Delegating...Your Success Depends On It!

Delegating has always been a huge challenge for me. I've always lived by the old saying "if you want something done right, do it yourself." At home, I want the house cleaned the way I want it, the laundry done the way I want it and the meals prepared how I want them. When I worked on site, I wanted to control the payables, the rent posting, the leasing, the maintenance, the human resources, etc. You get the idea. I would always delegate just the bare minimum to get things done, but I preferred to do the majority of the daily operating duties myself.

So how's the delegating going in your office? Do you find yourself just doing tasks because you know you can do them right? Do you prefer to do the weekly reports so that you know they're accurate when they go to corporate? Do you prefer to handle the rent because you know you won't receive a bank correction notice later? Do you like to follow up with traffic because you know that you're going to ask them the right questions to ensure the lease? If you've ever found yourself in any of these situations, then you probably have the same issue as I do with delegating. So how do you change? Here are a few things I think will help you along the way.

First, sit back and look at everything that needs to be done. Now take a good look at the team you have behind you. What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? Try to look closely and delegate the tasks appropriately. If you want things done right, then you're going to have to give them to the right person. Being comfortable with who you have doing your work for you is going to make you relax so you can focus on the things that you need to accomplish.

If you have concerns about someone on your team not being able to do things right, then you need to address that. Work on training, or if necessary, look for another team member. If you don't have confidence in who you have doing the job, you're never going to be able to feel comfortable with delegating and you're going to be stressed to the max!

If you ever find yourself working long hours, going above and beyond the call of duty just to get regular job duties performed, then something is wrong. You need to have a good work/life balance. When you find that your job is interfering with your life, you need to take a step back and see what can be changed. Typically delegating is the first step in making those changes.

Hope this is helpful! Share with me some of your delegating stories. What challenges have you faced? What do you have to do in your office so you know it gets done right?


Morgan Oney, CAM
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