DiceTV: Do It All and Suffer the Consequences

If your life story was a made-for-TV movie, would you be the one knocking down your teammates so you could catch the ball and run it into the end zone? Every single time? Think you're impressing me? Not really.

When you try to do it all, you're sending messages like you need to improve your management skills, you have an out-of-control ego - or both.

If you're a manager, you're telling members of your team they're not capable of doing the job. Is that really what you mean?

Allowing your team members to do their jobs does more than lighten your load. It gives them the opportunity to shine.

By letting, say, Web developers do Web development and database designers do database design, you'll promote collaboration and improve the quality of each team member's work.

You'll also avoid the danger of you dropping the ball at some point. When you try to do everything yourself, the results can be sloppy.

Still can't let go? It might help to take a good, long look in the mirror. Part of a manager's job is to delegate. Sometimes to do that, managers have to get over their own egos. It'd be nice if you were irreplaceable, but - really, I'm sorry: You're not. The truth is, everyone - right up to the CEO - is replaceable nowadays.

Of course sometimes, your worries about delegating may be legitimate. Someone on your staff may not do the kind of work you need from them. In that case, you have to be a manager and address the issue. Providing additional training can often do the trick.

If it turns out the weak link is, well, you, it's time to acquire some new skills. And delegating is a skill that can be acquired. Think in terms of letting go, a little bit at a time. Whenever you have the chance to break off a small piece of a project - do it.

Posted at 09:31AM Jul 29, 2009 in DiceTV  |  Comments[7]