How to Delegate: It’s Time to Eradicate the ‘Gofer’ Population!

You are probably familiar with the term ‘gofer’ which is a person who has to go fetch items such as coffee, dry cleaning, mail, etc. for someone higher up in the food chain of life. It is also a horrible form of delegation, which we will discuss in a hot minute. The term originated in North America, so apologies to any of our readers outside the U.S. and Canada who may not be familiar with the term.

The word ‘gofer’ is a pun on ‘gopher’ which is a type of fossorial rodent known for their fur-lined cheek pouches. These pouches help the gopher transport food back to their burrows as they are busy foraging underground – or whatever they do down there. Does anyone really know? I’ve never seen a gopher cam to confirm what they are doing down there. But for the purposes of this blog post let’s just assume they go get food, store it in their pouches and head back to their burrow so all the other little gophers can chow down!

In terms of how to delegate, gofer delegation, in my opinion, is something we not only need to move away from, but it is something we need to eradicate!

Before we define gofer delegation and discuss a better way for how to delegate, let’s quickly discuss…

What Delegation is and Why Is It Important?

Delegation is simply the act of giving the responsibility of doing something to someone else.

We delegate to others so we that we can better spend our time and energy on other high-leverage activities.

Many of us refuse to delegate because we figure it would take so long to explain what needs to be done, we might as well do it ourselves.

But in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Successful people realize that they cannot do everything themselves. By transferring responsibilities to people who are skilled and trained to handle things, you are increasing your effectiveness while helping others grow.

In his bestselling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen Covey describes two types of delegation: “gofer delegation” and “stewardship delegation.”

2 Types of Delegation

Let’s now do a deeper dive and ‘burrow into’ the two types of delegation:

Gofer Delegation

As I said in the introduction, most of us are familiar with this type of delegation. It’s when we delegate by telling others to “go for this, go do this, go for that, go do that – and come tell me when you are done”. It stems from when we back when we were the ones who had to produce the widgets ourselves. Once we are promoted to become managers or supervisors, we still have the mentality of the widget producer – being focused on producing results. So, we end up micromanaging the other person.

The problem with this method is that not only is this demotivating to them, but it limits our effectiveness. By being involved in every move they make it limits the number of people we can supervise which limits our effectiveness as managers.

Stewardship Delegation

A better way to delegate is something Covey calls stewardship delegation which is based on autonomy, creativity, the conscience and the free will of others.

Instead of micromanaging the other person, we tell them what we need done, let them choose a method (or help them develop a method), and hold them accountable for the results.

How to Delegate with Stewardship Delegation

There are 5 areas where Covey believes expectations must be set up-front in order to create clear understanding and commitment:

(1)  Desired results

This is when you communicate a clear and mutual understanding of what you want the person to accomplish. Take your time and be patient and make sure the other person has a good understanding of what the results will look like. Help them visualize the end result, how it contributes to the overall mission, and by when it should be achieved.

(2)  Guidelines

This is where you establish the parameters for which the person needs to operate within. You don’t want to specify too many otherwise you get into micromanaging. But you also don’t want the person to think they have more latitude than they to get the results only to find out they have violated some rule. Because if that happens, they may revert back to being a gofer saying, “Just tell me what to do, and I will do it.”

If you know any potential pitfalls, let them know. Don’t make people reinvent the wheel, help them to learn from your mistakes and what not to do. Just don’t tell them how to do it, let them figure it out on their own – empower them; sometimes they will require your help to figure out the method to use to accomplish their tasks.

(3)  Resources

It is important just as you established parameters for them to operate within back in #2 to let them know the resources that they have available to get the job done. One of the most important resources they have available is…you!

Let them know you expect them to come to you if they need help, otherwise you will expect them to achieve the desired results.

(4)  Accountability

Let them know how their performance will be evaluated and when it will take place.

(5)  Consequences

Specify the consequences that will result, both good and bad from getting the job done.

In my opinion, the most important part of how to delegate is to let them know that if they need help, if there is something that is beyond their control, or if they have questions they need to come to you immediately.

Otherwise, you are expecting them to get the agreed results by the agreed upon date or suffer the agreed upon consequences.

In other words, I will only get mad at you if you don’t come to me when you need help.

The key word is trust. Show people that you trust them enough to figure out how to do things by a certain deadline without micromanaging them. At the same time, trust them to come to you if they need help while being held accountable to get the agreed-upon results.

Recall the Concept of Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose…

..that we discussed previously. As Daniel Pink said, there are 3 ways that we can ignite the fire related to people’s intrinsic motivation. Or as he says: “Around the desire to do things because they matter, because we like it, they’re interesting, to be a part of something important.” ³ This involves 3 elements that can be leveraged:

(1)  Autonomy – being able to direct our own lives and have some control over what we do.

(2)  Mastery – having the opportunity for improvement.

(3)  Purpose – being part of something that we are connected to.

By utilizing stewardship delegation, you are also leveraging these 3 elements of intrinsic motivation.

I Have Some Good News and Some Bad News

The good news is that according to the National Wildlife Foundation, “Most pocket gopher species are relatively common and not of conservation concern.” ²

The bad news is that the gofer population is still going strong! But hopefully, after reading this blog post you will do your part to eradicate it once and for all!

Until next time, be nice to gophers, say no to gofer delegation and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick

Use it or Lose It – How to Delegate

To utilize stewardship delegation for how to delegate, make sure you set expectations in the following 5 areas:

(1)  Desired results
(2)  Guidelines
(3)  Resources
(4)  Accountability
(5)  Consequences

When to Use It

When you are delegating at work, at home to your kids or wherever else you may need to know how to delegate.

What Do You Think?

Have you used or been a recipient of gofer delegation or stewardship delegation? Do you have any other thoughts on how to delegate effectively? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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References

¹ Covey, S. R. (2004). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Restoring the character ethic. New York: Free Press.

² https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Pocket-Gophers

http://www.havahart.com/gopher-facts