How many functions do you perform in your business? For example, most businesses have the following functions: sales, marketing, operations, client service, accounting and finance, administration, technology, human resources and leadership – to name a few.
With you at the top, take a few moments to sketch out each function performed in your organization. Next, put the name and title of each person responsible for every function performed. Include yourself if you’re the person responsible for a particular function.
Now put a circle around each box for which you are responsible or touch on a routine basis. For example, you might have a sales manager but routinely jump into that box and perform some of his or her tasks. Count your circles. In how many functions in which a qualified person works do you routinely get involved?
Your job should be creating jobs – not working jobs. Your primary role is to define the boxes and how the job is to be done in each function in your business. It’s your responsibility to define the responsibilities, standards and expected outcomes of every job in your company.
Learn to let go and let the people you have perform the duties for which they are responsible. If you don’t have anyone in a particular function, then hire someone and train them to do the work. Be clear about your expectations, the methods of performance and the level of responsibility, and then get out of the way and let them do their job. It will be your responsibility to keep them on track by checking their results as needed.
If you have someone in a job but feel they might not be fully equipped to do it, then maybe you have not properly explained what your expectations are. Take time to review their responsibilities with them and then ask them to repeat in their own words their understanding of their functions. Sometimes, you find out they still do not fully understand what you expect of them. If that’s the case, then try explaining the job using a different vocabulary with which they might be more familiar. When you’re finished, ask them if you explained it a way they better understand. Avoid asking, “Do you understand?” because that could lead them to believe you question their intelligence and previous training and experience.
After all of this, if they still aren’t grasping what you expect of them, then it might be time to replace them. To avoid not hiring the right person again, refine your hiring process. Ask better questions in the interview. Fully explain what the job entails and develop a better understanding of what the prospect’s capabilities are. You might still not end up with the right person; however, your chances of hiring the right person are significantly higher if you’re using the right interview process.
Once you have the right person, get out of their way and let them do their job. But hold them accountable for the quality and timeliness expected of them. Also, pay them what they’re worth. It’s much more cost efficient to pay a competitive compensation than it is to always be looking for the next person to do the job, or, worse, assume the responsibility of doing the job yourself. Remember: your goal is to be strategic in your business (working on the business) rather then tactical (working in the business).
It’s your responsibility to lead boldly, not passively. Learn to excel in leadership, not doer-ship. In the words of Napoleon Hill, “The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat.”
Rick Brines is the owner of The Growth Coach of Chattanooga. He can be reached @ 423-886-6095 or R.Brines@TheGrowthCoach.com.