Wednesday; January 16


          Have you ever found yourself just flat worn out ... and then been asked to do just one more thing?  Sometimes it seems like there is no end to what we are asked to do – or is there?  I have often found myself brooding about this, but upon closer inspection I realized that I was the one who put myself in that predicament.  It wasn’t necessarily that other people weren’t holding up their end of the bargain – the truth is that I wasn’t allowing them to do so.  It wasn’t that others weren’t wanting to do something, the issue was that I wasn’t allowing them to do so.  So, how can we take some of the strain off of ourselves and spread the responsibilities?  Here are a few suggestions:
1.  Give others permission to do things.  Micromanagers are continually overworked because they won’t delegate.  When we give people the ability to make decisions and undertake actions, we do a favor for both them and us.
2.  Teach others to do what we do.  It is tempting to be selfish with our responsibilities.  We reason that if we are the only one who can do something, we are indispensable.  The problem with this logic is that it is not only untrue, it is also unfair to those who hope to move up in areas of responsibility.
3.  Tell others when we need help.  Whether it is merely saying, “No I can’t do that” or asking someone else to help us out with something, there are times when our plates are full and we can’t add something without removing something else.  By asking for assistance, we get a break and the job gets the attention it deserves.
4.  Allow people to accomplish tasks in their own way.  Do we find ourselves overwhelmed because we are having to redo what people already did?  Did people REALLY not do a good job or did they just not do it the way we would have done it.  Let’s give others the chance to shine ... and, if the job is done effectively, let it go.
          Think About It!

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