“It’s easier if I just do it myself!”
If you are anything like me, this is a common phrase that comes to mind, multiple times a day. People make things complicated, and I know I will like the end result if no one else is involved.
While in theory it would be wonderful if there were a thousand of me running around, it may not be as effective as I think.
I recently read a book that was talking about growing your business and it said that if you want to grow your business by 20%, than you have to delegate 20% more of what you are currently doing. That means we, as owners or managers, have to trust someone with 20% more of our baby (aka: our businesses). It’s not easy.
So, how do we pry our fingers out of every aspect of our businesses and trust our employees to do what we have hired them to do?
There are a few things, but none of them are easy and none of them are quick. But, when you take time and do it right, they will allow you to grow your business.
1. Hire people you can trust.
We talk about hiring right all the time at Bob Clements International. This is, because, if you don’t start with people who are competent and you can trust, you will find yourself micromanaging them, and when that’s the case there is no way that you can step away and grow your business.
2. Core Values.
Establish your core values, but make them actionable. At BCI, our core values are Excellence, Integrity and Performance. While those are nice, they don’t really mean anything until you put action behind them. For us, we define Excellence as doing your absolute best. Our desire is that nothing is sent out that is less than the best we can deliver with the resources we have available. For us, integrity is defined as “if we say it, we will do it.” And third, when we talk about performance as a core value we challenge our team to be looking for ways that not only up the game of our organization, but for the dealerships we work with as well. When we establish core values, and put action to them it motivates our team and gives them clear direction on where they can go and what they can do.
3. Have scheduled time to check in with your team.
At least once a week, we sit down with our entire team at BCI. We make this a priority. While we have people all over the country at any given time, everyone stops what they are doing for an hour and checks in. During this time, we are able to make sure that everyone is on course for our objectives and goals. We are able to answer any questions that might have come up as a group. It also allows us to help clear up the “mental checklist” we have going on, wondering if everything is handled how we would want it handled.
We keep these meetings to one hour, maximum. We did the math and found exactly what a one-hour meeting costs us in term of lost time for our team. By keeping the numbers in mind, it is easier to keep everyone on track and our meetings on-point! Because in our business, just like yours, time is money.
As you begin to think about where the next year will take you, be strategic in how you delegate your responsibilities and find things that only you can do, and do them well. But, also identify things that you don’t have to touch and delegate them into the capable hands of your employees.
