If you want it done right do it yourself.
This could be true in a lot of applications, but as a leader, who are you really helping? When becoming a leader I had this same issue. I believe it came from my experiences in group projects in middle school when I thought that the only way to get an A was to do it yourself. Looking back this didn’t help me or my group mates because when it came time to present they didn’t know what they were talking about and we would end up getting a bad grade anyway. This goes for any role in leadership, you can’t lead anyone if you are doing all the work. When jumping into a leadership position you need to learn to transition from doing to leading. I didn’t realize this until I started Flight Club. Getting the club started wasn’t a problem, I actually enjoyed organizing activities, emailing sponsors, and talking to the administration. My problem was that I didn’t want to give it up. It’s hard to delegate out something you enjoy doing but as a leader, you have to think about the bigger picture. It’s coming to the realization that it's not about you building up the club, team, or organization anymore, it's about motivating people and guiding them in the right direction. The most efficient way to get to the bigger picture is with the help from others. To accomplish that goal, tasks must be delegated. In the beginning, it was hard to delegate because, as I said before, I liked what I was doing but I also worried that they wouldn’t do it right or wouldn’t know how to do it. These thoughts went through my mind even though I knew very well that everyone in my club was fully capable of accomplishing the tasks. You have to learn how to trust people. This doesn’t mean you completely let your teammates run off and do their own thing, no this means you guide them through the first one, and check in periodically to make sure everything is running smoothly. At first it may seem annoying teaching people how to do things when it would take you half the amount of time to finish, but in the end, it is worth it. Delegation is like handing out responsibility, it is letting your teammates know that you trust them. Trust gives them the motivation to keep taking on new challenges. With delegation, you and your team will be happy because they feel like they are contributing and you’ll have more free time to make sure the club is going in the right direction. Soon your club will be filled with consistently active members that are not only doing tasks but also delegating out to others. For Flight Clubs second year, the original board (President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary) and I decided that for our senior year we would not run for re-election and open up four more leadership positions. We will be mentoring the new leads for the first semester to make sure that all the knowledge that we have about the club gets pass down. This will give us peace in mind as we leave knowing that the club can run efficiently without us.
2 Comments
Lorelei Klotz
10/8/2018 05:42:38 pm
I totally agree with the feeling that the only way to get an A on a project or whatever it may be is to do it yourself, but I forget as you mention that it helps no one in the group with anything. You are stuck feeling like you have done all the work with no help but forget you chose that feeling and the rest of the group now lacks skills they could have learned from you and whatever was at hand! Great post! Really happy you spoke up about this issue and wrote alternatives:)
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Hannah Milam
10/12/2018 05:50:46 am
I related to the beginning portion when you described how you would always do the whole project, voluntarily. I did the same thing because I didn´t trust that my group would get it done without my ¨leadership.¨ Leadership isn´t always stepping up in situations. It´s trusting other people to help you and them achieve a bigger goal. I had never really heard delegation described that way, but it was refreshing to see that word in the leadership context.
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AuthorJust a highschool senior that wants to become a better leader! ArchivesCategories |