My two week old daughter is screaming like a pterodactyl.
I grimace at the sound and pull the swaddle tighter.
She screams louder.
Her startled eyes dart back and forth, pleading for freedom.
Then, abruptly, she closes her eyes,
and sleeps peacefully for two hours.
Bliss.
It’s the screaming louder that makes it a challenge.
It makes it hard to experience the benefits of the swaddle.
Because when your child screams louder you stop what you’re doing.
Usually.
Babies fight the swaddle even though it comforts them.
You have to wrap them tighter than feels comfortable.
You have to withstand the stronger cries and the startled eyes.
To experience the benefits.
You have to go through the fire.
It’s just like delegating.
Initially it’s frustrating, nerve-wracking, and a lot of work.
It takes patience, strength, and determination.
And skill.
Every child care professional I’ve met uses the swaddle.
It comforts babies.
And it’s ridiculously counter-intuitive.
It wasn’t until I watched a professional swaddle my child that I was able to do it myself.
I’d read the books.
I’d searched the internet.
I knew the information.
It was tough to apply it.
Through the fire.
You’ve probably tried to delegate.
You’ve almost certainly been burned.
Someone took advantage.
They screamed louder and you backed down
Instead of moving the process forward.
Delegate so Work Gets Done.
How do you get through the fire?
great post!
Very intriguing and effective analogy. What I walk away from this post is the importance of persistence and the call for courage when faced with initial push-back.
Thanks, Andy.
Lora, Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful comments. That push-back is indeed an important part of the process, and you’re right that initially it takes courage to push through that phase of delegating where the work is not getting done. Once one has the experience to recognize that it’s a normal step in the delegating process, and the skills to take the next step to move the process forward, courage turns to confidence.