Growing Pains
Whereas before, you did everything, now others make your product, track regular shipment going out, etc. You’ve still got your finger on the pulse of everything, but it’s not possible to follow every decision or outcome unless it’s brought to your attention.
Now, you won’t know everything that happens in a day. If you do, then you’re upsetting your own organization; if you still try to control everything once you’ve grown, decisions stall waiting for you, production slows waiting for your approval, and growth grinds to a halt.
The question becomes, how do you allow your company to grow beyond your immediate control?
Letting Go The Reins
No matter who you employ, this will always be your business, your vision and ultimately, you have to answer to investors, customers, and employees when trouble occurs. However, instead of riding solo, your horse is now pulling a carriage. You don’t need to hold the reins any longer as much as you need to direct the carriage.
So, you need a carriage operator, a horse manager, a carriage maintenance pro, etc. In other words, when we stop horsing around, you will need to find others who have both the experience and drive to help you lead your business to the next level. You must build a culture of trust in which these others can make decisions about your business.
Ways To Encourage Growth
Growth means that your former laser-focus on day-to-day operations must be dispersed, delegated, to a management team. When you employ the right leaders with the right drive who are willing to buy in to the vision of the growing company, then you can let go and allow the organization to function. The carriage will gain momentum and race down the lane.
As the owner of the company, you control the culture of the company more than any other individual. Showing that you are willing to trust the leaders that you bring in to make decisions and that you don’t have to do everything yourself is the first step in growing your company.
Encouraging these first partners to do the same with the next level of management brought in continues this culture of empowerment with each step of growth. Have clear goals for all levels in your organization, but trust that they will succeed, and hold them accountable to both their failures and successes.
A Winning Growth Formula
The best way to create a growth culture is through trust. When you allow professionals to do their job and trust in their efforts, then they will rise to the expectation. You hired them for a reason, now trust them to do the job.
