So What Are YOU Going To Do About It?

Sometimes epiphanies come at the strangest times. After watching a planning session go left and senseless school shootings occurring this week, I needed some different stimuli. Family Feud time! In the middle of trying to think of the top answers to a silly question “Name the state with the best beaches” (Florida was the answer by the way), I realized that everyone has been pointing fingers to identify who is at fault should do something. As business owners, we are accountable for addressing things that happen under our watch and are responsible for taking action. Have you considered instead of asking those very same people the question, “What are YOU going to do about it?”

Poor communication, bottlenecks, and stumbles in the execution process all surface as reasons for lack of performance that are left for you to solve as the leader of your business. Whether issues are brought by your staff, subcontractors or clients, we often rush to solve the problems put in our laps. At what point do you push back? We pay people for their expertise and ideas; we provide guidelines and our expectations. If you need to solve everything, why do you need them?

Could this mean you are experiencing one of the following?

· Micromanaging / Not trusting your team

· Not holding people accountable for decisions or mistakes they make

· Overdue to hire some additional help

As you move things off your plate in order to focus on the high-level items that are critical to moving the mission of your business forward, keep in mind that pushback doesn’t have to be defensive or abrasive. Take a pause before addressing to evaluate if the problem is something you need to address at that moment or can it be handled later or by someone else. Remember you’re the Boss 

Did I hear you say, sounds good but they don’t know what to do? I know, I know. Many people can identify problems and have trouble coming up with solutions. There is a range of options from a small habit change to large policy adjustments that prompt people to create suggestions that will impact your bottom line. Baby steps grow into big independent ones that help improve your productivity. Be patient — moving your team and people in your ecosystem to a place of accountability will not happen overnight. Don’t fret. You got this, so let’s get it done!