There is a fairly common scenario at the beginning of a small business, when the idea comes to life and things kicks in. The weight of being an owner is usually heavy on the business owner, who battles many things at the same time: learning how to set it up, understanding the market, explaining the idea, marketing, sales, handling requests, and delivery. This is the point where they learn everything and have to do everything.
But this good working habit turns bad when they insist on doing everything themselves, even when the business scales. The idea of doing everything at once may actually kill the business and, not to be dramatic, slowly kill you if you don’t learn where you are making the mistake.
A story from the trenches
I am going to share a story and describe a leader you may recognise, and many will certainly recognise this archetype. I was in my 30s when I started working in a tech company where the owner had to be consulted on everything. And I mean EVERYTHING! It was very strange for me to see that every decision, from what soap we used in the kitchen to the messages on the walls, had to be sent for approval. What wasn’t strange was that this person was also the bottleneck for everything. We would all ask each other (for different reasons) why this or that hadn’t been handled, and everybody pointed to the owner. So, we ended up in a circle of hell.
We were employed to do a job that couldn’t be done because the owner insisted that everything be run for approval. They were a good person (don’t get confused and assume they were some kind of dictator) but being used to doing everything themself “the right way”, and perhaps having had to deal with a couple of messes created by others, created a leader who was suffering (their health was declining) and a business that was going nowhere.
Just imagine how many emails and Teams messages they received in one day. They had to spare time they didn’t have just for that alone. And they were still in every meeting, always late but present, lacking concentration because skipping from one meeting to another can do that to you. The underlying issue was the lack of trust. Even though they employed and paid well-qualified professionals who were good at their jobs, they couldn’t break the habit of letting go, setting up processes, and trying to rest a bit. I got the feeling they were under the impression that if they did that, everything would crumble.
The unfortunate truth is that I have encountered this archetype several times since, and my friends still describe these kinds of leaders to this day.
How to let go
A business owner carries weights that people rarely see. They think about invoices, unpaid bills, and paycheques. Tasks that don’t move. Decisions that aren’t made. For them, the work is not 9 to 5. When you own a business, working hours are almost non-existent. This may have to be the case when the business is taking its first steps, but it doesn’t have to be this way when the business scales. The good news when a business scales is that you now have all these professionals who can carry the weight you used to carry, but you have to let them (hence my confusion in the example above).
So, trust is the first thing you need to build for yourself, your people, and your business. You selected them, so let them do their job and make decisions within their scope.
The next thing you have to think about, in parallel with trust, is building processes. Usually, the problem lies in badly set-up processes or processes that don’t work for the type of company and business. And usually, the human element is in the mix. A very common problem that just adds to this is the lack of feedback loops that are closely tied to the processes. Either the process doesn’t have enough feedback loops, or people are scared to tell the truth. Either way, it doesn’t work in the long run, and it ends with the mess you often see and feel in companies.
And there is one more thing, the team. Having the right support around you makes all the difference. That means choosing people with the skills and mindset that correspond with your values, but also having a very honest relationship with them, so they can say what’s on their mind or stop you before you make a serious mistake.
The business is in the same state as the owner. If they behave as if they control everything, everything will be tied back to them. No one will dare to make a decision without asking. If they delegate, the ownership is tied to the people in the team.
Who do you want to be
Being a business owner is both a blessing and a burden. You get to do what you love, but at the same time you pay a price for it. And you are not alone in this. There are, I am sure, good people who want you to succeed. So, if you want to know why this is still not happening for you, why you are stuck choosing the soap for the company kitchen, I would like to offer you a complimentary session to determine the problem. You have a choice and a right to live your life more freely. Do that for yourself, your people, and your business.