One of my favorite statistics is that 85% of drivers think they are better than average drivers. (In case you are mindlessly skimming, that’s mathematically impossible.)
We are all prone to overestimate our abilities, especially in certain areas — our love making prowess, our relative intelligence, or how funny we are — just to name a few notorious examples.
This phenomenon is widespread and psychologists have coined the term “illusory superiority” for what we layman might call: “not realizing you suck at something.”
In most instances, our illusory superiority is benign (and may actually give us some needed confidence as we go about our day), but I’d like to point out one area you may not suspect you have a problem even though you probably do: delegation.
We all feel our instructions are clear, our deadlines reasonable, that we are a pleasure to work with, etc., etc. However, if we remain humble enough to admit our delegation skills could use work, and make a few simple changes, we can dramatically improve the results and leverage we get from delegating assignments.
Here are just a few tips we’ve picked up and found helpful during our work as virtual assistants (essentially professional delegatees):
1: Fit the assignments into the big picture.
Explain the relevance of what you are asking them to do. By giving the delegatee your intent and context, they will be able to use their own judgment and intelligence to make the final results more relevant and useful. Kept in the dark, they are only able to follow instructions when, with most assignments there are many opportunities along the way to enhance the end result, and answer questions, by knowing where their piece fits into the puzzle.
2: Explain the desired result, not the steps to getting there.
Famously, Napoleon Bonaparte would give his field commanders a specific result he was trying to accomplish (a mission statement) rather than outlining a series of rigid instructions to follow. They had the freedom to act as they saw fit as long as the mission was accomplished. This allowed them to use their own judgment and make decisions on the fly, as needed, during unpredictable combat situations.
Usually, taking the time to explain the steps of accomplishing something only insults the person on the receiving end. It’s a good idea to give warnings or mention important details that are easy to overlook, but the bulk of your instructions should be spent detailing what the end result should be.
By putting your focus on what you are getting back, you are more likely to be pleased with the results. You are more likely to communicate your unconscious expectations, more likely to come up with ideas about what you would find useful, etc.
3: Make procrastination difficult 
We are all busy and procrastination is an almost universal part of the human condition. Make it easy for your delegatee to meet timelines by making it difficult for them to procrastinate or delay work on your project. By asking for frequent reports and updates, a delegatee is forced to move the project forward consistently. You’ll know that the assignment wasn’t completed last minute and feel more at ease as you are kept in the loop on its progress.
4: Always provide feedback
Every assignment is an opportunity to further improve someone’s ability to perform on your behalf. Not providing feedback – both positive and negative – is missing an opportunity to get more value out of that relationship in the future. Also, it is insulting to the person who did the work that you did not even care enough to check the work and make suggestions or give compliments. Any time spent analyzing and submitting feedback will pay dividends in the future as this person becomes more capable and confident acting on you behalf.
5: Never discourage questions
When asked a question you feel was answered in the initial instructions, it’s always tempting to fire back with a tart, “Like I already said…” However, all this does is make you seem petty and the other person scared to get clarification in the future. Whether or not the instructions seemed clear to you, they probably weren’t as clear to someone else, so it’s important to remain both patient and humble as someone pins down the details. Ultimately, the fact that they took time to ask a question at all is an indication that they are trying to do a good job; their intention certainly isn’t to waste your time.
Delegation is the easiest way to boost your productivity. By empowering someone to effectively act on your behalf, you effectively multiply your ability to execute projects. It is the ultimate productivity boost.
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