Comments on: Are you delegating enough?

By: Christina Gombar

Christina Gombar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:44:05 +0000

Some tasks are delegatable — for example — I have cleaners come in once a month to do the heavy lifting in my house. That saves me a lot of energy I can put towards “brain” work.

The challenge at an office job is, if you’ve been hired to do a task because you, and you alone have the talent and skill to do it — it’s generally not something you can delegate down to a secretary or junior person, and if you delegate sideways to a colleauge — they ought to get the credit for it, fair’s fair.

I just remember when I had a freelance business — when I decided to take a job with my biggest client, I had a few projects to complete – I handed them off to a friend who had an almost identical writing background, and a really lovely, easy-to-work with person at that. But my old clients said — She was nice and cooperative, but her work wasn’t up to the level of yours — she didn’t have the curiosity or the insight.

But if it’s simply clerical or technical work that’s bogging you down — yes. If you’re working at home and your computer is your lifeline — make sure you’ve got a good and reliable consultant to troubleshoot, so you can focus on the main business of whatever your work is.

By: Rosalind

Rosalind — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:31:03 +0000

I’m struck by the idea that delegating can mean no one is carrying the burden of work. I don’t think it’s black and white and I think work takes many different forms and skills. I believe that most people, not only the chronically ill and working mothers, should develop their capacity to delegate more for a multitude of good reasons. But that’s another blog. I do agree that in many situations, you’re more likely to get an accommodation to work differently if you’re a mom than if you’re a chronically ill person. That’s not something we have to accept though — that’s what I’m working to change in my small way. Thanks for sharing.

By: Christina Gombar

Christina Gombar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:06:48 +0000

This is an interesting piece — I think in some corporate settings, if one is in a higher-level position, delegating a bit more is possible, but I’m not sure for how long. I had one friend (NOT chronically ill) who rose to an executive level who claimed that she was an empty suit, she had managers to manage her managers, and she spent the day sitting in meetings. But she had a stellar work history, an unusually strategic, political and sharp mind and two graduate degrees.
I know she was kind of bluffing, she worked her butt off.

Another issue is, if you work in an office where there are many mothers, they, too, are looking for opportunities to delegate, and you get into a situation where no one is available to carry the burden of work.

But for a younger who has to constantly prove herself as she’s learning her profession, or “line” person like myself, who had to research, absorb a great deal of information, integrate it and write about it, as well as attend meetings, travel, network, manage projects and budgets — if you have multiple systems hit, mental and physical, you are going to over-extend, fall short in too many areas to cover your job. You can’t be asking for multiple accommodations, but this is what you need. You become known as the person who can’t be counted on.

You can prove a case that you’ll be more productive, and ask for accommodations, but that’s no guarantee at all that even the most well-meaning of companies is going to comply. There are just too many people trying to tailor their work-lives to their personal needs. I really had trouble flying. If I took an air flight that took me across country at 11 p.m., I would have trouble showing up for a 7:30 meeting the next day. Moms, on the other hand, were accommodated in their requests to travel less, or to dictate their hours. The rule of the jungle, I’m afraid.