Don't Take the Monkey 🐒 – Issue 2
A Delegation principles that will change how you work with people
When I first started working as a manager 7 years ago, I felt awful. Every day, after going home I felt that I spent the whole day finishing the ToDo lists of other people rather than my own.
Here’s a sample everyday conversation of what happened back then:
My direct report: Hi boss, I’ve got this problem and I don’t know what to do.
Me: oh ok! Sure, leave it with me.
My direct report: Thank you so much!
Fast forward to January 2021 when I read The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey, it’s a great book that changed the way I delegate tasks.
Whenever someone comes to you with a problem and you say leave it with me, there’s an imaginary monkey that jumps from their back onto yours.
If you’ve got five people who work for you and they give you two monkeys a day, you’re taking 10 monkeys a day, you’re taking 50 monkeys a week and that’s too much.
It’s a common mistake that managers take too much work and don’t trust their team with enough responsibility.
Here’s what to do instead
Imagine the following conversation.
#1 “Boss, I've got this supplier and you know, he's causing me trouble, what shall I do? 🤷♂️”
❌ Don't say: leave it with me. That monkey will jump.
✅ Say: What have you tried so far?
#2 “Well, I've tried this, this and this 🤔”
❌ Don't say leave it with me. That monkey will jump.
✅ Say:
Well, why have you tried this? And they could go, “OK, yeah, I'll try that.”
Brilliant! How long will it take? And they will say I will get back to you tomorrow.
#3 “I have now 3 options but I don’t know which one to choose”
❌ Don't say: leave it with me, I’ll think about it. That monkey will jump.
✅ Say: How long would it take you to decide which one to pick? and they will say let me get back to you tomorrow with an option
#4 “I chose an option but we need the approval of the Marketing Manager”
❌ Don't say: leave it with me. That monkey will jump.
✅ Say: Hang on there. I'll phone him and I'll set up a meeting.
So you phone the marketing manager and you say I've got a friend with me here and he's having a bit of a problem. Would it be possible for him to come and see you with my authority?
Don’t take the monkey.