I believe the hardest transition in business is the one from Doer to Manager.
When a person starts a business, let’s face it, they need to do everything or almost everything. As the business grows, the entrepreneur needs to shed some of his or her duties. They need to delegate. And that is a difficult thing to do. After all, no one can do a given task faster or better than they can. And training someone else takes time; a commodity in short supply when one is growing a business.
But unless the business owner can delegate tasks, growth of the business will be limited. There is only so much one person can do.
We’ve all seen examples: The restaurant owner who works 14-hour days, six or seven days a week. They cook, do the ordering, help with the front end of the house; everything. With success, they dream, and probably talk about, opening a second location. Maybe there is even a family member who would like the opportunity to run that second location. And then after the second location, who knows? Maybe more locations. And the intention is there too.
But without the wiliness to train, delegate and let go, the second location will never happen. The business owner, the greatest strength of the business, becomes its weak point as well. The business owner who can’t delegate, who can’t become a manager, puts a constraint on the size of the business.
Delegation isn’t easy but it allows the business owner the chance to realize managerial leverage, much as debt allows one to create financial leverage. One’s efforts can be multiplied.
Most business owners never get to the point of being a pure manager. That is, they always have some original work they perform. But sometimes a business gets big enough that the business owner becomes a pure manager.
I’ve had one opportunity in my career to be a pure manager. At that time I was CEO of a company with 140 employees. While only eight of those people were direct-reports, all 140 worked for me directly or indirectly. It was a lot of responsibility.
I took a management training course where I received some excellent advice: “Everything you accomplish you will accomplish through others.” This statement changed my perspective. Rather than thinking of managing people as a distraction or a less-than-favored activity, I realized that managing people was what I did.
This including hiring the right people, training them and retaining them. Along the way, it was my responsibility to lead, to set policy and to provide the vision towards our strategic direction. It was essential for me to step back, plan and communicate to every employee their part in achieving the company’s goals. Controlling the business processes, measuring performance and taking appropriate action were also parts of the job.
Some people will never be able to make the leap from Doer to Manager. But if one can make that transition, the job can be very rewarding. And the business owner will no longer being the limiting factor on the business’s growth. Then, there are no limits.
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