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We've all had a manager that perches on our shoulders all day.
And if you don’t, it might be you ;)
Thinks he's helping you get your work done, but is actually just getting in the way.
Turns out
I was that guy
.
When I was just starting my business,
I was the #1 expert
at almost everything.
I’d constantly complain about people’s results and their slow pace.
So when people inevitably had difficulties doing something, I ended up doing it for them.
I knew I could do it better… so I’d try to do as much of it myself as I could.
But this was a big
mistake
!
With time I learned that I can’t be the #1 expert at everything.
In fact, I shouldn’t even be trying to be.
Instead of focusing on the short-term goals of getting a task done as best as possible quickly, I should have been investing in people.
A good manager knows what context and guidance they need to give their team, and then steps back and lets them bring it to life themselves.
Want to know what’ll happen?
They’ll make TONS of
mistakes
… but those will be THEIR
mistakes.
I saw so many
mistakes
I could never have imagined anyone would make!
My role evolved from diving into the details and showing people how to do their job…
To focus on making sure they got the big picture and were aligned with our vision.
I gave them the time they needed to find and correct their own mistakes, and grow because of it.
If you want to find new ways to succeed, you need to experience new forms of failure.
It took some time but the results were exponential!
Instead of spinning round in circles… with me pulling my hair out every week because I couldn’t find time to do EVERYTHING…
We now have a highly capable team, with people doing ads, PR, sales, copywriting, SMM, and everything else, MUCH better than I ever could!
Now, I just focus on guiding the team in the
right direction
. Asking the right questions, and building a shared vision we move towards as one.
And every now and again, I get my hands dirty and join a department to see how they’re doing what they do.
