“The staff are not as good as me! I’m the only one who knows what is going on”.
Companies that survive the start-up stage generally move to a functional organisation structure. Specialists in the business will report to the owner for accounts, marketing and delivery. As the business grows the specialist functions will have their own supervisors appointed and those further down the organisation become increasingly more specialist.
Although the business becomes more efficient the staff become less empowered as they follow the processes and instructions of the supervisors. The staff will become very proficient in their narrow field which leads to them being frustrated by their supervisor’s lack of detailed knowledge. The most junior staff will leave to seek opportunities where they can gain additional responsibilities and as the owner is directly supervising those who report to them, they will not feel confident to let go, never having given the supervisors space.
This centralised control is only broken by the owner learning to delegate to an overall manager, who should be empowered. Delegation to a senior member of staff is one of the most difficult skills to master as the owner of a business.
If you would like to reset your business, so your staff are managed in a way that makes them more motivated, more efficient and you get more free time please contact me for a no-obligation meeting: PeterSearle@businessdoctors.co.uk