I am fortunate to work with many highly competent people. Most are well-educated and have been navigating their careers for sometime. Yet, because they do so many things well, they often diminish their greater contribution by taking on too many tasks to create smaller ones.
Just because you are good at everything from grocery shopping to running the board meeting does not mean you should say “Yes, I’ll do it.” And, just because you make the bed better than your spouse, does not mean that you should be the one who always makes the bed. The auto-default to the most competent person perpetuates a cycle of you doing more and others doing less. Our friends, family and co-workers become lethargic overtime and we get tired and fed up with the imbalance. All parties are diminished.
What you want to say “Yes” to are the things that you can do significantly better than almost anybody else. This is where you will find your greatest contribution. So before you go into auto-default and start mowing the neighbor’s lawn, consider this: If you are doing the things that others can do, is it keeping you from doing the things that only you can do?
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Reading this blog a little late but I want to add that not only “is it keeping you from doing the things that only you can do” but it is keeping others from doing what they do best and keeps them from participating and feeling valuable.
Great point Heather! Yes we need to allow others the space to grow–and that’s often done by getting out of their gardens.
Thanks for being a reader.