To delegate .....or not to delegate.

When and what should we delegate?
This is a huge question that I was forced to examine recently. Over the last ten years I had become so used to working on my own that I never gave delegating or my attitude toward it much thought. Then I took a new position.
In this position one of the biggest challenges I faced was working within a team where I was forced to take over tasks delegated to me by my coworkers.
It all came to a head one evening shift.
Three of my coworkers that were working late after their shift and I checked to see what needed to be done for them so they could go home.
The first nurse said that she was in the middle of something and would finish it. I replied "Okay and I’ll handle anything else that crops up from now on." I told her I would check on the others then be back to handle the next discharge, as it should be ready for me by then.
I made rounds to the other floors and found one of my other colleagues. I asked her what she needed me to do so that she could leave. She delegated a discharge for me to do and then as I was doing it she stood over my shoulder and proceeded to tell me what I needed to say in the computer charting to the home care nurse. I turned around and said to her rather bluntly that she might as well do it herself as to stand there and dictate to me. I’m afraid I didn’t mask my frustration very well.
The third colleague was finished by the time I reached her and so I ended up coming back to the floor where the first nurse was. She was still using the office.
Three times it took me coming back to that office and I finally said to her that she needed to go so I could do what I needed to do. It was then that I found out that she had spent most of that time doing work on the discharge I was supposed do. I was very frustrated at not being able to do my work the way I routinely did, as well as at my colleague’s inability to delegate.
I fumed and fussed about that evening for a week before I finally put it in perspective. Their ability to delegate or not is about their fears, their concerns, and not about me. My frustration with that was however my responsibility.
Everyone can do their work somewhat differently, however, when there are no similarities in how we work, delegating can become a hot issue. I realize that these team members that I have difficulty following all approach their work completely different than I do.
Generally I finish one item before I go onto the next. If there is a delay or I have to wait for another piece of information to fall into place I may start on another task, so it may look like I am doing several things at once, but they are simply layered. I try very hard not to layer too many things as then I can hand them off when I need to.
I believe this is the difference between us. They tend to layer everything all the time. It is like cooking with my older sister. She does seven recipes at once (or at least three). I’m struggling to keep all the ingredients straight and the timing so as not to burn everything while she seems to have no issues. However she could not and cannot hand off any of the work to me easily as she has her fingers in all of the pies(so to speak).
Like making a meal, my day starts with planning. Prioritizing what needs to be done first, there is no point having the vegetables done before the meat — you get the idea.
Our work place always throws us challenges. This is part of the excitement, being able to prioritize, layer and finish tasks, this is what is essential to our feelings of success.
As for my part it has never been easy for me to ask for help with what I felt was ‘My’ workload. I was someone who just worked faster and harder to keep up. Learning to delegate respectfully (trusting others to do the work) is an essential part of the challenge of this job.
So to accommodate my need for control, I tend to finish what I start and try not to layer too many tasks at once. I have also let my coworkers know that I prefer to take on a task from the beginning not half way through. Both these strategies have helped ease the frustration I was feeling in carrying out the duties of this position.
What I have learned over the last few years, when I am faced with any challenge, is to ask myself why I feel the way I feel and what would make it different. In answering those two questions I have a plan of action that leaves me feeling stronger and surer of my direction. I have in fact helped to answer my own question of how to delegate or not to delegate?

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LB

TFTT# 93 © Linda Bridge