Delegating

“The best way to ensure that something is done correctly is to do it myself.”  OK, raise your hand if you have heard someone say this.  Great, now keep your hand up if you have used this line before, and be honest.  As someone who has worked with teams, been a team member and a manager, I will admit to raising my hand for both of those questions.  There were many times earlier in my career where grabbing the task and putting together the action items were a choice.  I had yet to learn that by doing this I was minimizing the person I was grabbing from, putting myself in a position where I now was responsible, and most importantly, removed a learning opportunity to help better someone in terms of educating them and improving their skill sets. 

If I am a one-man shop, it is natural to take on all of the responsibilities, action all items and provide all of the feedback.  The “buck” has nowhere else to stop at.  When we are young, we learn that it is our responsibility to achieve, get those good grades and excel in our endeavors.  When we succeeded or failed, we became labeled by our outcome.  Realize that for many people, those labels had an impact on their mindset and followed them as they grew into adulthood.  If we fail, we do not want to fail again, while if we succeed, it has to be only our doing.  Coupled with a mindset of “It is up to me if it was meant to be,” we fall into doing things by ourselves.  For a company to grow, this mindset makes it difficult to move beyond a one-man operation or grow from a “Mom and Pop” shop.

 I have been working with teams for most of my working career.  The good thing about a team is that by working together, each having our own responsibilities, we can achieve more together than we would be able to do on our own.  This is a different mindset than laid out in the previous paragraph.  Have I ever worked with a team where there is someone with the “I can do this by myself” mindset?  Of course, and this can cause the team to not work together, demoralize the group and fall short of the goals.  In this example, the members of the team need to realize that roles have been delegated to the resource that the manager feels can best accomplish each of the tasks.

Related question – have I ever worked for someone who did not understand delegation?  Of course. In this example, the manager hogs all of the tasks and needs to remember that the roles delegated need to be done by the resource assigned.  This also has a huge impact on the development of the team members; By delegating and supporting each person, you empower them to think for themselves, allow for internal creativity to occur and build confidence in your teams.

Like so many of the things that we do, yes, this is a lot of work and something emerging managers need to remember and strive to get better at.  Delegating responsibilities to others is not an easy thing to do and is something that one has to learn to be comfortable doing. 

Facing Our Day Head On, No Matter What We See In Front of Us

Wouldn’t it be great to wake up one morning and have everything go your way or to have an idea, desire or goal to automatically manifest itself?  On top of this, there would be no barriers or push backs to success.  Although this sounds wonderful, a few issues come to mind: no lessons will be learned and there will be no opportunities to improve upon.

In the classic television show, The Twilight Zone, there is an episode called, “A Nice Place to Visit.”  In the story, the main character, Rocky, is greeted by a man named Pip (played by Sebastian Cabot) who informs Rocky that his job is to provide whatever the man desired.  As the main character later realizes, getting everything you want can be boring because you do not have to do anything to get what you want.  This is a great episode with a typical Rod Serling twist.  One of the “lessons” in this story is that if we are handed everything on a silver platter and we have not put out any effort, life does not have meaning.  We need to have challenges in our lives, goals to accomplish and be active in pursuing our dreams.  To attain these, it is almost a guarantee that barriers pop up along the way to either distract us or prohibit our progress, causing things to not go our way. 

There is the old Yiddish saying, “Mench tracht un gut lached” (Man plans / thinks and G-d laughs).  The related phase is “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.”  Basically, no matter what we do, there is a chance that something we did not account for, something beyond our control, or something was missed when setting out to do things.  Our options are to ignore, keep moving on, or address it head on.  While ignoring seems like a valid option, sticking one’s head in the sand only means that when you come up for air, the issue is still staring you in the face.  Keeping on moving forward, while seeming to make sense, could work out.  However, like the piece of toilet paper stuck to your shoe, that related issue might follow you wherever you go.  The best solution is to address it head on.  Most of the time, we do not want to do this – this means we are facing our fears, might have to put ourselves in an uncomfortable situation and deal with the unexpected.  But once we face these head on, we find ourselves back on track and have gained something positive in the process.

If we woke up every morning and everything went our way, wouldn’t that be great?  We would never have the opportunity to learn, we would never have the chance for personal development, we would never face our challenges and would never gain the benefits that come with personal achievements.  As great as the idea seems, I will gladly face the day head on, embrace the unexpected and enjoy whatever comes my way.

Old Men Rocking

For Debbie and me, this has been a bonanza year for seeing musicians we always wanted to see and bands we never saw before.  OK – it was more like watching a series of senior citizen acts.  But I have to tell you, for people ranging in age from late 60’s into their 80’s, these people still have it.

