Often one of the hardest things leaders find to do is to let go of key areas of the business and let others take responsibility.
This is especially true for business owners who treat their business as their ‘baby’ – and where there is inevitably an emotional attachment.
The issue becomes even more acute if the leader has excellent skills in the area (or believes that they have) as this is their ‘comfort zone’ where they know they can be effective and typically enjoy working in the field as well.
Sometimes the reason for not letting go can be even more serious, such as an inability to delegate effectively or a lack of trust in those to whom the work should be delegated.
Unfortunately, the ramifications of leaders failing to let others take up the reins has a dramatic impact on the business, for example:
– Having too many things to look after means that inevitably many of these don’t get the proper attention they deserve, leading to downstream impacts and even higher workload!
– The leader can often become the bottleneck so things don’t get progressed as quickly as they should.
– The business is unable to scale and grow.
– Staff become disengaged and opportunities for personal growth diminished.
The latter problem is especially serious. Gallup surveys over many years have consistently shown that around 70 per cent of staff are disengaged, meaning they will do what they need to, but typically no more – simply seeing work as just a means to an end.
Worse still, about 14 per cent of staff are actively disengaged, meaning they are actually working against the best interests of the company.
Just imagine what would be possible if both of these statistics could be reduced! I believe that many of the above issues can be solved relatively easily by simply being really clear on where each person sits within the company organisation and how their role contributes to overall business success.
This requires five key things:
1. Real clarity on what the business is trying to achieve, where it is going and why it exists.
2. A defined organisation chart that shows who reports to whom (i.e. who sets whose priorities).
3. A documented job or position description defining what each role is responsible for.
4. A clear understanding of what success looks like in each role (usually defined through Key Performance Indicators – also known as KPIs).
5. The authority and responsibility of each individual in the role to be the sole decision-maker for the area(s) for which they are responsible.
At first sight, the last item might seem like a massive risk, but it is absolutely essential that if someone has been given a role with defined responsibilities, they must be allowed to make the decisions related to these.
Gone are the days of the dictatorial manager, CEO or business owner who believes they have ‘decision rights’ on everything, since this necessarily leads to the problems noted above.
Of course, anyone with key decision-making authority would be well advised to seek and consider advice and input from others before coming to their own conclusion.
Mistakes will inevitably occur, but motivated staff will learn from these and do better next time becoming more proficient in the process.
So, if you are a manager who is feeling overloaded and too busy, ask yourself whether the five items listed above are in place and fully working for you. If not, actioning these will definitely help.
Ian Ash ACC AIECL AInstIB
Managing director
OrgMent Business Solutions – ombs.com.au
