Are you doing too much? You probably are and don’t know how to whittle down that massive list of responsibilities. Your work load includes administrative, pastoral and an array of plain old random responsibilities. The problem is due to the fact that you cannot streamline what it is you need to do. And, the reason you cannot streamline is because you have not properly delegated.
To delegate takes practice and even skill. It isn’t always as simple as saying, “
Please do this.” or “
You are in charge of that.” And the reason it’s not simple is because you might not recognize what really needs to be delegated. You might pass off a task; however, it’s the wrong one. You might give someone an assignment to something that makes little to no difference. If you don’t know how to delegate you’ll stay frustrated and overwhelmed. To figure out what needs to be passed off you should:
- Get An Outside Perspective – Have someone you know and trust observe your ministry in motion. To get the best perspective have a fellow youth worker or one of your veteran volunteers to take a look. Afterwards sit down and let them tell you what they saw. Have them ask questions like, “Why are you doing this?” or “Why aren’t you giving that away?” Listen to their advice and apply it.
- Take Time Off – Another way of getting an outside perspective is by removing yourself from the equation. Whether it’s a vacation or just taking a day off, see what happens when you are missing. Sit down with your team and have them review the program. What did you assume they would know? What is something you usually take for granted? This will enable you to see where there are gaping holes in your leadership.
- Write Them Out And Prioritize – The reason you might struggle with delegating is because you don’t know which of your responsibilities are must do’s. The best way to know this is by writing out all of your tasks and responsibilities and then prioritize them. Take your top three to five and consider those the areas you need to keep in your domain. Then work on delegating the rest of the items on the list.
Delegation is one of the most important tools to growing your ministry because it increases your capacity. Don’t be afraid to share the burden of responsibilities with others, just figure out which ones to hand off.
What do you need to do less so that your ministry can do more?
