By Monica O'Neil. First appeared in The Advocate.
Once upon a time, it was a forlorn looking patch of scruffy marri trees, gravel and a couple of blackboys. Not the natural beauty of bush land, but remnants of a semi-cleared hills block, left to its own devices for a couple of decades. A small shed adorned the centre of the patch. Piles of rocks were clustered here and there. The family needed sturdy shoes to traverse the terrain. This backyard, our backyard, needed a makeover.
Where was the team from Backyard Blitz? I needed them. I wanted to hand my ugly duckling yard over to them and go away for a few days to a beach resort where I would be pampered. When they had finished, they could call me to announce it was time to come home. I would arrive to my fresh, new, all expenses paid , magnificently designed and fully finished backyard.
The team from Backyard Blitz didn’t come. I did find myself surrounded by somewhat unenthused family. They loved the idea of a traversable, functional, and attractive backyard. One where they could have parties, talk with friends, quietly read or pray. But how were we to get it from the scruffy patch to the vision of grandeur?
First, I drew the vision on paper. They looked at it and nodded in vague agreement. But no-one moved. More to the point, the rocks didn’t move, the little shed didn’t move to its new place, the dangerous tree didn’t uproot itself, the path to my mum and dad’s house across the back didn’t appear.
The job was too big and heavy for me. I was going to have to get help.
I can fill a wheel barrow, but a bobcat can move small mountains in a single day. I called Trevor the bobcat guy. He looked at the paper plan and then he pushed and shoved things for a few days. I checked in with him most days in the morning to clarify my wishes and to hear any challenges and make any adjustments. I went off to my office. A couple of years of wheelbarrow work was done by the end of the week.
Then there was the deck. I had a book on how to build a deck. I’ve even built the occasional wooden thing. When I read the book I realised I was not going to try this one on my own. Rowland came to take over. The deck was in the hands of a craftsman. He looked at my paper picture, and then he built it. Now we all sit on it.
Then there was the path. Bricks, sand and more bricks. I needed help. I came up with a brilliant idea. A couple of decades prior, my husband and I had given birth to three beautiful children. They could help! I announced the working bee. Their groans didn’t frighten me. On the designated morning I woke them all. They slowly trudged out, bleary eyed and not sure that they wanted a back yard of beauty. They stood there. The moment had come. Delegate, or lose the opportunity. With great vigour I assigned them roles. Fill the barrow with bricks. Wheel the barrow to me. Unload the barrow. Don’t throw the bricks, place them. Right here, thankyou. More bricks please. Yes, you can stop soon. Keep the bricks coming. Please bring me yellow sand from that pile over there. You can use this shovel . Would you like to lay some of these bricks or keep barrowing?
Trevor and Rowland only needed a map, some clarification and a couple of simple “I definitely don’t wants....”. They caught the ideas, and after checking we were seeing the same thing, they proceeded very independently and happily to create great change.
The conscripted helpers, though initially a little less energetic, were soon happy to use their energy for the project. They were different to the two skilled men. They needed very specific instructions, constant oversight, frequent praise and feedback. At the end they felt like they had contributed.
Delegation means being in front of the programme, giving thought to whom, what and how to get things done. It brings the satisfaction of a project accomplished together, usually a better job, and often done more efficiently.
Delegating is marvellous!
1. Choose the tasks and projects to delegate.
2. Choose who to delegate to.
3. Choose the level of delegation.
- Which decisions can they make? Which ones need to come back to me?
- What can’t they do? Where are the fences, the ‘no go’ zones.
- How long before I want feedback? When do I want communication? Every day, at certain midpoints or calendar moments?
I’m only one girl. I could not have transformed our backyard on my own. I didn’t have to. But I did have to lead the project, decide what to delegate, who to and I had to keep an appropriate eye on the progress.
So, with a plan, a few good people and some delegation, the plan is becoming a reality and the family in the hills intends to live happily ever after
Maybe I could use those same skills in my work.