The seven habits of highly effective people

Gofer Delegation 
 
      There are basically two kinds of delegation: "gofer delegation" and "stewardship delegation."    Gofer 
delegation means "Go for this, go for that, do this, do that, and tell me when it's done."    Most people 
who are producers have a gofer delegation paradigm.    Remember the machete wielders in the jungle?   
They are the producers.    They roll up their sleeves and get the job done.    If they are given a position 
of supervision or management, they still think like producers.    They don't know how to set up a full 
delegation so that another person is committed to achieve results.  Because they are focused on 

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THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE                                                                        Brought to you by FlyHeart 
methods, they become responsible for the results. 
      I was involved in a gofer delegation once when our family went water skiing.    My son, who is an 
excellent skier, was in the water being pulled and I was driving the boat.  I handed the camera to 
Sandra and asked her to take some pictures. 
      At first, I told her to be selective in her picture taking because we didn't have much film left.    Then I 
realized she was unfamiliar with the camera, so I became a little more specific.    I told her to be sure to 
wait until the sun was ahead of the boat and until our son was jumping the wake or making a turn and 
touching his elbow. 
      But the more I thought about our limited footage and her inexperience with the camera, the more 
concerned I became.    I finally said, "Look, Sandra, just push the button when I tell you.    Okay?    And 
I spent the next few minutes yelling, "Take it! -- Take it! -- Don't take it! -- Don't take it!"    I was afraid 
that if I didn't direct her every move every second, it wouldn't be done right. 
   That was true gofer delegation, one-on-one supervision of methods.  Many people consistently 
delegate that way.    But how much does it really accomplish?    And how many people is it possible to 
supervise or manage when you have to be involved in every move they make? 
      There's a much better way, a more effective way to delegate to other people.    And it's based on a 
paradigm of appreciation of the self-awareness, the imagination, the conscience, and the free will of 
other people.