Control is an illusion
Last week I attended a conference where I met a woman who owns her own company. She's a remarkable woman, with a sharp mind, a strong work ethic, and a passion for her business. But she also has a problem: she's a control freak.
As we were chatting, the topic of expansion came up. I suggested that her company had all the ingredients to really take off, but she expressed her doubts. "I couldn't possibly control any more people than I do now," she said.
Being a long-time smark-alek, I tend to have automatic responses to certain cues, and the term "control" is one of them.
"Control is an illusion," I quipped,
She didn't take it as a joke. In fact, she seemed quite offended. "I'm in complete control of everything in my company," she insisted. "I know everything everyone does because I constantly watch over their shoulders, and I track every action."
I looked over at my client who happened to be there, and he smiled a bit, knowing what was coming next. He used to be a control freak, too.
I looked back at my new friend and couldn't help but notice the dark circles under her eyes and the slump in her shoulders. She looked exhausted.
Her success over the past few years has been laudable, but I have some serious questions about sustainability and scale. She clearly can't get much bigger the way she is going, and I'm not sure how she can keep up at this pace for very long.
领英推荐
I don't think growing a successful business has to be like that. In fact, I know it doesn't have to be. If you hire talented, motivated people, you can delegate tasks and responsibilities, and free yourself up to focus on the big picture.
Delegation is not about giving up control; it's about trusting your team and empowering them to do their best work. When you delegate effectively, you can actually regain control of your time and your life.
My client offered himself as an example. "I used to be a control freak. I used to work 65+ hours a week in my business, making sure every detail was taken care of. I had to make all the decisions. I needed to know everything that was happening.
"Now I work about 15 hours a week ON my business. And my company is more profitable than ever. That's what happens when you learn to let go."
I don't generally coach people at conferences, and never without their permission, so we exchanged business cards and parted ways. But I do hope she took a couple of ideas away from that conversation:
Most leaders know these things, but the woman at the conference is not an anomaly. She is typical of leaders in both small and large companies who just haven't figured out how to delegate and elevate.
So, to the woman I met at the conference, I say this: let go of the reins a little bit. Trust your team. And for the love of all things holy, get some sleep!
Expert at marketing, strategy and marketing research for technology companies.
1 年Well said, Bob.
6B.03 Gas Turbine Product Line General Manager
1 年If I can be bold enough to offer an edit. Yes, Delegation and empowerment is about giving “your” team, a team; the ownership to execute with their full creativity.. my edit being … “on the vision and goals of the company/team”. To me, this puts the ownership and responsibility being three-fold.. First, as a leader, you need to convey/articulate that vision/goal (I reflect on the Gettysburg Peach Orchard positioning)and second, you then need to trust yourself as a leader that you have the put the right people in place to execute your plan. If, as a leader, you can’t delegate/empower that reflects back on either the people that were hired or the effort of the leader to create and articulate. Third, as a leader, we need to check-in with our team that understand and even more important what do they need to be successful!
Lead Cyber Systems Engineer, Test Integration Lab Lead and SAFe Scrum master / Team Coach
1 年Could not agree more Bob! Instead of checking every detail on my team I’ve learned to do general verifications and whenever possible let the each member demonstrate their work using collaboration tools at least to myself and often to the team when appropriate. I find this to be a great way for continuous learning and more importantly gives each person a sense of ownership and responsibility. If we fail to get something done on time or correctly it’s a shared learning experience and not piled all on one person.