This last week, I saw two concerts (one without Debbie) that were from the same era and influential in their own ways.  The first one, which I saw with my old friend Marty (yes, knowing people 40 years makes them old friends), was Herb Alert.  While he no longer tours with the Tijuana Brass, he has a great combo of jazz musicians and tours with his wife (who sang with Sergio Mendez and Brazil 66).  At 84, he still walks confidently onto the stage and still plays well.  He did a medley or two covering the hits from the Tijuana Brass and ventured off onto the songs he wanted to play and improvise on.  As a multi-Grammy winner (including one in 2013 for best instrumental album), he was filling stadiums in the 1960’s, had hit records against the era of The Beatles and had an even bigger impact by being the “A” in highly successful record label, A&M.

The second concert, which I saw with Debbie, was one of her all-time favorite bands – The Rolling Stones.  It is not unusual for musicians, as they age, to slow down their music, be more efficient in their approach and potentially relax more on stage.  Later in his career, B.B. King sat while he played.  I saw Jerry Lee Lewis play years ago when he was in his 50’s and Great Balls of Fire was played as a ballad.  At 76 and having undergone heart surgery earlier this year, Mick Jagger still runs, struts and has “the moves like Jagger.”  The rest of the band still cranks out the Rock and Roll and keeps a pace rivaling back to their younger years.  Their approach to music, performing and being labeled “The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band,” has set the standard for what defines a Rock musician.  And as 55+ year veterans, it is now what one can still do and what one can enjoy, no matter how old you get.

Aside from great music played by legendary musicians, what was my take away from the past week?  Herb Alpert commented that in most cases, people do not remember the songs played, but the feeling that they get after going to a concert.  In both cases:

·         They have been popular acts for as long as I have been on this planet. 

·         As senior citizens, they both still pursue their passions

·         They are all living life to the fullest, even into the 80’s, and can still be relevant

·         In the Stones case, adversity and illness has not stopped them from doing what they enjoy

It is easiest to reach a point in one’s life and “retire” from our passions, our dreams and our desires.  The “senior” musicians I saw showed the impact of overcoming roadblocks, working towards a healthy lifestyle and striving to be at your peak at whatever point you are at in your life.  They make no excuses for going out and living each and every day to their fullest.

Lifetime Juggler

Ever feel like you are that guy (or gal) who spins the plates on top of that long thin stick?  The one who’s job it is to keep spinning the plates so that nothing falls?  Yeah, you know what I mean.  Now, how many of you feel that each morning, a new set of sticks appear with those plates already in motion waiting for you to step up and keep them spinning?  Sound familiar?

Most lives are like a good play, where there are a couple of acts and within each act are multiple scenes.  Unlike a play, our lives do not move single-threaded in a sequential manner.  In other words, most people do not live their lives as a single act, one scene life.  I recently read someone’s opinion that hiding behind “I am busy” as an excuse really means that we really determine what gets our focus based on how we prioritize (aka, perceive) the tasks before us.  This makes sense as to why high-performance, successful people only focus on a small, finite set of things at a time.  Darren Hardy has told the story where Richard Branson turned down a speaking engagement for some huge, ridiculous amount of money because it was not within the two or three things he was focused on at the moment.

I try hard to have a similar discipline, but the truth is that while it sounds simple, it is not easy.  I have my family, my work with a new company and the presidency of my synagogue.   I have to juggle those three, while having some time left over to socialize (part of my down time).  Within each of those “acts”, I have a few “scenes” that need focus.  Like the plates spinning on top of the sticks, I need to plan the timing of when each item needs to be addressed.  Yes, I often get ask, “What about taking on [fill in the blank].”  Often, I have to answer “No,” because I do not want to take on anything that I will not be able to focus on.  Also, once you say “yes,” you have made a commitment to follow through.  It is better to say no, then address later (no sometimes means not now), then to fail on a commitment by not taking the time required to follow through. 

One of the things that has helped me is that each of the three acts knows about the other two and the times that I allocate for each.  Work hours are straight forward (for the most part).  Synagogue is set aside for nights (for the most part).  Family time includes dinner (most nights) and time on the weekend when everyone is around.  Although things pop up out of their time slots, I make sure that everyone knows that my family comes first.  

He Who Controls the Agenda

Meetings, meetings, meetings!  Some days, it seems like there is an endless stream of meetings.  Meetings in the morning, meetings in the afternoon and then synagogue meetings in the evening.  (Heavy sigh) 

Yes, meetings are a great way to share ideas, communicate information, and work together for a common goal.  Meetings with a purpose are great!  Meetings that meander aimlessly over the horizon is time that one will never get back.  I have been in meetings that are run well and meetings that are less well run.  I have been in meetings where the overall atmosphere is congenial, pleasant and well participated, and I have been in meetings where rudeness, fear of opening one’s mouth and being all over the place are par for the course.  The people that seem most organized are not necessarily the one’s who run organized meetings and vice versa.

I was taught somewhere a long time ago, that meetings should have the following:

• A purpose – which is stated at the onset so everyone in attendance knows why they are meeting
• An agenda – which provides the topics to be discussed and the flow of the meeting
• A timekeeper (utilized at Toastmasters) –  someone who keeps everyone on track to limit speaking time and to ensure the start and end time of the meeting
• A scribe – someone who keeps the notes to be distributed after the meeting.  In smaller meetings, this person can be the leader of the meeting
• A leader – someone who provides the agenda and moderates the flow of the meeting, making sure everyone stays focused on the topic (purpose) at hand.

