A Father-in-law’s Advice

A Father-in-Law’s Advice

You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. Exodus 18:18-19

Sometimes the better part of valor is learning that we need to ask for assistance. Remember, we are not on this journey alone—family, friends, and others are there to walk with us. I have worked under coaches who were micromanagers, which I found to be both inefficient and dispiriting. Inefficient, of course, because if I was qualified to do the job I was hired to do, it can’t be more efficient for both of us to do it. And dispiriting because the message I heard through their actions, whether they meant it or not, was that they didn’t trust me to do the job correctly.

I’ve always tried to take the words that Jethro spoke to his son-in-law Moses to heart. Moses had been leading the Israelites on his own for years. But things were getting out of hand. Moses had to share his frustration with someone, so Jethro got an earful:

The people come to me to get a ruling from God. When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions. (Exodus 18:15-16)

In short, Moses was doing it all. And then Jethro had another, and better, idea—delegate.

Delegation isn’t always easy. It requires trust and a willingness to let go of control. It also provides the opportunity for you to build into the lives of your friends, coworkers, and others around you. The hardest part of delegating is freeing up time in the short term to make sure that people are up to speed and can take on more responsibility in the long term. But I realized in my own process of delegating that I was adding value to the lives of my friends—of people I respected and admired and, perhaps more important, people I had a responsibility to help to become all they could be.

Once that’s been accomplished, you can let go and watch others grow and perform as you move on to other, more pressing tasks. In the end, your time is used much more efficiently and effectively. And you have built further and new bonds of friendship and respect in the process.

Are you a controller? It might be time for a change.

Uncommon Key > Whether it is on the job or at home, be willing to relinquish complete control and to delegate to others. You’ll help yourself and your delegates—and your friends.