[et_pb_section fb_built=“1″ _builder_version=“4.27.4″ background_enable_color=“off“ global_colors_info=“{%22gcid-ff167076-b4c5-4e2e-a715-50d3f49d16ce%22:%91%22background_color%22%93}“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“][et_pb_row _builder_version=“4.27.4″ background_size=“initial“ background_position=“top_left“ background_repeat=“repeat“ global_colors_info=“{}“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“][et_pb_column type=“4_4″ _builder_version=“4.27.4″ background_color=“RGBA(255,255,255,0)“ background_enable_image=“off“ custom_padding=“|||“ global_colors_info=“{}“ custom_padding__hover=“|||“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“][et_pb_text _builder_version=“4.27.4″ header_4_font=“Lato|700|||||||“ background_size=“initial“ background_position=“top_left“ background_repeat=“repeat“ hover_enabled=“0″ global_colors_info=“{%22gcid-918bfb31-49d9-4d67-868a-81697244072a%22:%91%22header_4_text_color%22%93}“ theme_builder_area=“post_content“ sticky_enabled=“0″]<\/p>\n
When I was a teenager, I went grocery shopping every Sunday with my dad and younger brother.<\/p>\n
The three of us had the weekly excursion down to an exact science: Each of us would take a third of the list, grab a shopping cart, and meet the others at the checkout line 15 minutes later.<\/p>\n
To an outsider, I\u2019m sure we looked like a model of efficiency: a family that knew how to delegate.<\/p>\n
But in reality, we had to lay a lot of groundwork before taking off on our respective missions. We needed to trust one another to put the correct items in the shopping cart. We needed to recognize the respective strengths of our family members: who could select the best produce, who was detail-oriented enough to grab ground cumin rather than cumin seed. If a particular item was too critical to mess up, then the person who added it to the list was responsible for finding it in the store.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat person just needs to learn to delegate.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Back when I was working in the research world, people used this phrase often to describe their chronically overworked co-workers\u2014many of whom struggled to offload tasks to the eager, entry-level staff hired precisely to do those very things.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve heard similar remarks across a variety of sectors, from higher ed to political organizing.<\/p>\n That judgment (or phrasing) never sat well with me, for it presumes the act of delegation is simple. In fact, delegating work is really hard. <\/strong><\/p>\n For most organizations, delegation is nothing like dividing up a grocery list: it requires a careful assessment of what work needs to be done and the skills and expertise you have available. \u00a0<\/p>\n And that\u2019s the easy part. There\u2019s a much deeper side to delegation, and I think that is where a lot of people struggle.<\/p>\n When it comes to complex tasks, the most effective delegation requires a mentor\u2019s mentality:<\/strong> an investment in explaining not simply what needs to be done, but how and why.<\/strong> To delegate well, you\u2019re not simply handing off tasks; you are also walking that person through your process and motivations.<\/p>\n And ultimately, delegation is also an act of letting go: letting go of your own vision for how something should be done, ceding it to someone else, and being ready to accept the results.<\/p>\nHigh stakes and low resources<\/strong><\/h3>\n