As the person who has the last say in everything that happens in my business, I, like all other business owners, run the risk of trying to micro-manage every last detail. One of the greatest lessons that I am learning is that I must simply let some things go. Having my “signature” on all matters of my business is one thing; having my hand in every single task and function is quite another.
Because this business is my heart and soul, I want to ensure that everything is done right. I want to oversee all these aspects because I know the way in which I want things done and I want to make sure that tasks are completed in a way that reflects my business and personal philosophy. This only makes sense—like most other business owners, I have saved and scrimped and fretted. The responsibility for success is most assuredly on my shoulders, so I want to make sure that success will come.
The only problem with this is that overseeing every little aspect of the business can become a full-time job in itself. I find myself staying late at night putting check-marks on my employees’ work and ensuring that it all comes up to snuff, when I could be allocating time to the tasks that I am actually responsible for as the owner of my business. Not only does this kind of task control take over my professional life, it also hurts my personal life as well.
For example: if I had it my way, I would have a clean list of prospective clients in our database, but the fact is that it really doesn’t matter. I can clean the list or just delete the questionable ones. Yet, this is just one example of how I realize that I need to keep my hands out of each of these aspects of my business. As the owner of my business, it is not my job to keep a fresh list of prospects in our database, nor is it up to me to hire entry level staff and interview interns. The time that I spend cleaning something up is time that I could be spending on larger questions facing my business such as future considerations and the overall functionality of the organization.
Really, when you think about it, this micro-management style really comes down to a lack of confidence in my staff and a belief that only I am aware of how to do things the way that I think they should be done. It is a controlling style of management, and it is not the most effective personnel management style. How inspired will my employees feel if I don’t show them even a modicum of trust and respect in their decision making . They will likely not feel too eager to take initiative or to make suggestions, if they feel that I will inevitably shoot down their input, or alter it severely in most cases.
In this respect, it is important to find that necessary balance between having your say and vision obvious in your business, but also allowing your staff to work for you, not against you. You need to firstly hire staff that you believe share your vision and are capable of delivering that to your clients, and will make decisions similar to your own, in your absence. This will leave you time to focus on the bigger questions facing your business and you can feel rest assured that your staff are looking after the “little problems” on your behalf.
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