1 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:20,920 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to include new folks in featured roles. 4 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 1: Make the most of the enthusiasm of newcomers to your team. 5 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: This will invest them more deeply in the team and 6 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:37,199 Speaker 1: build their skills while also lightning everyone else's loads. So 7 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,840 Speaker 1: I recently heard of a precinct where an enthusiastic young 8 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,239 Speaker 1: adult was tapped to be the poll worker, helping to 9 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: direct folks where to go. Voters were accustomed to seeing 10 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: their older neighbors helping in this role, but this new 11 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: face changed the dynamic. It was a reminder that voting 12 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: isn't just something you do because you always do it. 13 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: It is an exciting privilege. Tapping someone new can help 14 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:14,559 Speaker 1: show that at work and in volunteer contexts, Giving new 15 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: people important responsibilities that they can in fact handle does 16 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: many good things for starters. There is no better way 17 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: to fold people into a community. When a new hire 18 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: is asked to collect everyone's feedback on a proposal or 19 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: to write a draft of a document that will include 20 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: everyone's notes, she will get to know everyone on the team. 21 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: Such delegation can also save other people time. You can 22 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: always edit the document your new hire produces, but not 23 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: being the one to create it from scratch can free 24 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 1: you up for other things. You may also find out 25 00:01:54,560 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: that you have untapped resources, particularly in volunteer contexts. People 26 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: might have skills that compliment what you already have, or 27 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: people may see ways to do things differently. Institutional memory 28 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: is important, but pairing a new volunteer with a veteran 29 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: one can allow you to give the new person significant 30 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:22,639 Speaker 1: responsibility without worrying about things going awry. The new person 31 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:27,639 Speaker 1: might also bring new enthusiasm to something that could probably 32 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 1: use it. If you are a teacher or a parent, 33 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: the same logic holds for kids as it does for newcomers. 34 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: I know of an expert teacher who liked to remind 35 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: his novice colleagues to ask themselves. Would my students be 36 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: better served by doing this for themselves? This is such 37 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,919 Speaker 1: a helpful question for anyone to ask. Can your preschooler 38 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:55,959 Speaker 1: pick out his own clothes? Can your twelfth grader call 39 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: the college admissions office to schedule an interview and doing 40 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: so build her confidence? You can invite the young people 41 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:10,119 Speaker 1: in your life to contribute to shared endeavors too. For example, 42 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: older kids can prepare a dish for family gatherings, be 43 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: the lead on day to day care for pets or plants, 44 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: and take on other important, rewarding household responsibilities. When you 45 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: are hosting a family gathering, even younger children can understand 46 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:34,080 Speaker 1: and fulfill the responsibility of making sure everyone feels welcome. 47 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: Giving responsibilities like these two young people honors them while 48 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: also spreading around ownership and responsibility. When you aim to 49 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: give responsibilities to new people, you engage more hands to 50 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: make lighter work well also welcoming people. You will reap 51 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: the benefits in the short term and for the future. 52 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: If you try offering an important responsibility to someone new, 53 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: you can tell me how it goes at Laura at 54 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: Laura vander Kam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. 55 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of 56 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. 57 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 58 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 59 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: before Breakfast pod that's b the number four then Breakfast 60 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email 61 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com 62 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters 63 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:55,239 Speaker 1: thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch. 64 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,159 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For 65 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart 66 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 67 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: favorite shows. Yea.