To live a truly meaningful life, you need freedom of time. What’s the use of having money if you don’t get enough time to spend it on the things you enjoy doing? Sure, you have adorable kids and a loving partner. Then again, do you have enough free time to cherish their presence? Whatever it is that matters to you, you need time to fully enjoy it.
Everyone gets the same number of hours in a day. But not everybody gets the same value out of it. The key is to develop the skills that will allow you to take control of your time … and win in life!
In his ‘triarchic model’, the American psychologist Robert Sternberg classifies intelligence into three parts: analytical intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence. He emphasizes that there is more to success than just traditional intelligence, or what generally falls under the category of analytical intelligence (what we recognize as academic-problem solving).
Practical intelligence, for one, helps us with our everyday tasks. And this goes beyond just getting things done. Managerial success, for instance, is determined less by academic knowledge than by a shrewd ability to effectively manage yourself, your tasks, and other people. As a matter of fact, business executives who score high on practical intelligence tests tend to receive higher performance ratings and earn bigger salaries.
One of the key skills that determine a person’s practical intelligence is his ability to delegate tasks and responsibilities.
Leadership and delegation – What successful people are made of
Success in life requires stepping into a leadership position. Whether you are trying to run a business, manage a household, or get through college, you need to have the leadership skills to tackle everyday tasks and reach your goals. Leadership is about taking the initiative, holding the reigns, and getting things done.
People who meet outstanding success are those who make one of the most difficult transitions for leaders – that of taking the shift from doing to leading. This translates to learning to delegate effectively. Delegation allows you to be in two places at once. It lets you cultivate and make use of other people’s talents, skills, and time. It also enables you to tap into the power of synergy, where ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’.
The Importance of Delegation
Efficiency
You achieve greater efficiency when you can transfer duty to people whose skills better match the responsibility. This way, tasks will be done more effectively and at a faster rate. You get to save on time, a highly valuable commodity. Moreso, allowing others to carry out routine tasks lets you focus on the big picture. You get to expel more time and energy on planning and strategizing for your next crucial steps. Before you know it, you will be meeting your big goals.
Relief
One of the greatest problems in this modern world is that people are spreading themselves too thin. Trying to tackle too many things can keep you on the edge. Just looking at your to-do list gets you overwhelmed, and your stress levels shoot up. Our body deals with stressful situations the way it does with danger, it releases hormones like epinephrine and cortisol. Such elevated levels of stress hormones lead to increased heart rate and blood pressure, and a generally revved-up nervous system. While this bodily reaction helps us properly deal with dangerous situations, it can cause problems when it persists. Prolonged stress has been linked to several physical and emotional disorders, including stroke, hypertension, heart attacks, asthma, sexual dysfunction, depression, and anxiety.
Learning to properly delegate allows you to unload several tasks, and have more space to just sit back and relax. You may not realize it, but this could be the greatest gift you give yourself.
Development
Leaders often have skills and abilities that are worth passing down to others. Delegating tasks lets you do just that. Beyond just helping others develop their own skillset, delegation also lets you work on your personal development. One of the best ways to reinforce your knowledge base is by teaching others. More so, there’s value in nurturing your mentoring skills. Mentors and coaches tend to gain professional and personal satisfaction as they share their expertise with other people.
Delegation also lends you more time to learn new skills and extend your knowledge base. Many of the greatest success stories involved a lifetime of nonstop learning. Legendary personalities embrace lifetime learning or the ongoing and voluntary pursuit of knowledge for both professional and personal motivations. It’s what the likes of Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg have in common – they love reading and learning.
Go ahead and embark on your journey to success. Your idea of success can be as simple as having more time for your family, or as big as building the next unicorn startup. Whatever your goal may be, feel free to embrace available resources. From using productivity apps to hiring a virtual assistant, your possibilities are endless.