Today we’re talking about how to lead without micro-managing. A lot of people think the main reason they micro-manage is because they’re super controlling and have trouble delegating, but I have a different perspective. To me, building a team that is able to create goals, take ownership of their results, strategize, identify problems, and test out solutions is NOT about delegation – it’s about leadership.
Micro-managing is a failure of leadership.
Leadership is not creating an SOP, then handing it to someone and say “do this.” That’s delegation.
Creating SOPs and handing them off is essential when you’re first getting started, but it’s not scalable.
Do you think Sara Blakely is in her office all day making SOPs and tracking everyone’s progress in Asana? No.
If you create a company environment where everyone is waiting around for YOU to tell them what to do – you are going to end up being the bottleneck…and if you are micro-managing every little step of that SOP – then you are REALLY slowing things down.
You can’t scale that. You will hit a revenue ceiling because you have built a team that is still 100% reliant on YOU telling them what to do.
The antidote for everyone relying on YOU is Personal Responsibility. You cannot effectively lead your company without that core value. As the CEO, you are responsible TO your employees, but you are not responsible FOR them.
It’s your job to create an environment where they can succeed, but THEY need to take ownership of their metrics and accountability for the results they create.
It is the difference between hiring a social media manager that ONLY executes the strategies and SOPs that you provide vs. hiring a social media manager, co-creating goals with them that supports the company vision, and then SHE researches the best strategies and creates SOPs to make it happen.
That is no easy task and it’s why I created my program Million Dollar CEO™. While Scale with Success® helps our clients with sales and marketing, Million Dollar CEO™ focuses on how to build a team and create an environment of personal responsibility without micro-managing – which is all about leadership.
If that’s something you’re struggling with right now in your business and want support with, then make sure to send me a DM on Instagram so my team can send over an application.
I wanted to offer a super simple framework to help you get started when it comes to thinking about how YOU can improve your own leadership when it comes to project planning with your team.
Applying this framework, even if you are simply handing off an SOP to someone, will REALLY help improve your results and it will begin to set the stage for becoming the Million Dollar CEO you need to be in order to have the Million Dollar business you want to have!
So, let’s get into my 3 Step Success Framework that you can start using TODAY when handing off projects to your team.
Step #1 Clarify Your Outcome: WHAT are we setting out to accomplish?
As CEOs, it’s our job to get clear on the outcome we are trying to create and communicate that vision to the rest of our team. Taking the time at the beginning of any project to clarify exactly what outcome you are looking to create is essential to your company’s success.
Having a vague idea of what you are trying to accomplish and then jumping into action is not how Million Dollar CEOs get results. Jumping into action without a clear vision of where you’re going is expensive. It costs you time, money, and frustration.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you THINK you’ve clearly described the outcome, but halfway through the project you realize your team is on a completely different page?
That’s not on them, that’s on YOU.
Let’s say you’re the captain of a boat and you tell your team that you want to go to an island. Your team is super motivated and everyone starts rowing hard. You even have an SOP that tells them exactly how to row.
The problem is half the boat is rowing to Island A and the other half is rowing to Island B.
So, you’re not going anywhere and your team is exhausted. They’re arguing with each other and when you get angry with them for not moving the boat forward – they become upset with YOU for not giving them clear direction.
It’s not just frustrating for YOU to get halfway through a project and realize everyone is rowing in different directions – it’s frustrating for your team.
It creates an environment of chaos and confusion, blame and temper tantrums.
Your team wants to win and it’s your job to clearly define what the win looks like.
Million Dollar CEOs clarify the WHAT before they dig into the HOW.
Step #2: Clarify Your Intent: WHY are we doing this?
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your team keeps coming to you, asking an endless stream of questions?
It’s frustrating for you, because you feel like you described everything clearly and you need them to start thinking for themselves.
It’s frustrating for them, because they can tell that you’re annoyed, but they also don’t feel like they have enough information to make decisions themselves.
If that continues, they are likely to feel like you’re impossible to please and they’ll begin to resent you – which does NOT create a healthy environment for anyone.
When your team keeps asking you questions, it’s likely that you did not clarify your intent and that they did not understand WHY this project is important.
Clarifying your intent gives them a filter to make decisions through.
You already clarified your outcome, so they know WHERE they’re going…but, they need to know WHY.
If they know WHY, then they have even more information to help them make decisions along the way if something unexpected occurs.
Let’s say you’re a boat captain and you tell your team that you need to arrive at the island by 7pm on Friday.
Great! They’re clear on the what. So, the boat is moving really slowly and your team decides to throw out all the extra cargo that’s on the boat because it’s weighing things down.
The problem is that the REASON you need to get to the island is because a company on that island ALREADY PAID YOU for the cargo and is expecting you to deliver it on Saturday.
You told your team you wanted to arrive on Friday, but you didn’t tell them WHY.
Million Dollar CEOs don’t just clarify the what, they clarify the WHY.
Step #3: Clarify Your Success Metrics: HOW will we determine we’re on track?
So, it’s the day before the project is complete and your team comes to you with some bad news: there is no way they’re going to finish by tomorrow…when you ask when they estimate it WILL be finished, they optimistically tell you it can be done by Tuesday…then Monday rolls around and they tell you it will be done by Friday…and on and on it goes.
Eventually, you jump in and try to do everything yourself.
Your team feels defeated and annoyed that they’ve been working overtime and ONCE AGAIN, you swoop in and try to do everything yourself.
You feel resentful that you had to take over and wonder why your team can’t seem to do anything right.
Well, the problem isn’t your team…it’s YOU.
If you are the captain of a boat and you intend to arrive at your destination within 14 days so you can deliver the cargo, the team needs to have the tools to determine whether their progress is on track or off track.
If it’s Day 7 of a 14 day project and the project is only 10% complete, you’ve got a serious problem.
Breaking a bigger goal into smaller milestones and defining specific metrics to determine whether that smaller milestone was completed successfully radically improves your team’s chance of completing the project successfully and on time.
They won’t need to come to YOU to ask if they’re on track – they’ll know! And if they aren’t on track, they can come to you with possible solutions for getting back on track.
Attracting and RETAINING top talent on your team requires you to clearly communicate the desired outcome, intent, and success metrics for each project with your team.
So, what is YOUR #1 takeaway from today’s episode? Send me a DM on Instagram and let me know!
Today’s episode is brought to you by Scale With Success® Accelerator — an online course designed to help you generate launch-sized revenue without lanching. If you want to learn MORE about our proven method for success, click here to watch my free masterclass. See you in there!