I was just engaged by a CEO to coach two people: a manager and one of her employees. She (the manager) has problem with the employee’s accountability. He (the employee) does not like being micromanaged. Both people have valid points. There is a delicate balance between control and empowerment
Here is a problem that comes up all too often. Control and accountability need to be supported but we also need to empower our teams. If you do it right, you will have both.
But it is tough to let go. After all, when you started your business, you needed to do everything, or it would not get done. Sometimes you had time management issues, but you had to work through them. Now your business grows, and you simply can't get it all done. Time to hire someone.
Now you are at the pinnacle of a growing business. At this point you are now not only the owner but also a manager and the leader.
When you hire a new employee is it very important that you are ready to devote time to train and give an employee the personal feeling of success. You must teach the mission and desired results. Remember, you want to take details off your plate. For example, don’t react in this way: When your new employee asks a question don’t respond by saying, “Don't worry, I'll take care of that. It's involved."
Get out of the way. Let go to grow. Learn to let go, train, and delegate with confidence.
Engage your employee from the very first day. Explain, train, encourage, and ask for input. Once you are certain that the employee understands encourage him or her to make decisions on his or her area. Encourage the input. Then monitor. But gradually let go. Learn to look at key measurements that indicate the employee is on track such as number of calls answered, complaints resolved, orders processed, customer feedback and other key areas related to business outcomes. Then you get out of the details.
Instead of watching the details and the minutia keep your eye on the direction of your company and your overall results. Set up overarching monitors and measurements to measure the direction and success of your business. This measurement is your DASHBOARD. Think of it as the dashboard on your car. You look at the dashboard on your car to make sure that everything is working under the hood. Likewise, a business DASHBOARD helps you make sure that your people are performing the activities related to positive business outcomes. When you see something wrong with your car dashboard you ask a repair garage to handle it. Likewise, when you see a key business measurement change you ask your employees why and ask how it will be corrected. You maintain control while not being controlling. You have more important things to do such as promoting the growth of your business.
Get out of the way. Get out of the details. Let go, let them drive and watch your stress level decrease and your business grow. For a similar post on our web site see BALANCING EMPOWERMENT WITH CONTROL.
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