“stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel (NOT BOB DYLAN)

Thou Shall Not Middleman

“Can you send Nate an email for me?” is what you say.

But what you mean is “Can you do this thing I don’t want to do, but be sure to do it the way I would do it.”

When you give someone a task that you are better equipped to handle you are creating a Middleman. It will take them (at least) three times as long as you to accomplish the task because they will need to be educated about things like the context of the situation and how you would like it handled. This creates frustration for you, for the Middleman, and for your team because instead of the task getting done - everyone is having to educate someone about Nate and why he is being emailed.

All the while Nate hasn’t been emailed.

Do your own work.