The Problem With Eisenhower's Delegation

How Individual Contributors Can Delegate Without Direct Reports

The Eisenhower Matrix has long been a cornerstone of time management, offering a straightforward framework for prioritization through two key dimensions: urgency and importance. The matrix suggests four action paths, each with its own distinct characteristics and challenges.

1. For tasks both urgent and important, immediate action is required. These are your critical deliverables that demand instant attention, such as production incidents or important, scheduled presentations. Time-sensitive stakeholder commitments also fall into this category.
   ➡️ You should do them immediately.

2. When facing important but non-urgent matters, strategic planning becomes your ally. These items often represent long-term value and deserve thoughtful scheduling. The key is to prevent these items from becoming urgent through proactive management.
   ➡️ You should actively plan them in your calendar.

3. The matrix suggests delegation for urgent but less important tasks.
   ➡️ Your should delegate them.

4. Finally, non-urgent and unimportant items should be eliminated from your workflow entirely. This requires both discipline and clear communication with stakeholders about priorities and resource constraints.
   ➡️ You should delete them.

While this framework served President Eisenhower admirably and continues to guide organizational leadership, item number 3 (Delegate) presents a challenge for individual contributors:

ICs don’t have direkt reports to delegate to.

Pragmatic Alternatives

Here are several pragmatic alternatives:

1. Ask a colleague on peer level

2. Ask someone from another department

3. Use GenAI tools like ChatGPT/Gemini/Claude/etc. for routine tasks

4. Consider external resources such as freelancers or service providers

5. Ask people on your team with other special skills, such as developers, UX specialists, or other roles

6. Implement automation solutions for repetitive tasks

7. Use shared service centers within your organization

8. Explore crowdsourcing platforms for specific challenges

This extended approach maintains the Eisenhower Matrix's core concept, but it also acknowledges the realities of individual contributors’ situations.

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What I read

As usual, I will list some of the best articles I read on the Internet. I will keep a list of the best articles (currently >800) at https://www.digital-product-management.com. These are today’s picks:

Explaining Business Models To Employees: A framework to explain the main business mechanics of a company.

Tough Conversations as a Product Manager: How to Deliver Bad News.

Product Ops identity crisis: What is product operations?