Do It, Delegate It, Dump It
I had just left the hospital after my second EKG in two years as a middle school director. It wasn't a heart attack according to the doctor, just a bad combination of high stress, no sleep and dehydration.
I reached out to my mentor, who too was a former principal, to let him know I was ok and just needed to take a few days off.
I’ll never forget his response.
“Tom, what is it do you do all day?”
I had great answers, “Well I answer emails to teachers and parents, I do walk throughs, I handle discipline, I put out fires. You know, my job!”
Please Note: The worse excuse is a good excuse.
He replied, “And which of those activities actually improving your school?”
“Well none,” I said. “But you don’t understand, I have to do them! Otherwise…”
He answered, “The only thing you have to do as the leader of this organization is master three things.”
Do It! These are the items that only you can and should do as the leader. Basically, it is in your gift zone, and the organization gets the greatest return when you and you specifically do it.
Delegate It! Anything anyone can complete 80% as well as you can, build your team by delegating it.
Dump It! These are the items that bring you or the organization zero return. If you’re not sure if an item is important, do not do it for two weeks. You’ll find out if it’s really important.
Click here to learn the three D's.
He went on to share, “Effective leaders understand that they are responsible for it all, but that doesn’t mean they are required to DO IT ALL. They need to understand the difference and make effective choices with their time and build healthy habits.
These requirements might be different for every leader, depending on their position in the organization and skill sets. You need to learn your required tasks and what’s most important to the growth of the organization. Focus your time on those things, before your next hospital visit, is your last.”
I left thinking that he had no idea what he was talking about. He hadn’t led a school in ages. Boy was I wrong.
More on this tomorrow...
Watch this three part video series today and begin living your day by design, not be default. Click here to watch https://lbleaders.mykajabi.com/do-it-delegate-it-dump-it
Your friend,
Tom
Join Our Daily Thought List!
Get daily inspirational messages and updates on our events and programs.