The truth is, depending on the size and purpose of the meeting, the same points hold true, even if the meeting’s leader holds all of the roles (not as efficient in larger meetings).  Once you, as the leader, control the agenda, you can control the meeting.  Once you cede control of the agenda, you can lose control of the meeting.  Do not get me wrong, meetings are good, they are an important means of communicating information, and a valuable way to allocate time in a group setting.  Controlling the agenda assists in making sure that the topics covered are relevant, there is focus to the meeting and a means for future achievements. 

Enjoying the Downtime

While remaining focused on our goals, it is equally important how we spend our downtime.  I have always been a fan of developing hobbies, something that we enjoy and do to relax, something we enjoy to stimulate our minds, and something that if we had more time, we could delve more into.  Developing appropriate goals and being focused on accomplishing them take time, effort, diligence and concentration.  If we spent all of our time within that bubble, we would miss everything else that goes on around us.  We do need a chance, as Darren Hardy uses the phrase, a time to rinse and recharge.  A chance to take some time away from our goals, creates some space for our mind, body and soul to refresh themselves. This downtime inevitable can lead to a fresh prospective on the tasks in front of us.

For me, that would mean something related to music.  I started playing music right before I turned 9.  I went for an introduction class to learn…the accordion!  I did not know any better at the time.  However, it was a great instrument to learn, and one I took lessons on through High School.  The instrument was portable and I could play any type of music.  It also provided a starting point to learn other instruments over the years.  With playing music, also comes listening to music.  Going to concerts is a chance to enjoy someone else creating, plying their craft and listening to learn what they are doing. 

Case in point – last night we went to see Billy Joel at his monthly gig at Madison Square Garden.  As a fan, it was great to hear all the songs (that we know) being played lived.  As a musician, it was great to see a musician on stage, still having the “chops” and enjoying himself.  I have been to concerts where some musicians do not enjoy themselves; because they get tired of playing the same “hits” over and over again (Mr. Joel was one of them many years ago).  Last night was a relaxed man, doing what he loves (“I have the best job”), and engaging the audience.  It was a late school night for us, but well worth it.  As the musicians that we grew up with are thinning out, it is important to still catch them while we can (case in point – Tom Petty).

While the old adage is work hard, play hard; the rest of the world does not stay in a state of suspended animation during our relaxation time.  While engaging in our downtime activities, there are still opportunities to learn, engage and better ourselves.  Some hobbies actually help to keep one’s mind active, develop skills and, potentially, provide insight to be used elsewhere.  Working hard and staying focused to achieve our goals is important, but it is equally important to value our downtime, spending the time with your family, doing things with your friends, and enjoying hobbies.  Together, they make for a balanced lifestyle and the opportunity to get to where you want to be.

Developing Laser-like Focus

As I sit with my goals for 2018 in front of me, there is one word that comes to mind that I need to keep front and center.  This word is not a goal, but without it, I know I will have difficulty attaining my 2018 goals.  This one word should help me to achieve what I hope for the year.  That word?  Focus. 

There is the old saying (when translated from Yiddish) that goes, “Man plans, but G-d laughs.”  In other words, no matter how hard we plan for something, there are always outside influences on our lives that can change our direction.  This could be from a planned project at work, where half way through management has a new immediate business requirement, to life events that cause our personal focus to change.  In the case of projects, it is important to recognize that the business need come first.  That being said, it becomes important to communicate the impact on the existing project, in terms of time lines, deliverables and costs.  As a manager, it is our responsibility for our projects; meaning, the success or failure of our projects lies on our shoulders, otherwise, we would not be adding value to the companies we work for (whether as a consultant or employee).  Even when priorities change, we still need to maintain some minimal focus on the projects that were deferred.  Same goes for outside the work office.

In 2017, there were plenty of things happening in my life that required my attention.  The ones that I had control over, did not change my attention, while the ones that I did not have control over, had the ability to alter my focus.  This is life, and it is either we recognize it and roll with the punches, or, waste valuable time fighting these things and achieve nothing.

As of January 1^st, it is time to revisit our priorities, look forward over the next 12 months and re-focus our attention on where we need to be.  In my case, this not only means paying attention to how I need to accomplish my goals, but equally, what things in my life are distractions that call require my focus, that are not needed.  The latter can be more difficult, as some of the distractions that we collect over time seem to become part of the fabric of our lives.  While watching a recent football game with my brothers, we commented on the laser like focus of the quart backs – while being rushed by guys much larger than them, slipping on a slick field, or in the middle of a sack attempt, their eyes and minds are 100% focused on releasing the ball to an open man.  That is the focus we need to bring to our games; that is the focus that will help us on our way to success.