Business Owners: Stop Being the Bottleneck in Your Company

Is your business running you instead of the other way around? If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the constant need to be involved in every decision, it’s time to rethink how you lead. 

In this episode, Pete Mohr shares a proven framework to help you step back, empower your team, and create a company that thrives without you.

Key Discussion Points: 

→ Why micromanaging limits your business’s potential 

→ The leadership trio: Communication, Management, Accountability 

→ How to shift from operator to coach 

→ Three steps to start delegating effectively

Are you looking to make some changes in your business and your life in 2024?  Head over to speaktopete.com and book a chat with me to see if we're the right fit!

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Book a no charge Freedom Call with Pete, to see if you’re a good fit for his business coaching or talk to Pete about speaking at your next event head over to http://speaktopete.com to find a time that works for you!

Pete's Websites:

Pete-Mohr.com
The Exit Ready Business
Kolbe Coach
Simplifying Entrepreneurship

LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/petemohr/
Instagram at ...

Transcript

0:00

Is your business self managing? Well, today we're gonna dive into something that trips up so many business owners letting go of control. Steve Jobs once said, the greatest people are self managing. They don't need to be managed. And while I do think that's spot on, most small business owners unintentionally hold their team back because they struggle to release authority, essentially. Here's the thing, if you can't let go, you'll limit your business's growth and your team's potential. So in this episode, we're going to dig in and cover why releasing control is critical, how to empower your team to be self managing, and the incredible freedom and growth that comes when you do. Let's talk about why this is such a big issue for business owners, especially in small and medium sized businesses. First, there's the mindset around it. A lot of us think, you know, no one can do this as well as I can, or maybe if I want it done right, I have to do it myself. Myself. Sound familiar? Well, the truth is this mindset creates all sorts of bottlenecks where every decision, every promise, every task has to go through you. It has serious consequences, not only for you and your life and your family, but for your business too. For starters, it's exhausting. You end up working 60, 70, 80 hours a week buried in those details and feeling like you can't step away without things falling apart. And at the same time, your team feels stifled. They may want to take on responsibility. Your team, if they're the right people, do want to take on more accountability. They do want to make decisions for you and for the business. But if they're not given the authority to make decisions, and when people feel micromanaged, they either stop trying or leave the workplace. And they leave the workplace to someplace that's going to allow them to do this, that's going to allow them to grow, and, and if they're good people, you need to do that. Here's the kicker. By holding on too tight, you're not only limiting your team, but you're limiting your business ability to scale and the value of the business. We just spent several episodes, eight episodes, talking about building value in your business. And this is such a key piece that when things can happen without you, you're actually creating more value in your business and you're actually creating a better life and a better business because we're letting and empowering other people to do what they do best and bring value to the entire business. We need to have the business grow beyond our Personal capacities. That's what we're getting at here, right? So what is the framework for letting go? How do you fix it? How do you create a business where your team is self managing so you don't have to control every little thing? And here's a simple framework that I like to follow anyway. And you've heard this one starts off with the promise. Your promise is that transformation of your business. It delivers to your customer. It's the why we do what we do. For example, in my shoe stores, we want to help people look great and feel fantastic so that they're living better lives in the right footwear. It's all about comfort and enjoying your life and doing what you're doing. The foot. It's all about the fact that your feet are your foundation for health and feeling good. And we want to look good too, right? So we have this guiding principle to make all of the decisions around in our business. Even when I'm not there, we're always thinking about how can we make this person help them look great and feel fantastic? How can we help them through their pain and get them to their gain? Next, we gotta build the process for empowerment. And here's where the structure comes in. The process, right? You need the process. You need the systems that make it clear what's expected. When your team knows the steps to follow, they can act confidently without asking for permission every single time. You've heard me say it before. Decisions need to be made at the lowest possible level of the organization every single time. It's so vital, it's so crucial that your customer be served without going through that line of command every single time. For minor decisions, it frees up your time, your headspace, your decision making. And it frees up and makes a better customer experience too. The next piece is to shift your role from operator to coach. It's a big one. Your job isn't to solve every problem anymore. It's to guide and support and hold people accountable. And that's why I love the leadership trio that we've talked about before. Communication, management and accountability. You should always be honing to improve your communication expectations, your management systems and your processes. And here's the one that tends to lack hold people accountable for their results. Right? Step four. The next piece of the puzzle is really around taking action. It's about trust and delegation and empowerment. Pick one task or responsibility you've been holding on to and delegated fully. Don't just hand over the task. Give the person the authority to make decisions around it. If it has a budget, give them the budget and say here's the budget, you need to make the of it. Empowerment doesn't mean abandonment. We still need to set regular check ins to review progress and provide feedback. And remember, it's that idea around moving from detail to dashboard as you coach them through their new accountabilities. We don't want to be involved in the detail, we need them to be and we need to have the dashboard to help it look at the overall big pictures. When you embrace this approach, the results really can be transformative for you and your team and your business and the value of your business. For you as the owner, you have more freedom to focus on what you love to do inside and outside of the business, whether that's growth or strategy. Maybe you want to take more time off. Maybe you want to start some new wing of your business or entirely new business for your team. They'll feel more engaged, they'll feel more trusted, they'll feel more motivated. Autonomy is one of the biggest drivers of job satisfaction these days, and it leads to better performance. And for the business, it becomes more scalable, more valuable. A business that doesn't rely on you is more efficient and more valuable, especially if you're looking to sell or step back down the road. I've seen this happen time and time again with my clients. When owners let go and give their team the tools to succeed, the business thrives and so does the owner. It's what I call moving from detail to dashboard. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, when we do that, everything seems to click. Everybody's working in their areas of superpower within the business and instead of being in the weeds as the owner, you're overseeing the big picture. So if you're ready to stop being the bottleneck in your business, here are three steps you can take this week. 1. Go back, review your promise. It's something you should be doing every quarter at least, right? That's why I bring it up on the podcast fairly regularly. Keep reviewing your promise. Make sure it's still in alignment. Make sure your team still understands it. Communicate throughout. Pick one task or decision to delegate fully this week. Start small, make it count. Allow them. Grant them the authority. It's okay to grant authority. You'll apprec it and they will too. And also, I'd like you to commit to coaching your team instead of controlling them. Coaching instead of controlling. Think of that maybe as a mantra down the road if you know you're a micromanager. Now I'm going to start coaching and less controlling. Use the leadership trio, the communication, the management, and the accountability to set this stuff up. Have great meetings with your people. Keep those lines of communication open. And remember, letting go isn't about losing control. That's one of the biggest fears. It's not about losing control. It's about creating a business that works without you. If this episode resonated with you, I'd love to hear about it. Please send me a message or connect with me on social media. Share your thoughts, and if you know another business owner who needs this message, share it out to them. Thanks so much for tuning in to the Business Owner Breakthrough podcast this week. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And until next time, remember, when you step back, your business can step up. Now go and make it a great day.