I was at a family function today and one of my nieces, who I rarely get to see, was there.
"N" is very involved in theater. It is the well-spring of her energy. She is now approximately 30 and ventured into directing.
She was sharing that she really had to work at "delegating". Her previous venture into the management side of theatrical productions had not been a great experience.
She has the acuity of wit to realize that some of the failings had been due to her not knowing what she did not know. Upon further reflection, she realized that core to many of the "failures" had been her lack of sophistication about "delegating".
This time around, she is being very deliberate and intentional about delegating.
...no surprises yet...
...and then she said "I have people helping me with this production who are taking on too much responsibility and not delegating. I can see myself in them. I am taking them aside and telling them, in private, that THEY need to delegate or the entire venture will fail."
Growth^2
I am impressed. And I would be impressed even if she was not my niece.
I think we sometimes underestimate the younger generations.
Figuring that out at age 30 is better than most. It took me a little longer than that to get it figured out . She will probably do well. --ken
ReplyDeleteERJ, I actually have some faith in the younger generation, and even in some of the older ones too. As they confront the actual, real world they find out that theories of behavior and action do not really work in practice. In that sense the harder things become, the more quickly the realization of reality approaches.
ReplyDeleteDelegating is an art form; it requires enough intelligence to both be capable of doing the task yourself and the intelligence to know you don't have the time. It also requires knowledge and thought about to whom you are delegating what; the color blind assistant is not the person to whom you delegate painting the sets.
ReplyDeleteOne of the - myriad - reasons small businesses sometimes fail is "no one to delegate task X to" and the task falls through one of the cracks.
But be ever watchful for the delegator that is looking to spread the blame...
ReplyDeleteirontomflint
That is right on. I have sure seen a lot of that in my life.---ken.
DeleteDuring my several periods as interim quality manager at my next to last job, delegating was one of the most difficult aspects of the job for me.
ReplyDeleteI hear a lot of criticism about younger people - mostly, it is not earned. Those who are helpless and whiny are the few; most are frugal, competent, and focused on their families.
ReplyDeleteMy own 3 kids are employed, paying their own bills, and using their abilities for useful home and work projects. They clean, cook, manage gardens, and even rehab homes.
The experiences of most of my friends and family are the same.
The narcissistic girls and man-bun boys are the exception.