Have you heard about the time Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were camping in the woods?
It was a warm summer’s night on one of their many adventures together, when suddenly, Holmes woke up startled. Quickly looking around, he sat up and reached over to where Watson was sleeping. “Watson! Watson wake up,” he demanded.
Dr. Watson, of course, was not very pleased with this rude awakening. “What do you want?!” he grumbled.
“Watson, look up and tell me what you see?” his friend asked.
Watson knew that Holmes wouldn’t let him get back to sleep until he complied. He looked up at the night sky and said, "I see hundreds of thousands of stars."
"And what can you conclude from that?" Sherlock asked him.
Watson thought about it for a little bit and said, "Well, if there are hundreds of thousands of stars, then it suggests to me that there must be millions of planets. And if there are millions of planets, then it may be reasonably implied that there are at least hundreds of planets that can sustain life. Of those hundreds of planets that are able to sustain life, I conclude that several of them must be able to support intelligent life, just as has been the case here on Earth.”
Holmes stood up, looked down at Watson and said, “You fool, you should have concluded that someone stole our tent!”
When you’re working ‘in’ your business and not ‘on’ your business, it is very easy to miss the obvious, just like Dr. Watson. The consequences of working in the business and not on your business often means that you probably don’t have a good balance between your work life and your home life. In fact, you’re probably spending very little time at home and far too much time at work. As a result, you probably aren’t taking care of your body or getting enough sleep. You may feel burnt out or at least you’ve lost the excitement you once felt about going to work. Yet despite needing a break, you probably think you just can’t afford to make time for family, friends, hobbies or vacations - the very things that might help you to feel renewed and reinvigorated. Does this sound like you?
If it kind of sounds like but you’re still unsure if you’re one of those that is spending more time ‘in’ than ‘on’ the business, I’m going to ask a series of rapid fire questions and if you find yourself answering ‘yes’ to more than half then you’re spending too much time ‘in’ the business:
“Putting out the biggest fire” -- reaction mode mentality
Do you constantly come to work and find yourself immediately inundated with employees asking for your assistance?
Does solving these problems for your employees prevent you from getting started on the tasks and projects you planned on accomplishing that day?
You’ve Got Mail!
Are you using your inbox as a haphazard filing system?
Do you have more unread email than opened messages?
Are employees copying you on emails that you don’t actually need to see or have time for?
Employee problems and infighting
Are you spending a considerable amount of time and energy on employee complaints and infighting?
Are employees coming to you in confidence to “tattle” on their co-workers?
Are you having to spend time replacing staff due to constant turnover?
You don’t have your finger on the financial pulse of the company
Are you ignoring your financial statements on a monthly basis?
Are you unable to read and fully comprehend your financial documents?
Are you failing to share key financial information and performance data points with your employees?
Lack of process and procedures
When employees leave, do they take all or most of the company knowledge with them?
When a new employee is hired, are they left floundering without procedures or onboarding programs to ensure a smooth transition?
No communication
Do you and your staff skip having weekly meetings?
Are the members of your team confused about the key goal expectations for their roles?
Has it been a long while since you’ve measured job performance using meaningful criteria and accurate data?
If you answered yes to at least half of these questions, then it’s probably safe to assume that you are spending far too much time ‘in’ the business and not enough time ‘on’ the business.
Consider those results as your wake-up call. If you don’t change now, you risk getting burned out. As your team begins to notice changes in your behavior and demeanor, you could end up losing your best employees as your business begins to suffer. If you let this situation continue for too long, you could eventually lose your job or your business altogether.
So, now that you have identified the problem, how do you begin to turn things around? Where do you start? Try using this quick, easy, 3-step plan to help you get back on track. These 3 steps can help you rediscover your passion for your job and motivate your team to achieve greater success.
Own the problem to control it.
The first step is to take ownership of the situation. Start with acknowledging that the responsibility for this problem lies with you.
Ask yourself this question: “What was it about my leadership that caused this situation?” Don’t skip this important first step, because it’s only when you own up to the problem that you regain control over it. Once you realize that it is under your control, then you will feel empowered with knowledge that you are also able to change it.
So, let me ask you again: “What was it about your leadership that caused this situation?”
Most often, the answer involves a failure to give up control of certain responsibilities. This mindset often starts off innocently enough, such as when a business owner mistakenly thinks it will take them less time to complete a task by his or herself, than to train an employee to do it. This short term thinking can rapidly snowball into a long term problem as unproductive tasks continue to build and fill up your daily schedule, preventing you from performing the work that originally made you successful.
If this sounds like one of your challenges, then you’re ready for step 2.
2. Re-evaluate your tasks to better plan for the long-term.
Now that you control the problem, you can start solving it by evaluating every task you perform. Before you begin working on any of these concerns, ask yourself these questions: “Are these tasks draining to me? Are they as important as the key business goals and strategies that I am responsible for - or should someone else be handling it?” If you answered yes to questions, follow it up by considering which employee would be best suited to tackle these issues.
Once you have determined which staff member is the best fit for any particular situation, you can begin investing time in training that employee to complete that task. Remember - by spending a little time in the short-term training your staff and encouraging them to be self-reliant, you’ll gain a lot more time in the long-term for your own goals and responsibilities.
Now, comes the hardest part - trust in others.
3. Learn to trust in your staff by delegating appropriately.
Oftentimes, business owners don’t want to let go of these tasks because they fear that no one will accomplish it as well as they can. However, if you trust your employees to perform these tasks, you’ll likely find that not only did they successfully manage it, but they might have even handled it better than you could have. The reason for this is because your employee already has the proper credentials, experience and background for getting that job done. You hired them to perform these tasks in the first place, so trust in their expertise and empower them to complete this work for you.
By using this 3-step strategy, you can begin to retake control over your work life instead of letting it control you. Taking a little time now to assess where and how you direct your energy and attention can actually save you more time in the long run. You’ll be able to decrease the number of energy draining tasks you perform and free up time for your key work responsibilities.
In particular, you should also find time to devote to your personal as well. If you’ve been feeling burnt out, then spending time with loved ones and going on vacation can help you find new inspiration so you can return to work reenergized. This will allow you to become more proactive and productive at work, which in turn can lead to more effective weekly meetings with your team, and that can give you the time and insight needed to better understand and utilize your financial information as you strategize for future success.
And whenever you feel yourself getting so lost amongst the stars that you miss the obvious like Dr. Watson, take these three steps back to refocus on the things that Sherlock Holmes would say are simply “elementary” to your success.