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Business Owners’ Biggest Mistakes: Failing to See the Value in Delegation
May 15, 2018
Every business owner wants to see all of their hard work and financial investment result in a company that is well-run, profitable, and successful in every sense of the word, but unfortunately, that does not always happen. There are a number of mistakes business owners can make to put a damper on their best-laid plans, but here at The Alexander Group we find that one of the most common is that employers too often fail to see the value in delegating duties to their employees.
It Starts with a Skill
Many American businesses get their start with just a single person or small group of people that possess a specific skill for which they consider themselves experts. Maybe they are very good at putting new roofs on houses or baking cupcakes or designing and printing banners and billboards. Whatever the case may be, many businesses start by having the talented individual doing literally everything as they work to get their project off the ground. The good ones grow, naturally, but with growth comes increased responsibility.
Eventually, Business Owners Can’t Do Everything
Put simply, many businesses do eventually expand to the point where the original owner flat-out can’t do everything anymore. What starts as an individual doing what they love and getting paid for it turns into something much bigger, with scheduling duties and financial responsibilities and technological upgrades all worming themselves into the business owner’s daily life. At a certain point, while growth absolutely is a good thing for business, the owner just can’t keep up with it all. That’s when the smart ones hire people they can trust to help with these types of duties.
Employees Want to Know They Are Trusted
There very often is a sense among business owners that, “Nobody can do this as well as I can,” which is understandable considering how much of their own time and money they have dumped into the business. However, employees that don’t feel as though their boss trusts them tend to do the bare minimum, to say nothing of how it may affect their morale in the workplace. Employees lose trust in the owner’s ability to lead and manage when they aren’t allowed to do the types of things they were hired to do. What type of boss wants that for their employees?
Good Business Owners Delegate to Trustworthy, Talented Employees
When business owners delegate what they are not good at doing to skilled, competent people, they are going to have a much stronger organization. Nobody is great at everything, and no business owner can be an island. Surrounding yourself with people you know can do a great job is the only way to survive, and entirely too many businesses have failed simply because they could not delegate duties to employees.
It’s understandable that as a business owner you want to oversee every minute detail of your business’ daily operations, but it’s simply not possible. Not only that, but it can create a hostile environment for your employees, and what business ever has been successful employing people that weren’t happy at their job? Make them happier and more productive, and make your business run more smoothly by delegating the duties that honestly require delegation.
