Delegation is a PC activity. It’s is building Production Capacity (PC) rather than just producing (P)..
When delegating, there are several things that important for the delegate to be clear about. They are the distinctions that are the main differences between gopher delegation and stewardship delegation.
How is he to accomplish the job? It’s up to him.
Who is the boss? He is. He is responsible for managing himself.
Who is a helper? I am, if he needs my assistance, he can request it.
Who is the judge of results? He is.
And how will they be judged? This is where you set up accountability sessions where he can communicate his self judgment.
Covey continues with the example of his son being delegated the task of keeping the yard ‘green and clean’ Initially he did not do it. He would have conversations with him along the guidelines above, getting his son to take on his stewardship role, but he just wasn’t taking action.
Coven had the urge to yell at him, revert to gopher delegation, and tell his son to clean the yard that moment. But he held his tongue. Doing that he would have gotten the result – the golden egg – but he would have been ruining the possibility of building production capacity in his son – the goose.
His son gradually started acknowledging that he was not performing his job. He was judging himself unfavorably. Then one day he said he didn’t want to do it because the garbage smelled so bad he would throw up. Covey reminded him that he was his helper and he was entitled to ask him for help. His son did.
That moment, his son became the boss. He the owner of the job of keeping the yard ‘green and clean’, using the resources available to him. He had truly accepted the mission he was delegated, and made it his to the point he would complain to his siblings if they were making the yard a mess.
Feb 14, 2007
Feb 10, 2007
Daily Personal Organizer
I created my own personal daily organizer, based on the principles of the 7 Habits, with a few of my own insights thrown in. You can click on the images to get the Adobe PDF file. You can edit it to your own needs with Adobe Illustrator if you like. It's made to be printed on 8 1/2 X 11 inch paper and cut and half and hole-punched for organizers that take 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch sheets.
It's really much like many other daily organizers, but with one extra section for 'Blocks'. Blocks are tasks that you get stuck on for some reason and are unable to complete. There is a line to describe the task, and then two other sections.
The first section has you identify the cause of the block. I though a bit about what usually gets me stuck on something, and made set of one letter codes to enter on the problem line for these causes of blocks. For you they may be a bit different, but for me they are:
- Knowledge - I just don't know how to do the task
- Skill - I don't have the skill to do the task competently
- Shyness - I'm just not putting myself out there
- Pride - I'm concerned about my image
- Focus - I've lost my focus on what is important
- Prediction - I've predicted a negative outcome before even trying
- Research - fill in gaps in my knowledge
- Ask For Help - Seek out experts to answer a question or assist
- Patience - take a break, relax, and try again
- Bravery - Do something something a bit uncomfortable but that would probably help
- Mission - Take a look what the larger goal is see if a different task is more appropriate
- Delegate - Ask or hire somebody else to do it
These new approaches then become tasks for the next day. That's it!
Feb 9, 2007
Habit 3 - Delegation
I put my 7 habits blog on hold for several days, focusing on stuff that was important (but not urgent!). One of the things that I’ve been doing is working out a system of self-organization. I went to look at the Franklin-Covey planners, and they do look excellent. However I’m going to work out my own system. I’ve got a few good ideas that I’ll probably share once I get them in a printable form.
Anyhow, back to the discussion of Habit 3, as discussed by Steven Covey in his audio version of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
In this short section Covey discusses the other part of organization besides self-organization: Delegation.
Covey draws a key distinction between Gopher delegation, and Stewardship delegation. Gopher delegation I think we are all familiar with. It’s delegating by giving commands, without really imparting any sense of the larger goals being pursued or involving them thinking about what the mission is. It’s saying “go do this, and when you’re done come back and I’ll give you something else to do.” ‘Micromanagement” is the word that comes to mind for me.
Stewardship delegation on the other hand is agreeing upon a result that should be achieved, but leaving the methods open to the person who has been delegated to. The person becomes a steward, and is responsible for choosing the methods they employ to achieve their goals. Ideally, they have even been involved in the decision about what they have stewardship over. Involvement encourages commitment.
Covey suggest that we should always strive to set up stewardships, and gives an example from his family. Rather than telling his son to water the lawn and pick up the trash, he delegates responsibility to his son. His mission becomes ‘keep the yard green and clean’. If his son fulfills this mission, Covey no longer has to manage or delegate anything. His son has now become the steward of the yard.
