My lawn looks better than it ever has. It is an interesting observation and situation. The work and its outcome just hasn't been important enough to someone, other than me, to take the time necessary to maintain a lovely lawn. While it has always mattered to me, I just haven't had the time nor energy for proper maintenance, so I have learned to delegate. About 18 months ago, I caved and hired a gardener to care for my grass and yard. He comes every other Tuesday and within twenty minutes, his team of four have run a 25-yard blitz across my lawn and through my flower beds to perk it all up and make my day happy.

I don't mind paying my gardener. He is an expert and knows exactly what to do to make my yard look nice and well-cared for. There are those in my life that have said it is a waste of money and that I should be more careful with how I spend given my situation: single mom, new job, shaky market, and all. I adamantly say, "I know what I am doing. It saves me considerable aggravation to know it will be taken care of on a regular basis and that I don't have to nag or kill myself to get it done." It just gets done every other Tuesday between 8:00 and 8:30AM. The walks are swept, sprinklers are repaired, bushes are trimmed... what more could I want? Work that is done when I expect it to be.

Once a month, an envelope is wedged in my front door jamb that contains an invoice that I gladly pay. I am happy to know that a simple need is met and I never mind paying for it. I am sure employers feel the same way. Imagine what it must be like to have to pay an employee or vendor that is not living up to their end of the bargain. Oh, the lawn looks nice every once in a while, when they feel like it or the debris is swept away when there isn't something better or more exciting to do.

I have no problem micro-managing or being micro-managed in the beginning, if it produces results and a well-mentored employee. I also have no problem with delegating work that is better and more easily done by an expert, even if it might cost me a bit more. Employers or clients feel the same way. They want tasks completed and outcomes met. Value is always a good investment.

I have been directing theater for many years and I love to build a show out of nothing; it is exciting to see it all come together. There is a term in theater called "line reading." This is when the director tells an actor exactly how to say a line by reading it or saying it out loud, the exact way the director wants it executed. The emphasis and pronunciation are definitive because it has been clearly and vocally laid out and demonstrated for the actor. There are some directors who refuse to "line read," they like their actors to find the right way by exploration or by giving them vague hints. I am not one of those directors. I will line read when I see that the actor just doesn't get it or is struggling -- just as a manager or boss should say or exhibit exactly what is needed for success, comfort, and peace of mind.

Sometimes, it just has to be spelled out. F-U-L-F-I-L-L-M-E-N-T. A nice way to say, "Do your job."



© by rayannethorn