Every business owner needs a strong accountable team around them to take care of day-to-day business. By giving these responsibilities to carefully chosen staff it creates time for business owners to work on longer-term planning and strategic matters. However, delegating isn’t as easy as it sounds. In this article we look at 5 better ways of managing that will work for you, your staff and your business.
Developing accountability in your team will only be a success if you select the right people. It’s likely that you already have great people in your team who are keen to develop and take on more responsibility. Make a plan of all the tasks and responsibilities that you want to delegate and select the best individual for each area based on their mix of skills. Discuss your plans with your staff and work with each individual to prepare them.
Successful managers set clear objectives and expectations with their team. This leads to increased motivation levels and reduced workplace confusion because everyone understands what they are aiming for. Make sure you give everyone a job description that sets out their responsibilities and links their personal objectives to corporate goals. Set targets and communicate them with staff, explaining how you will measure their performance. Check understanding with staff before they begin.
Measure individual performance against targets as objectively as you can and use data wherever possible to keep things factual rather than based on opinions. Discuss performance at regular intervals with both your team and each individual. Celebrate and reward good performance and support staff to improve where necessary by clarifying expectations and providing guidance and training.
Many business owners find it hard to let go. After all, you were probably doing these tasks before you delegated them so it can be hard to believe that anyone else can do them as well as you. But if you want to see your team develop you need to stop micromanaging and allow staff the space to find their own feet. If you have put clear expectations and targets in place and you are monitoring performance what’s the worst that can happen?
As you let go there are bound to be some mistakes but how you choose to react is important for future success. Of course, you need to point out errors and correct them, but be constructive and use it as an opportunity to improve. This might mean more training, but could also highlight where expectations are not clear or processes are imperfect. Finally, move on – don’t bring up past mistakes after the lesson has been learned but do make sure the same mistakes do not happen again!
A strong accountable management team is an essential ingredient of a growing business and a certain route to a successful business exit. Secantor has been helping business owners to develop accountable management teams for two decades. Book a call with one of our team to see how we can help you build your perfect team.
Since all businesses are different and may have varying financial requirements, it makes sense for one of our experts to get to know your company in greater detail so we can create the perfect package for you. To do this, we provide a free business review or site visit, enabling us to obtain all the relevant information we need to improve and manage the financial side of your operations. Contact us today to start the conversation.
Over the years we have helped hundreds of businesses take control of their finances. By working closely with owners and directors we become an integral part of the management team and as a result have long-standing relationships with our customers, many of whom have relied on our expert knowledge, advice and guidance for many years. Why not review some of our case studies or watch the one-minute video below to hear what our customers have to say?