Delegate What You Hate

By Debra Bruce

Delegate What You Hate

An attorney coaching client recently asked for help with delegation skills. He had read my December 2004 article on delegation originally published in The Practice Manager (now available at http://www.lawyer-coach.com/raisingthebar/index.php/2004/12/01/delegation-a-powerful-time-management-tool/). He still had a hard time letting go. He realized that his concern was not so much how to delegate as what to delegate.

There are two important questions to ask yourself in order to identify tasks and projects to delegate: “What do I dislike doing?” and “Are there elements of the work I’m doing that don’t require my level of education and experience?”
Let’s look at each of these in turn.

What do I dislike doing?
If you can find a way to delegate the tasks and projects you dread doing, you will see a leap in your productivity and income. If you don’t like to do it, chances are it’s not in your sweet spot of skill and talent. We usually enjoy what we’re really good at.

Find someone who likes to do that kind of work, and give yourself permission to focus on what you enjoy. Although you may feel anxious if that requires you to incur additional expense, you’ll gain more energy to complete the projects in your sweet spot, as well as marketing time to garner more of them. You’ll enjoy your work more, and your enthusiasm will be attractive to clients. Your clients will be happier and more likely to make referrals when you have shorter turnaround times (because you don’t procrastinate as much) and more acceptable bills (because you’re more efficient or get better results at what you do best).

Some lawyers feel guilty about delegating what they consider undesirable work. Remember the aphorism “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” I conducted a workshop for a working team to help them communicate more effectively and distribute the work load optimally. I asked each team member to tell us what aspect of their work they liked the most and which tasks they liked least. When one person described her “grunge work,” another piped up, “I’ll take that on. I actually like doing that.” The work you dislike is perfect to delegate, to the right person.

Are there elements of the work I’m doing that don’t require my level of education and experience?
Delegate to the lowest level possible on the totem pole to optimize the usage of resources and provide developmental opportunities to your people. Even if most of the projects you work on require the judgment gained through years of experience, at least some portion of each project can be delegated. Think about what you tackled when you were less experienced, or even a beginner.

You may need to make your delegation gradual in scope, providing projects that are challenging, but not daunting. Give your delegates as much as they can handle. Ask them what they think they can manage.

Developing the skills of your team may require a greater initial investment of your time than doing it yourself, but you will reap the reward of freeing up more of your time in the long run. Be sure your instruction includes details about the purpose and desired outcome of the project, to foster their good judgment in future projects.

Mechanism for Identifying Tasks to Delegate
To determine the appropriate tasks for delegation, rank your outstanding tasks as to level of skill required and your interest level; then insert them into a graph similar to the one below. The shaded cells will indicate the optimal tasks for delegation.






SKILL High
LEVEL
Med


Low

Low Med High

INTEREST LEVEL


Additional Task Identification Guidelines
If you still need guidance on what tasks to delegate, here are some additional guidelines.
If you have trouble starting things, ask someone else to take a first crack at it, then you can edit and finalize it. If you are a good starter, but tend to lose interest before you get finished, find an organizer type who likes to pull things together and put the finishing touches on them once you get them headed in the right direction.
Delegate tasks you don’t know much about. For example, let someone else in your office conduct the preliminary research on reviews of software, cell phones or office equipment. You can provide guidance by listing out the dream functions and features you would like to have in the product.
Delegate tasks that require substantial knowledge outside your sweet spot, unless you want to become an expert in that area. Associate a colleague to answer the tax questions if you are a real estate lawyer. If you are a personal injury lawyer, bring in a corporate lawyer along to feed you questions in that deposition where you are trying to pierce the corporate veil. Call in an IT specialist to get all your computers and software programs talking the same language.
Delegate anything you can systematize, especially if the work is redundant. If you can construct written instructions to cover most contingencies, you should be able to get back a quality product with very little additional time investment on your part. You can probably have experienced subordinates create the bulk of the instructions by writing down in detail what they do. In a similar vein, create scripts to guide staff for common emails and telephone conversations and check lists for information from new clients or for finalizing ordinary transactions.
Delegate as much non-billable work as you can, but recognize that there are important non-billable tasks that you really must do yourself. It’s mainly up to you to nurture strong relationships with your best clients, and to review your monthly financial statements, for example.
Delegate decisions that have manageable risks, especially if they are time consuming. Let someone else make your travel arrangements, order office supplies and equipment, set deposition schedules, and manage your calendar.
Delegate tasks for which instructions are available elsewhere, such as in filing guidelines, bylaws, rules and regulations, owner’s manuals, procedural manuals and on the Internet. You can give a final review, if necessary for your comfort level.
Delegate as much responsibility as possible. Don’t delegate tasks that are critical to long term success and that need the judgment of your experience, however, such as which expert to designate in a major case, or whether to render an opinion on a dicey securities law issue.
Don’t do what someone else would be willing to do for you. Delegate anything that will make your job easier or your life more pleasant, while still maintaining necessary quality levels. Be willing to accept “good enough” while someone is still learning. Recognize the value of the tradeoff between perfection and your freedom.
For successful delegation, make sure your delegates have available what is required to do the job. Do they have sufficient authority, time, people, equipment, materials, introductions, information, cooperation from peers, respect and the appropriate location?

If you still have trouble with delegation, perhaps a coach or other objective observer can help you recognize what the real block is.

Debra Bruce (www.lawyer-coach.com) practiced law for 18 years before becoming a professionally trained Executive Coach for lawyers. She is Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas, and board member and past leader of Houston Coaches Network, the Houston Chapter of the International Coach Federation. She welcomes your questions and comments at debra@lawyercoach.com or in the comments section of this newsletter.