It is difficult for most business owners to give up control. Delegate? What is that? You have spent much time, effort, and money on your business, and failure is not an option.
With that in mind, this might be difficult for you to read, but I think it is time to relinquish control. Reed Hastings and Erin Meyers discuss the importance of freedom and responsibility in their book No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention. Their reasoning is simple–to build company morale and productivity. Many employees seek flexibility in the workforce, so the freedom that Hastings and Meyers discuss is a great way to fulfill that flexibility and make team members happy at work.
How to Give Freedom
Communication is key to effectively delegating and let go of control. Start giving your team freedom by providing a clear path of where you want to go but not exactly how to get there. Communicate with your team what you want, and let them fill in the blanks on how to achieve that goal.
Ensure your team understands the importance of acting in the company’s best interest. To accomplish this, you must implement what Hastings and Meyers call talent density. Check out our blog post on talent density to see how reducing your workforce is beneficial.
Be the leader and model the context you are looking for from your team. Monkey see monkey do, right? The best leaders, in my experience, lead by example, and the same applies here. Be sure to communicate with your team so they are on the same page.
Dangers of Control
When you delegate a task or responsibility, you also need to delegate control. The inability to give your staff freedom in the workplace can damage your business.
First of all, too much control over employee decisions reduces creativity. Pigeonholing your team into only doing what the business owner or manager likes prevents staff from being creative to think outside the box. It is imperative when thinking about marketing or customer experience.
Secondly, too much control over employee decisions slows production. Thinking about all the red tape surrounding legalities, you can understand how control can delay a process to near nonexistent moving.
Third, too much control over employee decisions affects performance. Essentially, business owners are paying for the performance they want. For example, KPIs can motivate employees to stay on a pre-set path instead of doing what is best in a changing environment.
Fourth, and most detrimental, too much control over employee decisions affects the quality of staff who want to work in your company. As I said, employees in the workforce are looking for flexibility more than ever, and key players on your team are more likely to leave if they cannot make a single decision.
Implement Freedom with Some Rules
How can you implement more freedom in your workplace? Do it with some rules.
I realize that not everyone is trustworthy in life, and that sucks. Let’s hope you have hired the cream of the crop for your team, and trusting your staff is never a problem. However, sometimes people make mistakes. Here is how you can ensure the safety of your company:
- Audit randomly
- Openly communicate with your team
One way to ensure the safety of your company is to audit your team randomly and take action to fire if necessary.
Another way to ensure team members do not take advantage of the freedom you give them is to be open and communicate with them. Openly share where abuse is or was happening. Communicate with your team the need for them to make decisions with the company’s best interest in mind.
Control is hard to let go of, and I feel that. But lack of growth is problematic too.
Check out our blog post on delegating to learn why it is hard and how to do it successfully.
