Coaching in Analogies #8: The President doesn't do his own laundry

An elementary school student’s sense of fairness can be legendary. So it was that I had a fun conversation with my daughter a few years ago. She was just at the age where she was starting to be helpful around the house -- instead of needing to be distracted or entertained while her mom and I did all of the chores. There’s always a lot to do, from making the bed to feeding the dog to doing the dishes. And laundry.

My daughter was outraged, OUTRAGED, when I happened to mention that the President of the United States doesn’t do his own laundry.

That’s not fair! Why is it that I, as an 8-year-old, must help sort, fold and put away while the most powerful person IN THE WORLD doesn’t have to do so?

I explained that the presidency is also likely the most complicated, most impactful job in the world. Having a staffer do the President’s laundry helps free up the President’s mind, and schedule, to do the job better. And the person doing the laundry instead of the President is performing an act of national service.

I think she got the idea. In the years since, I’ve asked a number of clients to consider when they might be unnecessarily doing their own laundry at work. You have a strong and capable staff. You trust them. You depend on them. When was the last time you took a look at your routine, necessary tasks and figured out what you could delegate more? It may feel like a privileged offloading of work, or even like a shirking of responsibilities if you’re a doer by nature. But it frees you up to do the things that only you can do as the leader.

My daughter has yet to come back to me with the suggestion that she needs to preserve her energies for homework, or some extracurricular activity, and should therefore be able to staff out her laundry. I suppose it’s only a matter of time.

Coaching prompts:

• Is this task, project, meeting or conversation the highest and best use of your time and attention?

• How can you help others understand that your time and attention are your most valuable resources and should be treated that way?