Decision making is all about odds. You can make the right decision and still get the wrong outcome. Similarly, you can make the wrong decision and get the right outcome. And, of course, there are levels of “right” and “wrong.” It could be the superficially right decision, but when analyzed at depth, it was made for the wrong reasons. Of course, the outcome is good, so those wrong reasons look right.
It’s like many tech companies in the past few years. The marketplace is expanding so rapidly, it almost doesn’t matter the choices their leadership makes. Market expansion is so strong right now, the company will grow no matter what. Of course, tons of great decision are made, but bad ones are made and validated as well.
Growth is not always a good indicator of decision quality.
Taking control from your team can lead to success
Last week I wrote about letting your team shine and how easy it is to stifle them. As a small business owner, you can be validated by getting in the way of your team. If you, as an owner, work hard, stay on top of all aspects of your business, and use your team as very intelligent supporters of all of your primary efforts, you’ll make money, quite possibly, with very high margins.
You are smart. You have the best, clearest vision of everyone on your team. You’ve succeeded in the past by doing it all yourself, so why not just use your team as support? This way, you maintain mastery of every aspect of your business. It’s the best way to get everything done right, right? And your initial success shows this works.
Decision = Validated!
But not letting go leads to bigger problems
You’ll never grow. At a certain size, you won’t be able to do it all or control all of the moving pieces. In the immortal words of Marshall Goldsmith, “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There“.
In fact, your leadership strategy will be the biggest blocker to your growth. Not only that but shifting your strategy to delegation and empowerment is going to get harder as time goes on. Margins will drop. You will be out of practice and/or learning a net-new skill with a larger team. Likewise, your team is basically going to have to reinvent how they operate.
The longer you go, the harder it will be to shift the culture and the mindset. The monkey will still be clinging to your back. Your team will not take initiative because they will expect you to swoop in to save the day – (like you’ve already been doing for years). Additionally, there will be a weird sense of entitlement that you can’t quite put your finger on. Oh yeah, and you are going to have some big stumbles in front of your customers instead of little stumbles.
Not that I’ve never found myself in this position ever.
Note to self
Trust your team and grow together!
Thanks to Philipp Mandler for the shot of the house on the cliff.