Three Ways to Help “Do-It-All” Employees Start to Delegate
Do you ever get frustrated with a key employee who is always dragging around by the end of the day? Is it annoying to listen to their tale of “woe-is-me” because they had soooo much to do and no one to hand off to?
When you have an employee who tells you they have to do it all, do you shrug and let them play the martyr card? Or do you sit them down and show them how they could get help if they would only ask?
The ability to delegate is vastly important, and a skill that is not given enough time in most organizations. The pace is so fast that it often seems easier to do it than to delegate it. In the short run, that is true. Yet, both sides of the equation suffer. One side leads to burnout, the other to limited new abilities.
Remember the old adage that it is better to teach people to fish rather than give them the fish? Let’s dig down a bit and look at the personality of the one who always shows up with the fish. The non-delegator, the one who always does it him or he self is often an individual who feels powerless internally. The only way they feel worthwhile is by doing and doing and doing and then telling and telling and telling how much they have been doing and doing and….well you get the idea.
When there is a martyr, non-delegator in your employ, be wary, for they will want their “pound of flesh” sooner or later. Here are three ways to address this common and yet annoying syndrome at work:
1. Ask for a daily plan that you can go over with them at the beginning of each day. Do this for two weeks. Yes, it is bothersome in the short term, and labor saving in the long run. Make sure you have a bright red pen to circle what and to whom they can delegate. Hold them accountable for follow through.
Continued on the next page
Follow Technorati