Lead! Follow! Or Get Out of the Way?
Empowering Your Leadership Team: The Art of Letting Go
As a business owner, have you ever found yourself buried in decisions, from strategic moves to minor details, wondering how to let go and trust your team? It’s a common challenge but learning to delegate effectively is essential for growth. We are so used to calling all the shots, making all the tough decisions, thinking through the strategy and implementation…we’ve been doing it from the business’ inception, after all. Yet, as you grow, this not only becomes practically impossible, it can be detrimental to propelling your growth, as well as causing dissatisfaction amongst your leadership team…and even other team members.
First, get yourself comfortable with the idea that you are no longer calling all the shots. The big picture, the strategy, and the direction you are taking your business and team? You should still be involved with that. However, you need to settle in your mind that every decision will no longer be made by you.
Second, create a box for your team. Everything within that box? The team leader or member has latitude to accomplish their objectives. If they need to stray outside that box, that is when you get involved, or maybe their direct leader. The box could be really simple. As a matter of opinion, I believe the box should be as simple as possible but have firm boundaries.
An example of a box could be this: Imagine you have an office manager with a staff of two. The box could be as simple as: You have the authority to issue credits and refunds up to 10% of a job without seeking permission if doing so will improve customer experience. You have the authority to counsel and, if necessary, discipline your staff, provided it is done in accordance with our policy of treating team members with respect and patience if they are learning. You have the authority to recommend to a team member’s direct supervisor any correctional action if you receive a customer complaint. You will monitor expenses and provide a weekly report at a date of your choosing. All other duties will be accomplished as you see fit, but you will write down the processes by which they are done and ensure they can be found in the event of your absence.
This is a simple box. You don’t need to decide how any of this is accomplished. You don’t need to be made aware of every incident and give your two cents. You have created a framework in which this team member can work with minimal input. They can accomplish their tasks however they see fit so long as it fits inside your vision and values.
I have found this to be an extremely energizing course of action. Not only does it free you up to focus on the decisions which are most critical (decision fatigue is a real thing), but it also gives you the benefit of different approaches to tasks and issues. There is, after all, more than one way to skin a cat. I have been amazed at some of the more creative ways my teams in the past have tackled issues when left to decide for themselves. Occasionally, you might have to step in and remind the team of the boundaries of the box. Sometimes you may even need to redefine the box. But you will find that giving latitude to your team brings with it a certain amount of unrealized energy that can have an explosive factor across all disciplines within your organization.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way… and sometimes you lead better when you get out of your team’s way.
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