What do you do if you're a startup founder torn between delegation and maintaining control?

> Reframe delegation as empowering your team, not losing control. You'll still steer the ship, but with a capable crew. > Focus on core tasks only you can do (vision, strategy) and delegate repeatable, learnable ones. > Clearly define tasks, choose the right people, and establish check-ins to monitor progress and provide feedback.

?? Striking the Balance: 3 Tips for Startup Founders ???? 1?? Trust Your Team ??: Delegate tasks to capable team members and empower them to take ownership. Building trust allows you to focus on strategic decision-making. ???? 2?? Clear Communication ??: Maintain open channels for communication and set clear expectations. Provide guidance and feedback to ensure alignment with your vision while allowing room for autonomy and innovation. ???? 3?? Prioritize Control Wisely ??: Identify core areas where maintaining control is crucial for the success and integrity of your startup. Delegate non-essential tasks.??? As a startup founder, finding the right balance between delegation and control is key to scaling effectively.

Trust and ceding control in a founder led scenario is difficult but critical. You employ people to work with that can hopefully add value….give clarity on the vision and values that are important and then let your people have the autonomy and coaching led guidance to add the value!

Sit down with that person and clarify your expectations. Remember, the objective is not to accomplish a project but to build up a team while accomplishing a project. As I see it, it is not the same to assign tasks to a person and expect him/her to complete them without knowing the bigger picture than to tell that person what is the bigger output you expect. If the mission is clearly stated, then the follow up and the reporting is much easier because now you are aligned. That person will tell you how she feels, what she needs and whether if she is up for this challenge now or if she does not feel ready yet.

Foster open communication and ensure everyone feels heard and valued. Implement and demonstrate your own accountability by setting clear expectations and holding yourself (first and foremost) as well as your team team responsible in a fair and transparent manner. Encourage mutual respect by recognizing each person's contributions and promoting an inclusive environment.

An important factor here is implementing a good quality measurement and review process so that team members are clear on outcomes and can measure tangible achievement. The 80/20 rule for encouragement is great….80% encouragement and 20% constructive feedback and candid appropriate challenge.

Everyone needs to know that their role and responsibilities are but as start-ups are evolving dynamically it is crucial to keep an open mind. There will new tasks appear which nobody is responsible yet. Or you will find out that someone is not suited best for a certain responsibility. Don't be afraid of adressing issues. Furthermore, make clear that every new member of the team knows these roles and responsibilities.

Clearly define roles and responsibilities for yourself and your team members to avoid ambiguity and conflicts. Outline expectations, goals, and deliverables for each role, ensuring alignment with the overall vision and objectives of the startup. Clarifying roles helps streamline decision-making and empowers team members to take ownership of their responsibilities

One of the leading psychosocial hazards in the workplace today is lack of role clarity. If employees don't have clarity on their responsibilities it drives uncertainty and can result in stress, burnout and reduced productivity. Prior to hiring anybody into your startup, make sure you're clear on what their role is going to be. It may well (likely will) change over time but that's fine as long as the communication is clear and the employee knows what they need to focus on. Having clear OKRs, that are aligned with company goals, is a good way to set the direction.

In startup you need: 1. CTO with mix of business and technical skills. 2. Head of Marketing. Whatever great product you have, none will know about it without marketing (at least from WoM). 3. Product Lead - that guy who can understand your clients and build superior product. 4. CFO - who can keep focus on unit economy and cash flow. 5. COO - who will take care about whole back end processes and routines.

As a founder, it is only natural that you want to stay on top of every single thing, all the time. But you need to understand that most people are drawn to startups because of the autonomy that they promise. Don't take this away from your team members. These three things can save you from micro-managing your team members. 1. Short weekly catch-ups (15-30 mins) where you can be appraised of progress and you can suggest quick course-corrections 2. Dashboards that can help you track progress without you interrupting their flow 3. Shorter milestones to make sure that things are moving as per the plan

OKRs approach could be an interesting method to set milestones at the same time of the metrics: defining a final result (milestones) in short-mid term (i.e. < 1 year) and defining then the metrics to commit when the expected result is achieved.

