Learning how to delegate is crucial for a successful CEO. However,
there are certain areas of your business that should always be under
your control. Here are five.
There is such a push for leaders to delegate to their subordinates
that it would be understandable for a business owner or CEO to think her
job IS delegating. Maybe if you're Larry Ellison or Jeff Immelt it is,
but for the rest of us mortals, the job of CEO has a lot less glamor and
a lot more day-to-day operational involvement.
As you grow your business, you will hire great people and should
delegate as much of the business as you can and still have confidence.
Having said that, there are some things that I believe you cannot
delegate until you are much larger in size.
- Quality--Would you eat at a restaurant that the
owner did not eat at regularly? Would you trust Steve Ballmer if he was
using a Mac? The quality of your business, its products and services has
to be inspected by you not just regularly, but daily. You also need to
inspect it personally, not just through graphs and reports. The great
CEOs I know check their quality personally and frequently. No one will
have better eyes, ears, and intuitive knowledge of what quality means
for the company than the founder, owner, and CEO.
- Innovation--Recently I spoke with an innovation
consultant about whether innovation can be delegated. She told me that
her company can provide a great deal of the process for ensuring
innovation occurs regularly and effectively. Her company can drive
companies to new ideas. However, the company's CEO has to set the goal,
direction and make the choices in which innovations the company will
invest.
- Financial Health--CFOs and controllers can be a
huge help in understanding your financial condition. If you have a small
business, maybe you are using a bookkeeper. Having your accounting and
reporting tasks performed by trained professionals is smart. Trusting
those people to make all of the decisions with the information is not.
You are exclusively responsible for the financial health of your
business. What the information means and the choices you make with it
can not be delegated.
- Brand Message--If you hire a new marketing person
or agency I can almost guarantee that you will be told that everything
you have is wrong. Your website, logo, sales materials, tagline,
tradeshow booth...the implication is that every choice you have made is
wrong now or was always wrong. Sure, it can be useful to get a new
perspective, but what your business stands for at its essence has to be
defined by you, not delegated. The process of re-branding will create
options; you have to make the choices.
- Hiring--I once was CEO of a company that hired
6,500 people in less than 4 years in 18 countries. I was not involved in
every hiring decision to say the least. But I was the interviewer for
the finalist candidates for my direct reports and their direct reports.
In hiring the leadership of your company, you are determining the future
success of the business and its culture. You must be involved when the
stakes are that high.
Your most important resource is your own time, that's why delegation
is such a great tool for leveraging that time for greater yield. Just
make certain that you are careful in not delegating the wrong things.
Author, speaker and consultant TOM SEARCY is the foremost expert in large account sales. With Hunt Big Sales, he's helped clients land more than $5 billion in new sales.
As
the world mourns the loss of Nelson Mandela and commemorates his
greatness as a leader, we would do well to remember that one of the
many hallmarks of his leadership was trust. The greatest
leaders in the world gravitated toward Mr. Mandela because he was
genuinely trustworthy and his purpose was to support peace, prosperity
and unity not only in South Africa – but throughout the world. Mandela
was able to lead people in ways that many find impossible to do. As he
famously said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Unfortunately, trust is in rare supply these days. People are having trouble trusting each other, according to an AP-GfK poll
conducted in November 2013, which found that Americans are suspicious
of each other in their everyday encounters. Only one-third of
Americans say most people can be trusted – down from half who felt that
way in 1972, when the General Social Survey first asked the question.
Forty years later, in 2013, a record high of nearly two-thirds says “you
can’t be too careful” in dealing with people.
This same sentiment can be carried over into the workplace, where employees want their leaders to be more trustworthy and transparent. Employees have grown tired of unexpected outcomes resulting from the lack of preparation. They want to be informed of any change management
efforts before – not after the fact. Employees desire to know what is
expected of them and be given the opportunity to reinvent themselves,
rather than be told they are not qualified for new roles and
responsibilities and can no longer execute their functions successfully.
Leaders are challenged between informing their employees
of the entire truth and holding back certain realities so as not to
unnecessarily scare people or lose top-talent. More and more leaders
today are being placed into uncomfortable moral dilemmas because they
are attempting to salvage their own jobs while trying to maintain the
trust and loyalty of their employees.
The growing tensions between leaders and their employees are creating productivity challenges as uncertainty becomes the new normal in the workplace. Furthermore, leaders are beginning to lose control of their own identities and effectiveness
as their employees begin to lose trust in their intentions because of
hidden agendas and political maneuvering – casting clouds of doubt over
their futures.
