Why Trying to do it All is a Common Business Owner Mistake

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John Burson

edited Thursday, June 1, 2017

Business Owner and Micro-Manager are practically synonymous terms. While the tendency to micro-manage is indicative of your perfectionist nature, which is a good thing, it can also completely undermine your ability to run a successful business.

The reality is that no one person can do every single thing by him or herself. One of the best skills you can learn is delegation. Giving others the opportunity to use their strengths to grow your business will ensure each area of your business - operational, strategic, networking, and growth - each get the individualized attention they deserve.

Here are some tips for running a business that benefits from the powers of delegation.

Accept that Others are valuable to your business. Doing it all is linked to the rather egotistical viewpoint that only you can do it right. If this were true, there wouldn't be millions of successful businesses run by all kinds of different people. Accept that others have valuable insight, experience and talents that will lead your business in directions you could never take it on your own.
Identify your core talents/strengths. In most cases, entrepreneurs have one to three super-strengths. Identify these and make them your focus. Then, hire others who excel in the areas where you're weakest so you can put your trust in them.
Perform detailed employee evaluations. Your employee evaluations are about more than deciding who makes what this year. They are a valuable tool for assessing who does what the best. Being in touch with your employees' strengths will make it easier to delegate specific tasks and responsibilities and will also help you to identify what traits you're looking for in future hires.
Create a clear hierarchy. While the more modern collaborative approach to business is great for employee morale, it can be a detriment when employees don't know who to report to when there are challenges, employee problems or work-related concerns. If you're taking a more communal approach, that's wonderful, but make sure there is still an identifiable chain of command.