Anyhow, back to the discussion of Habit 3, as discussed by Steven Covey in his audio version of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
In this short section Covey discusses the other part of organization besides self-organization: Delegation.
Covey draws a key distinction between Gopher delegation, and Stewardship delegation. Gopher delegation I think we are all familiar with. It’s delegating by giving commands, without really imparting any sense of the larger goals being pursued or involving them thinking about what the mission is. It’s saying “go do this, and when you’re done come back and I’ll give you something else to do.” ‘Micromanagement” is the word that comes to mind for me.
Stewardship delegation on the other hand is agreeing upon a result that should be achieved, but leaving the methods open to the person who has been delegated to. The person becomes a steward, and is responsible for choosing the methods they employ to achieve their goals. Ideally, they have even been involved in the decision about what they have stewardship over. Involvement encourages commitment.
Covey suggest that we should always strive to set up stewardships, and gives an example from his family. Rather than telling his son to water the lawn and pick up the trash, he delegates responsibility to his son. His mission becomes ‘keep the yard green and clean’. If his son fulfills this mission, Covey no longer has to manage or delegate anything. His son has now become the steward of the yard.
Feb 4, 2007
Habit 3 - Organizing Tools
Steven Covey prefers the word ‘organize’ to ‘plan’ because it has a broader meaning. Organization includes both organizing ourselves around a schedule, and delegation and collaboration with others.
3) Quadrant 2 focused. It must encourage you to spend your time on activities that are important but not urgent. The system should include a weekly time to review ones roles and goals, and decide upon high leverage, Q2, activities for the week. Weekly is the key interval. Daily planners often having you managing crises.
6) Portable. You should be able to carry it with you wherever you go.
Some people think that living by a schedule enslaves them and kills their spontaneity. But the opposite is actually true. If you want to have lots of freedom, live by a schedule. It enables you to buy lots of discretionary time. Living life without a schedule is kind of having a bedroom without a closet or drawers. It’s completely disorganized and it’s hard to be effective.
Above all, a good organizing tool should have a place where you can write your mission, roles and goals, and high leverage activities weekly.
Feb 2, 2007
Habit 3 - Part 2
The key to Habit 3 is focusing one’s energy on what is really important and say no to the rest.
Why do people neglect Quadrant 2 – things that are important, but not urgent? Why do they focus on Quadrant 3, the urgent, but not important things? It’s because Q2 is harder. Q2 things must be acted upon, and require you to be proactive. Q3 items act on you. They are pressing, and proximate, and ‘popular’. They present themselves to you, and can offer an immediate sense of gratification or accomplishment.
Delegation, problem solving with another, beginning with the end in mind – these are all Q2 activities. Once you learn to focus on what is important, and start ignoring what is urgent but not important, you will find that less Q3 stuff comes your way. If you have a reputation for handing crises, people will bring them to you. But start turning them away and they will stop.
Focusing on the urgent, un-important things that come your way all the time keeps you from being impactful, and making the unique contributions to the world that you can make. If you haven’t paid the price of taking the time to define for yourself what is truly important, and what your goals are, you will be distracted by whatever comes your way.
Learn to say ‘no’ with a smile when there is a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside of you. You don’t have to be apologetic, but do be diplomatic. You have to decide what is your highest priority.
Pareto’s Law
Most people are familiar with some form Pareto’s Law, which basically states that 80% of the results derive from 20% of the effort. Some activities are more impactful. They have higher leverage.
One of these highly leveraged activities is looking at your other activities, and seeing what is important, impactful, and in alignment with your mission, and which are not, and making changes. Organizations are no different in this. The can develop very effective modes of operation over time, but if they are not conscious of the usefulness of these practices under new circumstances they become ineffective.
Breaking down the Habit 3
“Organize and execute around priorities” You’ve got to know your priorities, that’s habit 2. Then you’ve got to organize around them, and take action around them.
Why do people neglect Quadrant 2 – things that are important, but not urgent? Why do they focus on Quadrant 3, the urgent, but not important things? It’s because Q2 is harder. Q2 things must be acted upon, and require you to be proactive. Q3 items act on you. They are pressing, and proximate, and ‘popular’. They present themselves to you, and can offer an immediate sense of gratification or accomplishment.
