"Why can't they get this right?"

When I hired "Jen," my first employee, I thought everything would be smooth sailing. I'd chosen someone smart and hard-working, and I couldn't wait for her to start taking over some of the tasks I was ready to offload, so I could focus on the parts of the business I enjoyed.

That's not what happened. 

Things started well. But after time, well...Jen wasn't performing horribly. But her work wasn't up to my standard.

Over time, though, I realized: Jen wasn't the problem.

I was.

I was expecting Jen to take over tasks I had been doing for years...but I wasn't giving her the training she needed. I was handing her a job with minimal direction and basically saying, "figure this out."

I was making a mistake that even many season leaders make: Telling, but not showing.

Over time, I learned there's a better way to scale things you've learned to do well. 

It's called the 10-80-10 Rule.

The 10-80-10 rule is a principle that can help you lead better, get better results and practice emotional intelligence. But how does the 10-80-10 rule work? And how can it help you lead and scale effectively?

Let's dive in.

How the 10-80-10 rule works

The 10-80-10 Rule is simple. It basically says that once you've learned a task or process well, in order to lead and scale it effectively you must:

• spend the first 10 percent of the time training others how to do the thing.
• allow them to spend the next 80 percent of the time moving the thing forward.
• spend another 10 percent of the time polishing the thing and showing the other person how and why you're tweaking.

The 10-80-10 Rule helps you practice emotional intelligence because it manages expectations and puts everyone on the same page.

First, you acknowledge that you need to spend a significant amount of time at the beginning (the 10%) to make sure you're producing at a high standard. Doing so helps prevent frustration. You realize the other person won't "just figure it out"; you have to put in the time to show them exactly what you're looking for.

At the same time, the person you're training learns through doing and practice (the 80%), which helps them build confidence. (They're also helping immensely – because they're doing the most time-consuming part of the job.) 

Finally, by taking the last 10% of the time to polish, you ensure that the end result is high quality. Because the other person is expecting this, they shouldn't see your work as micro-managing; it's simply part of learning and growth – and scaling up effectively.

A caveat: The 10-80-10 Rule doesn't apply to all situations. There are times when you need to let your team members take complete ownership of a "thing," for various reasons (they know the thing better than you, they need more autonomy, etc.).

But if you're trying to scale and keep quality high, the 10-80-10 Rule is a great way to do it.

So, if you're struggling with your efforts to scale or delegate, try the 10-8-10 Rule.

10 percent: You start them off.
80 percent: They move it forward.
10 percent: You clean it up.

Because great leaders know: You have to show, not tell.

Inc