The photo I took here doesn’t do the real thing justice!
On a recent business trip to Rome, I took a tour of the Vatican museum. It was a great experience and I could see many of the pieces of art I fell in love with when I took an art history course back in 1990. The main event of course was Michelangelo’s massive fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but I was also intrigued by the story of another Renaissance painter, Raphael.
Raphael was highly-sought after as an artist and the Pope who reigned at the time was especially taken by him. So much so that he fired Raphael’s master and made Raphael completely re-do all his master’s work. What he didn’t know was that Raphael was more interested in developing his apprentices. Because he trusted them, he allowed them to do much of the work, only stepping in occasionally to put the finishing touches on. Raphael’s confidence in his students made them into their generation’s great artists. Today, we might refer to that as delegation.
The purpose of delegation isn’t to gain more free time in your day. It’s done as a key tool of employee development. If you’re The Boss, your job isn’t to do more of what you used to do as an employee, it’s broadening your influence by developing others to accomplish more. You should replicate yourself in others.
The great works of the Renaissance would have never been created had the first expert not chosen to teach their craft to the next generation. If you’re The Boss, are you doing the same thing? If not, why not try following the steps below:
- Identify the task. Find something that you as The Boss should not be doing anymore.
- Determine the importance and urgency. I recommend finding something with high importance but low urgency. You don’t want urgency to create a sense of anxiety if your purpose is to teach.
- Determine the result. This is important. You might be surprised how that person you delegate to reaches a better result if you simply give them the goal.
- Find the Person for whom the task is most developmental for. If you spend time helping develop the career paths for your team, you’ll have a better idea who would benefit by learning this task.
- Explain the task and provide adequate training. Explain what the result would be, but make sure you train them on the necessary skills.
- Follow up as necessary. Yes, be sure to follow up so you can provide encouragement and answer questions.
Being The Boss means you’re responsible for your success and the success of your people. Use delegation as a key tool for this. It worked well for Raphael. I’m sure it will for you too.