Delegation, problem solving with another, beginning with the end in mind – these are all Q2 activities. Once you learn to focus on what is important, and start ignoring what is urgent but not important, you will find that less Q3 stuff comes your way. If you have a reputation for handing crises, people will bring them to you. But start turning them away and they will stop.
Focusing on the urgent, un-important things that come your way all the time keeps you from being impactful, and making the unique contributions to the world that you can make. If you haven’t paid the price of taking the time to define for yourself what is truly important, and what your goals are, you will be distracted by whatever comes your way.
Learn to say ‘no’ with a smile when there is a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside of you. You don’t have to be apologetic, but do be diplomatic. You have to decide what is your highest priority.
Pareto’s Law
Most people are familiar with some form Pareto’s Law, which basically states that 80% of the results derive from 20% of the effort. Some activities are more impactful. They have higher leverage.
One of these highly leveraged activities is looking at your other activities, and seeing what is important, impactful, and in alignment with your mission, and which are not, and making changes. Organizations are no different in this. The can develop very effective modes of operation over time, but if they are not conscious of the usefulness of these practices under new circumstances they become ineffective.
Breaking down the Habit 3
“Organize and execute around priorities” You’ve got to know your priorities, that’s habit 2. Then you’ve got to organize around them, and take action around them.
Feb 1, 2007
Habit 3 – Put First Things First
Habit 3 is taking the ‘program’ you have written in habit 2 – your personal mission statement, your plans, and goals – end executing around them. It’s putting them first, taking action on them before acting upon other things.
Covey introduces the Time Management Matrix, which contains 4 quadrants. On the top quadrants are the things that are important, and the bottoms two are things that are not important. Important here means that they are in alignment with your mission and your goals. On the left are things that are urgent, and the on the right are things that are not urgent. When you think about activities that you can focus on in your life you can categorize them into these quadrants:
Q1: Important and Urgent. These are problems, or crises.
Q2: Important but Not urgent. These are activities in the domains of prevention, investment, seeking new opportunities.
Q3: Urgent, but not important. Things that are proximate and appear pressing, but may or not be.
Q4: Not important or urgent. These things are often ‘pleasant’.
A phone call is an examples of something that is urgent. It appears to require immediate attention, but it may actually not be important. The same goes with mail and email. (How many times a day do you check your email?) Actually, anything that is in your environment be a potential distraction, and fall into Q3 or Q4, because it is proximate and thus appears urgent.
The Essence of Effective Time Management
If you take away one idea from this, it is that effective people focus on Q2, not Q3. They put important tasks that aren’t even pressing, before urgent matters that don’t really further their mission. This is the essence of effective time management.
If you neglect Q2 activities, small problems that you may not even be aware of become crises - Q1 activities. This called ‘managing by crisis’ Covey makes the point that you always have some discretionary time, and that if you want to be effective in life, spend it in Q2.
Covey introduces the Time Management Matrix, which contains 4 quadrants. On the top quadrants are the things that are important, and the bottoms two are things that are not important. Important here means that they are in alignment with your mission and your goals. On the left are things that are urgent, and the on the right are things that are not urgent. When you think about activities that you can focus on in your life you can categorize them into these quadrants:
Q1: Important and Urgent. These are problems, or crises.
Q2: Important but Not urgent. These are activities in the domains of prevention, investment, seeking new opportunities.
Q3: Urgent, but not important. Things that are proximate and appear pressing, but may or not be.
Q4: Not important or urgent. These things are often ‘pleasant’.
A phone call is an examples of something that is urgent. It appears to require immediate attention, but it may actually not be important. The same goes with mail and email. (How many times a day do you check your email?) Actually, anything that is in your environment be a potential distraction, and fall into Q3 or Q4, because it is proximate and thus appears urgent.
The Essence of Effective Time Management
If you take away one idea from this, it is that effective people focus on Q2, not Q3. They put important tasks that aren’t even pressing, before urgent matters that don’t really further their mission. This is the essence of effective time management.
If you neglect Q2 activities, small problems that you may not even be aware of become crises - Q1 activities. This called ‘managing by crisis’ Covey makes the point that you always have some discretionary time, and that if you want to be effective in life, spend it in Q2.
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