by Dr. Stephanie Barnes
I remember the day that I figured out that I was not a superhero. I was six years old and decided to play dress up as my favorite superhero, Wonder Woman. No one could tell me that I was not Wonder Woman! My belief was so great that I jumped off my Granny’s flower bed to fly. Much to my horror, I discovered mid-jump that I could not fly! My Aunt Cynthia watched the whole thing from the kitchen window, but could not tell me about the whole gravity thing in time. She was able to scoop me up afterwards and bandage my skinned knee and kiss away my hurt feelings.
As adults, many of us suffer from the Superhero Syndrome. We think we can do it all. We think we can defy time, gravity and reality. We feel that we have to do it all ourselves. It is time to stop! Doing it all is not a sign of super ability, but is a blaring message of an inability to prioritize, categorize and delegate. Delegation is not a bad word. It does not mean that you cannot. It does mean that you are capable of using your time wisely and are willing to share the load with someone else.
A frequent myth of Superhero Syndrome is that no one can do it better than you can. Not only is this not true, but it overlooks the fact that you can do more when you work with a team. Whether this is in the workplace, marketplace, community or your home, you will be more powerful when you learn to let others help you be great.
Real superheroes master the art of delegation. Delegation is the deliberate decision to get assistance from someone else. In its simplest form, delegation begins with a power question: “Can you help me…?” Rather than doing it all yourself, you should only keep the tasks that require your unique talents, require your sole expertise and those that bring you the most joy. Delegate those tasks at which you are not good, those that are not the best use of your time, or those that deplete your energy. When you delegate more tasks to others, you are able to take on more challenging tasks that encourage your growth and personal development. Delegation is not lazy. It is smart!
Even superheroes have sidekicks. The Lone Ranger had Tonto, Batman had Robin…even Wonder Woman worked with the Justice League. Truly powerful people never work alone. You will set yourself up for failure and a whole bunch of stress if you don’t engage competent and trustworthy people to help you to execute your plans.
You cannot create greatness by yourself. You need great people to do great things. Don’t be afraid to leverage the talent of a team to build up your strength and expand your capacity.
As you think about building your team, think of these seven roles:
- Completers (those who can get things done)
- Counselors (those who can give great advice)
- Connectors (those who can connect you to others or other opportunities)
- Coaches (those who can refine you and get you to the next level)
- Conciliators (those who can help you mediate peace in conflicts and confrontations)
- Combiners (those who combine their superpower with yours to make exponential greatness)
- Comforters (those who make it better when you fall off the porch)
So, Wonder Woman, who is in your league?
Stephanie D. Barnes is an attorney, author, speaker and career strategist. She can be reached at stephanie@drstephaniedbarnes.com or visit www.drstephaniedbarnes.com.