Establish clear milestones and checkpoints to track progress and ensure accountability in delegated tasks. Break down larger goals into smaller, achievable milestones that can be regularly monitored and evaluated. Setting milestones provides a framework for delegation, allowing you to maintain control while empowering your team to work towards tangible outcomes.

To create to many milestones i to micromanage, to create too few is a recipe for disaster. Look for knowledgeable figures in the team and build comprehensive expectations with them to set a framework based on reality.

Lots of ways to do this, active listening is a great way to engage and connect with people and teams and also ensure that that listening is, where appropriate, acted on.

Empower your team members by providing them with the resources, support, and autonomy they need to succeed. Encourage creativity, innovation, and problem-solving skills among your team members, empowering them to make decisions and take initiative in their respective roles. By empowering your team, you can delegate with confidence while fostering a culture of ownership and accountability.

This can be harder when you have senior staff in a Startup, they have probably been through a couple of burn-out cycles and may be way harder to empower, simply because their trust is harder to gain. Sit down and ask realistically about those pass experiences, what failed and what do they think they would have needed to succeed. Empower them through this knowledge and give them the tools they need to shine.

Make sure to ask your teams how you could support them actively. Often small investments / changes can have a big impact on well-being and motivation. I often ask my team what they would change in my place.

This also aligns with the need to trust your employees. If you trust them, you're more likely to empower them to make key decisions. If done right, this can be liberating both for you as the Founder and for the employee. This also removes a blocker for creativity (micro management) and can result in some great new capabilities and direction for your startup.

Especially in stressful times be aware of your own behaviour. Micromanaging is a stress-response and often makes problems worse. Don't be shy to criticize (include explanation and possible solutions) but also be open to receive criticism.

Establish a feedback loop to facilitate open communication and continuous improvement within your startup. Encourage regular feedback sessions where team members can share insights, ideas, and concerns openly. Provide constructive feedback and guidance to your team members, while also being receptive to feedback from them. A feedback loop promotes collaboration, learning, and growth, helping to balance delegation and control effectively.

Entender como cada pessoa funciona pode ajudar muito nessa etapa. Feedbacks devem ser claros e específicos, de preferência indentificados com uma situa??o específica, mas saber a forma devida de se comunicar com cada perfil de pessoa, vai ajudar a quem estiver dando o feedback ser mais facilmente compreendido.

Take time to reflect on your leadership approach and the effectiveness of your delegation strategies. Evaluate what's working well and what areas need improvement, both for yourself and your team. Reflect on the impact of delegation decisions on the overall performance and growth of the startup. Regular reflection allows you to adapt and refine your approach to achieve better outcomes.

While delegation and empowerment of the team are important, the reflection and review of the same is equally important too. There are many instances wherein the other resources can perform better than the delegated individual. One of the hard earned lesson for me is to keep the biases (emotional, financial or any other sort of) aside and reflect on the progress in 3 / 6 / 9 months timeline as well as in longer perspective of 3 years. The reflection can indicate alot on taking further decisions and corrective action if needed.

Dev teams who practice the Agile method are always conducting retros to learn from what they've achieved and the mistakes they've made. I encourage our customers to adopt a similar approach by having monthly and quarterly retros to learn from their mistakes in that period of time and also amplify their wins. Reflecting on where you've come also provides great perspective on your growth trajectory and can help reassure you during times of uncertainty.

- Recognize the importance of delegation as a tool for scalability and growth in the startup ecosystem. - Be mindful of micromanagement tendencies and the negative impact they can have on team morale and productivity. - Seek mentorship or guidance from experienced entrepreneurs or advisors who have navigated similar challenges in delegation and control.

In the current regime, best way to balance this is, organisations can deploy digital tools supported on cloud which can give complete information on the status of workflows. This enhances transparency and accountability across the organisation.