This message is for all my micro-managers and control freaks out there. I know this concept is extremely hard for you. Heck, it was for me too until I learned how to change my thought process.
If you consider yourself a control freak then you want complete control and oversight over everything in the business but you also want freedom of time.
This is a situation where you CANNOT have your cake and eat it too. 🎂
Practicing the art of letting go is tough, especially when we want things done a certain way. But it’s the only way to scale your business. You are only ONE person and you only have a certain amount of hours in the day.
A good rule of thumb is that if someone will do any task at 80% of the quality you will, that’s good enough.
You will lose sleep, your hair and your mind trying to find someone to do as good a job as you or better. Typically small businesses do not have that type of budget. That’s a six to seven figure salary that you are looking for and there probably isn’t the margins to offer that.
Here’s what works best for small business owners like you and me…
- Give your new hire proper training and clear outcomes
- Put in place weekly KPI reviews so they can see their progress and you can too
- Create check and balances of what they have full power to do and what needs approval
- Get out of their way and let them make mistakes…it’s the only way to learn.
I’m at a place in my business where my team has 99% full executive power to do what they think is right to grow the business. I coach and mentor and provide feedback based on my experiences.
- Sometimes it’s a home run. They find new profit opportunities.
- Sometimes it’s a strike out. No one buys what they created.
But they know that we allow for testing, thinking outside the box and trying ideas. Heck, I know I have my fair share of wild ideas and some work and some don’t.
Give your team more power and you will probably be surprised that they are capable, smart and come up with awesome ideas.
It’s a paradox but releasing control is the fastest way to freedom.
Hire great people and get out of their way!
What have you let go recently? What is the next thing you want to hand off?