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00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Welcome to Your Morning Boost, your daily leadership advice to help you lead your school community.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 Brought to you by AWB Education and sponsored by Grundmeyer Leader Services,
00:00:10 --> 00:00:14 where together we are transforming education, one leader at a time.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 Now here's your host, Adam Bush.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:21 Good morning. Welcome back. Today, we're going to continue this talk on delegation.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 We've been diving into Lauren Landry's 2020 Harvard Business School article
00:00:25 --> 00:00:29 on how to delegate effectively and looking at this from the lens of school leadership.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 We are now on to tip number six.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:38 Her tip number six is to allow for failure. You know, humans learn best from trial and error.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:42 And I always kind of snicker a little bit anytime I'm eating something,
00:00:42 --> 00:00:45 you know, unusual or even just, I mean, like a mushroom.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:49 I wonder how that process of determining which ones were edible and which ones
00:00:49 --> 00:00:50 were not ever came around.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:55 I mean, likely this is probably because somebody went, hmm, I saw Bob eat this
00:00:55 --> 00:00:59 one and he's still here, and Larry ate that one last week and we haven't seen
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 him again, so maybe I'll pick the one like Bob did.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 I mean, really, that's trial and error, right? Trial and error is a way that
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 we sometimes have to refine a process.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:14 When we assign a task, we need to anticipate and be okay with the concept that
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 there is a good chance that the first attempt or more just may not succeed.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:22 We also may stumble across a better way of doing something purely by accident.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:27 Champagne wouldn't exist if we weren't okay with failures. We just need to remember
00:01:27 --> 00:01:31 to have an open mind and consider a new approach to our tasks.
00:01:31 --> 00:01:35 But we also need to give this some time, which then brings us to her tip number
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 seven, which is to be patient.
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 You know, one reason people don't like to delegate is because,
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 frankly, they just think they can do the job faster.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:47 It probably is quicker if I just do the job myself. And while that may be true,
00:01:47 --> 00:01:52 the point of this is to release work that somebody else can do so that I can do something else.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 In an earlier episode, I mentioned one of my all-time favorite quotes and that
00:01:56 --> 00:02:00 it still applies here, which is only do what only you can do.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:05 This means that regardless of whether or not I can do this faster,
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 it still doesn't mean that I should be the one that does the task.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:12 Instead, teach the person your tricks of the trade that you've accumulated over
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 many years of experience and then let them work through it.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:20 It will take longer, just like it took me longer the first few times I did something.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 It's all part of that learning curve, right? The next time they're doing this
00:02:23 --> 00:02:27 work, they will be more efficient and even more so the following time.
00:02:27 --> 00:02:31 And then likely the next task that may be even remotely similar to this one,
00:02:31 --> 00:02:35 it will just go smoother and it will go quicker too. We just have to allow it to happen.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:41 It will. If you remember back to tip three, Lauren was describing the need to define clear outcomes.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:45 And this would include defining clear but also reasonable timelines.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 Anticipate that the first or maybe even the second time that somebody does this
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 task, it's going to take longer. And that is okay.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 Maybe even twice as long as it would take you to complete it.
00:02:55 --> 00:02:58 But that's okay. Just make sure that you include that in your plan.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 If it's done sooner and it's done well, that's a reason to celebrate.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 Anytime we can make our school or district more efficient in our work,
00:03:05 --> 00:03:09 that's a reason to celebrate. There's more work to do out there somewhere anyway, right?
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 Well, we can get accomplished if we do it together. You have been listening
00:03:13 --> 00:03:18 to Your Morning Boost by AWB Education in partnership with Grundmeyer Leader Services.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:23 You can find out more about our services by clicking on the links in the description.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:28 Remember, you are doing this vital job that only a few can do.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:32 So until next time, thank you for your service to your community.