When something is your creation you may be hesitant to let others in – yet allowing them to help is essential for reaching your end goals. They could take on extra responsibility, lead the delivery of key projects and in return be rewarded for success.
You will undoubtedly know company owners in your network who hold on to too much and struggle with the workload and daily pressure of running a business. Or maybe you can relate to the business owners who are the opposite and are too trusting.
Absolute trust is a very rare thing. In business we talk about trust as the basis for better relationships, better collaboration, better culture and better outcomes. Trusting someone you know can do something is easy; trusting in someone’s future potential takes leadership.
As leaders we need to trust to develop our business. Trust is based on a combination of character and competence – you are more likely to trust someone who is both open and honest (character) and who is able to do the right things well (competence).
To develop your team and to broaden their skills, you need to delegate. Start by identifying the things that you’re not good at, you don’t enjoy or that get in the way of more valuable activities, then follow these steps:
- Make a note of who has proactively volunteered for extra responsibility and give them the chance to take on more
- Have conversations to open up possibilities and so remove barriers that may have instilled a ‘leave things to me’ culture
- Try breaking down a task into smaller chunks and ask someone to take it on with your guidance
- Assess the person’s progress and output – not just in doing the task but also how they respond to being asked, what pride they take and their appetite for more
- Ask for and provide feedback because it will help you and your team learn and create an open trusting environment in which future activity will thrive.
If you are a business owner who has been keeping everything to yourself and are now feeling the strain, use these five steps to help both you and your team to grow because at some point you will exit your business. If you think you already trust ‘too much’ or feel you have been caught-out in the past, then do likewise.
Whatever situation you can relate to, we can help you gain, build and develop trust in your team so that you can collectively take your business to an eventual exit. Contact us to arrange an initial discussion.
(Article photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com)