The job of a CEO is a tough job. Pure and simple. If you are the CEO of a start-up, sleepless nights are commonplace; workdays meld into weekends, and acquiring a round of financing does not bring relief—it brings more people looking for you to turn their investment into 20 times more than they gave you.
As the company grows, it reaches a state of chaos and the CEO starts building teams and clarifying the vision, yet is still spread too thin. The long workdays continue; weekends and weekdays generally remain indistinguishable.
Continued company growth leads to stronger management teams that help create solutions, brainstorm ideas, and identify opportunities. Now there is a team of people who are becoming committed to the vision. And the CEO can start taking some of the hats off and delegating them to other team members.
The CEOs of the entrepreneurial companies with whom I work often struggle with that last statement . . . “And the CEO can start taking some of the hats off and delegating them to other team members.” You got to where you are today by doing everything yourself. What was once your greatest strength is now your greatest weakness.
“Wait, I need to delegate? How can I do that — it takes time to set expectations, teach others to do what comes naturally to me — it’s so much easier to do it myself.” Those last, eight simple words will steal your productivity and undermine your success.
It does take time to teach your team members how to manage the company — tasks such as customer scheduling, order fulfillment, customer service, etc. Create the Core Processes that document your company’s way of doing business, and then teach everyone how to follow the Core Process. It may be helpful to create checklists for each process to reinforce learning and provide support.
If you don’t think about the big picture and work with your leadership team to create a compelling vision for the company because you are too busy wearing all the hats, who will? If everyone in the company reports to you and you’re too busy playing “the boss”, who will stay out in front of the company’s strategic needs?
It is all about managing you and producing results through increased clarity and purpose. And the only way to get there is to focus on doing only the things you can do.
As an entrepreneur, one of the hardest jobs you’ll have is to trust others with your business. I know how hard it is to delegate responsibilities to others, because I’ve done it myself. Let’s talk one-on-one about all of the tasks you should no longer be doing. Simply fill out the consult form below to schedule a time to talk personally with me about the challenges of delegation or any other business topic that’s on your mind. Whatever it is, EOS®has a process to handle it. You don’t have to do everything yourself. And talking with me is the first step to lightening your load.