Employees just want the truth. They have learned that the old ways
of doing things just don’t apply (as much) anymore and more than ever
they need their leaders to have their backs. Unfortunately, many leaders are operating in survival mode and don’t have the sphere of influence they once had; without leaders to sponsor and mentor them, high-potential employees must now figure out the changing terrain on their own.
Here are seven early warning signs to look out for so you can
course-correct when employees are having trouble trusting their leaders:
1. Lack Courage
Leaders that don’t stand up for what they believe in are difficult to
respect and trust. Too many leaders today battle the gulf between
assimilation and authenticity. They waste too much of their valuable
time trying to act like other leaders in the organization – rather than
attempting to establish their own identity and leadership style. This is why less than 15% of leaders have defined and live their personal brand.
Perhaps leaders don’t believe that their employees are paying
attention to this behavior – but they are intently observing.
Employees are always in tune to what their leaders are doing and how
they manage themselves. Employees know that if their leaders are not
savvy enough to move themselves into a position of greater influence, it
will make it that much more difficult for them to get noticed and discovered
as well. The influence of a leader carries a lot of weight when it
comes to how their colleagues judge and evaluate the potential of their
employees.
When leaders lack the courage to enable their full potential and that
of others, it becomes a challenge to trust their judgment,
self-confidence, self-awareness and overall capabilities.
2. Hidden Agendas
Leaders that are too politically savvy can be viewed as devious and
inauthentic. Employees want to follow leaders who are less about the
politics and more about how to accomplish goals and objectives. While
being politically savvy is important, leaders must be careful not to give their employees the impression of orchestrating hidden agendas.
Employees want to believe that their leaders are focused on the
betterment of the team. If this requires well-intentioned political
maneuvering to advance team goals and objectives, then great. However,
if it comes across that a leader is solely intent on protecting
themselves and their own personal agendas – trust from the team will be
lost quickly and difficult to recapture.
3. Self-Centered
Hidden agendas make it difficult to trust that a leader’s intentions
and decision-making are not self-centered. When a leader is only
looking out for themselves and lacks any sense of commitment to the
advancement of their employees – this shuts-off employees quickly.
Great leaders are great coaches and are always looking to help their
employees grow and prosper. When leaders lack any real desire to
mentor, coach and/or guide the career advancement of their employees –
it becomes increasingly difficult for employees to trust them. I’ve
often said that leaders can’t go at it alone. But when leaders are too
disruptive, their employees sense that they are in it for themselves
and/or don’t trust the talent around them.
Also, when leaders are self-centered their ego stands in the way of advancing others – further eroding trust.
4. Reputation Issues
When people begin to speak negatively about their leader,
it makes it more difficult for others to trust their intentions and
vision. For example, look at what has happened to President Barrack
Obama since December 2009 when his approval rating was 69%.
According
to the Rasmussen Reports,
four years later (as of December 7th), Obama’s approval rating is now
at 43%. Nearly a 30% decline has created massive disruption to his
reputation and many who have followed and supported him for years are
now having troubling trusting him.
If you conducted a comparative approval rating survey in your
workplace, how would your employees rate the performance of your
leaders?
Every leader must be aware that they are constantly being evaluated and thus they can never grow complacent. When they do, this begins to negatively impact their reputation and the trust employees have in their leadership.
5. Inconsistent Behavior
People are more inclined to trust those who are consistent with their
behavior. Isn’t it easy to begin questioning one’s motives/judgment
when they are inconsistent? For example, I’ve worked with clients who
appear to be on the same page – only to notice that they begin to
disconnect when they believe that the direction of a project is not
allowing them to mobilize their own agendas. In order words, when
everyone but the leader is on board with a strategy – you begin to
wonder if their intentions are to support the organization’s advancement
or their own.
Leaders who are consistent with their approach and intentions are those who can be trusted. This is why so many leaders need to refresh their leadership style before they lose the trust of their employees.
6. Don’t Get Their Hands Dirty
Leaders must touch the business, just as much as they lead it. When leaders are over-delegating and not getting their hands dirty
– employees begin to question whether or not their leader actually
knows what is required to get the job done. Distrust amongst
employees begins to rise.
Though leaders cannot be expected to have all of the answers – they
should not play at arms-length either. The 21st century leader must be
more high-touch in order to effectively evaluate the business and
coach-up their employees. How else can a leader establish the
standards to maintain and improve workplace performance?
Are your leaders getting their hands dirty or are they merely acting the part?
Leaders must earn the trust of their employees and stop believing
that their titles, roles and responsibilities automatically warrant
trust from others.
