Try someone new

Give newcomers real responsibilities

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to include new folks in featured roles.
Make the most of the enthusiasm of newcomers to your team.

(00:27):
This will invest them more deeply in the team and
build their skills while also lightning everyone else's loads. So
I recently heard of a precinct where an enthusiastic young
adult was tapped to be the poll worker, helping to
direct folks where to go. Voters were accustomed to seeing

(00:48):
their older neighbors helping in this role, but this new
face changed the dynamic. It was a reminder that voting
isn't just something you do because you always do it.
It is an exciting privilege. Tapping someone new can help
show that at work and in volunteer contexts, Giving new

(01:14):
people important responsibilities that they can in fact handle does
many good things for starters. There is no better way
to fold people into a community. When a new hire
is asked to collect everyone's feedback on a proposal or
to write a draft of a document that will include
everyone's notes, she will get to know everyone on the team.

(01:39):
Such delegation can also save other people time. You can
always edit the document your new hire produces, but not
being the one to create it from scratch can free
you up for other things. You may also find out
that you have untapped resources, particularly in volunteer contexts. People

(02:00):
might have skills that compliment what you already have, or
people may see ways to do things differently. Institutional memory
is important, but pairing a new volunteer with a veteran
one can allow you to give the new person significant
responsibility without worrying about things going awry. The new person

(02:22):
might also bring new enthusiasm to something that could probably
use it. If you are a teacher or a parent,
the same logic holds for kids as it does for newcomers.
I know of an expert teacher who liked to remind
his novice colleagues to ask themselves. Would my students be

(02:43):
better served by doing this for themselves? This is such
a helpful question for anyone to ask. Can your preschooler
pick out his own clothes? Can your twelfth grader call
the college admissions office to schedule an interview and doing
so build her confidence? You can invite the young people

(03:05):
in your life to contribute to shared endeavors too. For example,
older kids can prepare a dish for family gatherings, be
the lead on day to day care for pets or plants,
and take on other important, rewarding household responsibilities. When you
are hosting a family gathering, even younger children can understand

(03:29):
and fulfill the responsibility of making sure everyone feels welcome.
Giving responsibilities like these two young people honors them while
also spreading around ownership and responsibility. When you aim to
give responsibilities to new people, you engage more hands to

(03:50):
make lighter work well also welcoming people. You will reap
the benefits in the short term and for the future.
If you try offering an important responsibility to someone new,
you can tell me how it goes at Laura at
Laura vander Kam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

(04:16):
Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at

(04:37):
before Breakfast pod that's b the number four then Breakfast
p o D. You can also shoot me an email
at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com
that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters
thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.

(05:01):
Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For
more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart
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favorite shows. Yea.