A few days ago as I passed by my kids’ playroom, I was amazed at how chaotic and disorganized it appeared. Puzzle pieces, cars, balls, and paper littered the floor…it was past time for a major clean-up. Every toy needed to be in its proper home, and I could have easily had that room tidied up in ten minutes.
Instead, I decided it was time to teach my four year-old to take responsibility. I tasked him with this duty…and surprisingly, he mastered the job. About 30 minutes later, I came back to an organized room with a visible floor.
Recently, roles at my workplace have been in transition, which means that certain responsibilities I had a few weeks ago have been given to my colleagues.
The job of the audit, which I had been doing, has now been handed over to an employee who is not familiar with the process, but is qualified to handle it. I’ve had to let it go and move on with the new responsibilities on my plate.
In both these situations, a project that I could have done easily was given to another capable person…in other words, I had to delegate to someone I could trust. While delegating can be painful, especially for perfectionists, it helps to lighten the load.
Are you one of those people that just can’t let go? I mean…you just know how to do it SO MUCH BETTER? You can’t trust anyone else because of fear that they will mess up?
It’s time to give up control.
Moses was taught this lesson by his father-in-law when he was serving as a judge for the Israelites (Exodus 18). From morning until evening, Moses took on the role of of resolving disputes and teaching the people God’s laws. Anyone with a 9 to 5 job can attest that this sounds exhausting!
Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, suggested that he delegate the simple cases to trustworthy men, and that Moses take on the more difficult ones. Three things would happen if Moses were to follow this plan:
- The load would be lighter
- He would stand the strain (less stress!); and
- The people would be satisfied
Like any good son-in-law, Moses listened to Jethro…and so should we.
Let go of that stress and trust the qualified people around you. You will be happier and will empower the people around you.
~Betsy
*photo from pixabay.com
