thinking Traps that Trip Almost Everyone Who … | effort.ly said

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  4. February 9th, 2012 at 7:51 am
    Chel Wolverton said

    I find myself on both sides of this coin lately. Part of my company exists because I’ve found successful ways to get people out of this trap with themselves. But…

    As my web development business takes over the project management side, I’m realizing that I start to make those mistakes but thankfully I’ve recognized it and am starting to correct them by hiring out stuff that I don’t necessarily HAVE to do myself. Not everything, just parts of tasks.

    Once you’ve found someone to delegate to it’s most important to take the time to sit down and plan out what you’re going to keep doing and what you’re going to let go of doing. You MUST make the commitment to let go otherwise the relationship won’t work, will stall and you’ll start to feel like it’s pointless to try.

    If you lay out a plan, a strategy for directing things, the delegating becomes that much easier to do.

    So take that time out and build the relationship with the people you delegate to successfully so it gets you on the right track to take back some of your time.

  5. February 9th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Well said, Chel!
    I can see why people hire you to help with this … you know the pitfalls inside and out. :)

  6. February 10th, 2012 at 10:24 am
    Jackie Nelson said

    Oh Liz… This is a good one. I’m bookmarking it. Everytime I avoid these traps, I’m effective. Everytime I don’t, I’m not. One of your best blogs. Thank you!

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