Entrepreneurs must find ways to delegate
We were working with an entrepreneur who is embarking on some new territory. By the looks of things, his company is about to explode. He has plans to grow by acquisition, which is one way to grow a business.
However, his chief operating officer has concerns. The entrepreneur is trying to keep “everything on his plate.” There are serious gaps in infrastructure and bottlenecks that prevent actions from moving forward.
We see this common dilemma in growing businesses, and the source of the problems is many times the entrepreneurs themselves. I recently counseled a business owner over lunch. I wanted to talk to him about how his managers complain too many things must run by the president
before they get going.
No one but he has signature authority. All new hires must meet him first before being hired. All decisions must have his input before moving forward. He is also the main business development person and travels often to meet with potential customers.
He began lunch by complaining how he can’t get things to move forward. I picked up the lunch plate and said, “See this plate? As long as you keep every
thing on your plate, this is how big your company will ever be.”
For those who have started businesses, entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. It’s true that every entrepreneur eats a little bowl of crazy every morning before starting their day. Otherwise, they would throw in the towel.
But, those that understand, learn and adapt will have the success they dream about. Success, in part, is how the entrepreneur thinks through objectives and manages his or her time.
There is an important connection between confidence and leadership. When a leader can’t delegate and can’t trust the people around them, the underlying trait is fear and insecurity. The client at lunch spends a great deal of time projecting to the public a persona of confidence and competence. He sees himself as a visionary and a risk-taker. The irony is that, inside his company, his behaviors do everything but demonstrate confidence.
I had to be the messenger of the bad news. The person was shocked to find out he was sending out the opposite messages. Where he thinks controlling everything exemplifies his expertise, his employees believe it is a bad trait that will be the undoing of the business. They resent how they can’t be trusted or empowered. Fortunately, he is a thoughtful person who will, at a minimum, consider my words.
Demonstrating confidence is a more important trait than skill, knowledge, or even experience. It is the ability to build confidence in people put in place and hold them accountable that separates average leaders from great leaders. Leading with fear is always a mistake.
When a leader shows they believes in their team, it opens communications with employees to speak more candidly, opens up feedback, and aids in making tough decisions. If the leader consistently makes unilateral decisions, second-guesses the team’s decisions and becomes defensive when challenged, those behaviors damage the very component of excellent leadership — good followers.
Never underestimate just how motivating trust is to effective leadership. When people feel your confidence and trust in them, the more willingly they will be to invest their time, energy and loyalty to ensure the leader, the team and the company are successful.
When a leader shows they believes in their team, it opens communications with employees to speak more candidly, opens up feedback, and aids in making tough decisions. If the leader consistently makes unilateral decisions, second-guesses the team’s decisions and becomes defensive when challenged, those behaviors deteriorate the very component of excellent leadership — good followers.