I continue to stand on my saying vs. doing soapbox. There’s another way to look at this and it’s from the perspective of leverage. At work or at home, if you are doing everything you’re saying, you may be doing too much. Learning how to tell others what you need done is a tough skill to learn for “doers”.
I’m a doer – I always have been. It’s been difficult to learn the art of delegation and I still don’t have it down yet. I . have a laundry list of things both at work and home that are on my “say-do” list. But I know that list will only get larger and my scope stalled if I don’t make it into a “say-tell-do” list. The key to this is not just having additional brains and bodies in the “do” column, but increasing the ability to operate in the “tell” column.
In my journey to better delegate, I’ve learned that, depending on the ability of the “doer”, you need to be very specific with what you’re looking for, but also conscious of your role in developing “doers” into “thinkers” so they can eventually “say-tell-do” themselves. Part teacher / part leader / part boss – delegating well is an art. It requires simultaneously defining the outcomes, articulating instruction and creating the right coaching environment so the person “doing” not only understands, but also feels good about delivering. This takes a tremendous amount of patience and skill. I’m still learning the art of “say-tell-do”. Curious about others’ experiences in delegation.
The Objective Co 