Grinch Moments – I hope we all experience them!

As a leader, have you delegated a task and subsequently kept your team members from growing? Before you say, “Of course not!” please dig deeper with me. When a team member is not meeting our expectations of an assignment we’ve delegated to them, we may think, “It’s easier to do it myself and save them from this work that’s over their head!” And we might be right…this time. But what about next time?

Are we creating the opening that allows our team members to grow by coaching them through it, or do we fool ourselves into believing we are helping them by excluding them from being part of the solution? It might be faster this one time, yet unless the long-term strategy is to be a team of one, I believe it’s selfish of us to think that doing their work ourselves and choosing not to delegate to and elevate or develop our team members is better. Perhaps we were selfish because there was still too much on our plate, someone had let us down, or a team member hadn’t understood our expectations after a couple of tries. It happens to the best of us. We get frazzled and become more selfish and Grinch-like.

So, Amy, are you comparing our well-intentioned selfishness to the selfishness of the Grinch? Why, yes, I am.

Whether or not you celebrate the holiday, you may be familiar with Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas movie. The Grinch is a selfish soul, and feeling alone in the world, he sneaks into Whoville and steals Christmas, gifts and all, right out from under the noses of all those Whos, even cute little Cindy Lou Who. Just as we steal the gift of conquering a new assignment right out from under the noses of our team members who are awaiting our help to develop their skills.

Now that we’re all up to speed on the story, why did I entitle this “Grinch Moments – I hope we all experience them”? Instead of accelerating through that downward spiral when we selfishly rip assignments back from our team members “to make it easier on them and to get it done,” I challenge us to find the real meaning of delegation and know that it is based upon loving our team members enough to help them develop the skills to succeed and celebrate that success.

Spoiler alert: In the end, the Grinch’s heart grew 3 sizes that day when he learned that the holiday had a deeper meaning than that of gift-giving and fancy dinners and that the very spirit of it was based on love.

I challenge you to share with your team — “This year, I’m going to be more like the Grinch,” and then explain it’s the Grinch whose heart (and mind, I believe) will grow 3 sizes this year. We will grow from the knowledge that we know the real meaning of delegation and focus on the selflessness of teaching our team members, helping them to enjoy the gifts of their newfound skills. May your heart grow 3 sizes as you experience the real meaning of delegation with your team members.

Teddy, my dog, and I watch The Grinch each year, mainly because Teddy has a crush on Cindy Lou Who, I think. Enjoy the photos of Teddy, who appears to be the poster boy for the kennel he loves to visit for his vacations.

Bonus reading: To stretch this Grinch theme even further…if you’re a leader and have felt “it’s lonely at the top,” perhaps you can start to relate to the Grinch whose loneliness drives him to want to make everyone feel as he feels. Hang on. We’re not Grinches. We are leaders, and we care about our team.