by Marcus Straub
Business owners typically dream of creating greater freedom, wealth and happiness — to exert greater control over their destinies. More specifically, they usually start companies to achieve professional, personal and financial independence and often use these to travel, relax, give back and enjoy their lives as much as possible.
For many, however, this remains a dream only because they lack the mindset, skills, processes and people to make it a reality. There are a number of key factors that contribute to a business not being able to run effectively without the owner’s constant presence. Understanding these and making the necessary adjustments will position you to realize your dreams.
The owner is the only team member who can handle all aspects of the business: If you’ve created a situation in which you’re the only one who can effectively run your business, then you’re tied by necessity to daily operations. Your success here lies in hiring individuals with positive attitudes, who care and are competent and then providing ongoing professional development so they can excel and become leaders in their own right.
The owner micromanages and fears giving up control: If you’re an owner who believes no one else can run your business the way you do, you’re correct. You’re unique, and so is your overall perspective of your business. At the same time, there are individuals who could do an excellent, if not better, job than you. Relinquishing control appropriately can be learned and is made easier once competent team members, trust and effective delegation are in place.
The owner hasn’t mastered the art of delegation or understands the value of empowering the team: Learning to delegate tasks and projects to your team members is liberating for you and empowering for them. There are crucial components to effective delegation which one must become proficient at in order to do it effectively. The business owners I coach are amazed at the freedom they gain, the ownership their team members take on and how much smoother their businesses run once effective delegation is implemented.
Managers aren’t competent enough to run the business: A powerful component of delegation is it enables business owners to discover who’s capable of taking on the job and who’s not. If you already have a manager or managers in place and — through planned and effective delegation and careful observation on your part — you discover they’re not capable of running day-to-day operations effectively, you have two choices. You can develop them or replace them.
The business lacks structure, processes and a system of practical procedures: To achieve your goals, it’s imperative you have a system of simple and effective processes and operational procedures in place to deal with the situations that inevitably arise. The success of your company depends on it.
Business owners are often surprised and always delighted to discover how easy these are to create as well as how appreciated and liberating they are to everyone involved.
The owner hasn’t built a team that can effectively run the business in his or her absence: The fear associated with releasing day-to-day operations can be overcome by building a team that can actually run the business — and run it well — without the owner’s constant presence. When the success of your business depends solely upon you, you trap yourself into a job. Conversely, when you build a competent team and the responsibility for the success of the business is spread out through a team approach, everyone benefits. That includes the owner.
Countless businesses thrive under the day-to-day leadership of managers and team members while owners provide general oversight, direction and new ideas. As you release your fears and build an empowered team that can handle daily operations, this can be your reality, too.
There’s a lot to consider in developing successful hands-off leadership. With qualified business coaching and training, the thriving business of your dreams is within your reach. As you adopt a more powerful mindset; implement necessary structure, processes and systems; hire potential leaders and let go of those who aren’t; and offer them ongoing assistance in developing their potential, your dreams of greater freedom, happiness and success can be realized.