7. Lack a Generous Purpose
When a leader doesn’t genuinely have your best interests at heart,
it’s difficult to trust them. When leaders are not grateful for your
performance efforts – and are always attempting to squeeze every bit of
effort they can out of you – it’s difficult to trust that they have
intentions to be more efficient, resourceful and collaborative.
Employees don’t ever want to feel taken advantage of – especially
during a time when everyone is being asked to do more with less.
Leaders must be more appreciative of their employees and more mindful of
their endeavors.
Leaders who lack a generous purpose and are not compassionate towards
their employees are difficult to trust. How can leaders expect their
employees to give them everything they’ve got to increase their performance impact when they are not willing to do the same?
These seven behavioral traits are becoming much more prevalent in the
workplace and if leaders fail to course-correct they will be putting
their employees in positions of increased risk – disrupting their focus
and the momentum of their careers.
This is what today leaders must consider: how to lead in
new ways that focus less on oneself, but more on the betterment of a
healthier whole. Leaders must enable positive social change through
ethical innovation – what I call “innovation humanity.”
Let’s honor Mandela’s courage and compassion by letting his
leadership inspire us now as it did throughout the life he lived with
such generous purpose.
Glenn Llopis
Contributor
Entrepreneurs
are ambitious people. When we see a problem, we want to be the one to
fix it. But it doesn’t always work. To use a baseball analogy, if you’re
trying to cover all the bases by yourself, you’re going to give up a
lot of runs. Learning how to delegate and build an effective team around
my vision has been one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my
career.
When I tried to do everything myself with my first companies, a lot
of things began to slip. I was stressed and didn’t manage my time
effectively. The result: both my performance and, more importantly, the
company’s performance were affected.
Since those early days, I’ve increasingly relied on delegating
responsibilities. Right now I’m in the soft-launch stage for two new
companies. I understand that I can’t handle all of the aspects of these
companies by myself. That’s why I’ve built teams around me to help
launch and grow the new businesses. This way I can focus on the
strategy, financing, and marketing aspects of the companies. I’m doing
what I enjoy and adding value by focusing on the areas in which I excel.
If an entrepreneur wants to be successful, I believe that person has to delegate to a team. As I mentioned in a previous post about building teams, it all starts with the following question: What skills do I lack?
You have to be honest with yourself and the answer to that question
is going to help you identify the roles you must fill. At the very
least, I recommend you get a good lawyer, accountant, and banker. These
people can help you protect your company, ensure its viability, and
finance your idea. You also may realize that you’re lacking other skills
instead, such as marketing or sales. Look for professionals who have
the skill set you need and have experience and/or connections in your
target markets.
If money is tight — and it often is when a business
first launches — consider offering some equity for services or barter
with others who have skills that you need on your team. If you’re
hesitant to hire someone as a fulltime employee, consider an independent
contractor relationship. For example, when I was running GetLoaded.com,
we required a lot of data-entry so I hired several data-entry people
who worked as independent contractors. They could work remotely and I
saved money through this arrangement. I explored the role of independent contractors in a post from July and recommend you review it if you want to pursue this approach.
Ultimately, the importance of delegating tasks comes down to helping
make your company successful. When you don’t delegate, you waste time
and don’t stay focused on your primary responsibilities. This isn’t just
an issue for entrepreneurs, either. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review
reported on a simple solution for how we can become more productive:
delegate tasks. Researchers found that knowledge workers spend 41% of
their time on discretionary activities that offer little personal
satisfaction and could be handled competently by others.
The message is clear for entrepreneurs and it’s a message I’ve taken
to heart. Don’t be afraid to delegate tasks because you can’t do it all
yourself.
Many business owners start out just wanting to be
self-employed. That’s great if you already have contracts lined up that
will keep you busy – and paid – for years to come. But how many of us
have that luxury?
Instead, we begin doing what we’ve always done – essentially the same
things as we did when we were employed by someone else. And then BOOM!
We end up working evenings and weekends to take care of all the other
parts of our businesses – the marketing, the bookkeeping, managing
suppliers, invoicing, cleaning, learning new skills – the full gamut of
jobs necessary to make a business successful. As Michael Gerber
recommends in his E-Myth books, you have learn to manage your business –
work ON your business, not IN it – in order to succeed.
The most successful business owners learn to delegate
responsibilities early in the game. I don’t mean just assigning tasks.
That makes you a task-master. I mean actually giving up control of
various aspects of the business to people who are expert in those areas,
so you can concentrate fully on your own unique ability.
So, be passionate about your business. Talk it up. Be the Chief Marketing Officer and
drive income into your business, but find great people to do the parts
of your business that you may be good at, but they are excellent at.
Mary Lou Gutscher
