The Subtle Art of Letting Go in Business

blog Dec 21, 2022

The key to success in business is letting go

Elsa sings in the earworm Disney hit, Frozen, “Let It Go” which is a nice sentiment but not a reality for many business owners who often carry too much on their plates and wear too many hats.

At some stage in a successfully growing small to medium business, the owner and founder is going to have to start letting some of their daily tasks and responsibilities go. This is usually to other people in the business as they start to hire and expand, or outsourcing when there’s a little more cash flowing through the business (sometimes before).

The reality is, in order for our businesses to grow and thrive, and for us to have time to live the life we want, we are going to have to learn how to start letting things go.

Letting go isn’t an easy task as a business owner, though – especially in fledgling or rapidly growing businesses.

Why are we so bad at letting go in our businesses?

When we talk about letting go, we’re talking about letting go of certain tasks and responsibilities that can be delegated or outsourced to free up your time, as the owner of the business, to be directed strategically and to prevent you from burnout.

But why are we so bad at letting go of things, even when we know we need to, in our businesses?

A key area that trips up small business owners all the time is in the area of managing direct reports.

In the beginning, with small teams, it makes sense for the owner to be involved in overseeing and managing their team. As the business grows, however, the number of reports to the owner can compete with other operational or strategic responsibilities they have. From there, without structure and a plan, it’s a fast track to that classic hamster wheel working nights, weekends, and never seeming to catch up on that never-ending to-do list.

The magic number of direct reports is actually a range that sits somewhere between five to nine depending on a range of variables. Due to the nature of small businesses and the way they evolve, they often find themselves reactively hiring and trying to solve being overwhelmed with a host of other things before they think about restructuring their people. This includes introducing leadership and management roles that don’t rely entirely on the business owner being available 24/7 to sign off on everything.

The truth is, your business can’t grow effectively and sustainably beyond what your capacity is as an owner unless you start building a team of people around you that can step into leadership and management roles to support the rest of the team.

The other thing that this can impact is your team, if you have one. Without career development opportunities and professional pathways, you’ll find them soon looking elsewhere for what they’re craving professionally – particularly if the conditions of working in constantly stretched and overwhelmed business is adversely impacting their own lives. Remember – your vision and mission isn’t theirs, as much as they might align with it, so it’s unreasonable to expect them to put in the same effort and energy as you do.

Sometimes, though, you might be too deep into it to realise this, or listen when others tell you that you’re doing too much. In many ways, society tells us that being busy is good, and the busier we are the more successful we must be but this isn’t necessarily true.

So, if anyone is giving you feedback that you’re too busy, whether that’s at work or even at home, it’s time to hit pause and take stock. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and burnt out then it’s definitely time to hit the brakes and review what's going on and where you need help.

Most small business owners are also entrepreneurial and there’s a particular trait amongst many entrepreneur types that make it even more challenging to let go: perfectionism.

We tend err on the side of being “control freaks” and letting go of things, especially when it’s our baby, can be a terrifying prospect – because other people won’t do it the right way, they won’t put as much effort in, they won’t know what to look for – the list is endless as to the reason we might not trust other people to delegate them higher levels of responsibilities within our businesses.

While these things may be true, the fact still remains that you can’t grow your business just relying on your capacity to increase your output across everything that’s on your plate. That’s why it’s important to hire right, and understand that it achieving business success through your team is possible – and necessary.

What are some strategies for business owners to learn how to let go?

When we’ve been used to doing everything, letting go will be challenging but there are a few things you can do to make this process easier.

Know that you’re not going to get it right the first time.

As Simon Sinek says, the idea is not to make your first pancake perfect – but you can’t make a third great pancake without that first imperfect pancake. Your instinct as you get busier and grow might be to hold on tighter, maybe even micromanage, because you don’t have the space to zoom out and view the situation with clarity.

Your team might not get it right the first time, either.

Your team aren’t mind readers, and sometimes handing a task off to them might feel like you’ve gotten it off your plate – but how you communicate the parameters and direction of the task is important otherwise your team will bring their own interpretation to it and that might not align with what you had in mind. Clear direction and communication are different to micromanaging though. Once you’ve given clear instructions on the task – let your team rise to the challenge.

Systematise

If there’s a system, a process, or a standard operating procedure, delegating tasks becomes a whole lot easier. Not only that, it becomes clearer when systems need to evolve, and where efficiencies can be made once you can see the breadth of a task or workflow.

Now, don’t panic – we don’t know any business owners who have the time to sit down and document their processes so a great place to start is by being transparent about this with the team member you’re handing over to. Make it clear that there isn’t a system yet, but that as you hand over x, y or z tasks, they can create a checklist and outline of the key steps.

By the end of that first handover of tasks – you'll have a record of the system. Not only is it a great way to document your process, it’s a great way for your team to absorb the process and it provides an opportunity for both of you to find a better way to do something.

Get out of the weeds and get a fresher perspective

We can often get stuck in our own heads, and self-generating our solutions isn’t that best way tackle our problems all the time. Doing a brain dump and a brainstorm with someone who’s not as deep in the weeds with you can help you zoom out to find clarity about whatever it is you need.

Start small

Letting things go doesn’t need to be a huge cathartic release. Start small, particularly if you’re finding yourself resistant to the idea. Outsource your bookkeeping. Get your team member to draft that media release. Ask someone else to proof that document for factual errors. Whatever it is, start small and then get a feel for your process as you start to offload bigger things and implement more structure into your business.

Conclusion

In order for our businesses to grow and thrive and also afford us the life we want we are going to have to learn how to start letting things go. Growth in your business won’t happen successfully if it relies on your output spread thinly across too many things. If you’re ready to let go and want guidance on how to do this in a way that benefits your business success, book a call with our team at People Powered HR.

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