How can I get to a point where I am managing my business instead of putting out fires?

Barbara from Nevada asks;  “How can I get to a point where I am managing my business instead of putting out fires?”

Thank you for your candor. It is greatly appreciated, and you aren’t alone. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “if I had a nickel…” In this case the subordinate clause is, “for every time a business owner has told me that they spend most of their time fighting fires in their business.” My response has become part of every meeting with a business owner who may well have his schedule in order but continues to deal with operational interruptions. Put simply, a business owner should never resort to being a babysitter, a policeman or a firefighter. As I say this, most respond with laughter or at least a smile. Turns out that most owners find themselves doing exactly that. Babysitting employees who can’t seem to get along, department heads and/or vendors who need a mediator and/or staff who want YOU to solve all their problems.

But why? I was told early in my career, fortunately, that you should never go to your boss with problems, only solutions. All too often a business owner will unwittingly answer every question posed by an employee, or worse, a department director immediately when asked and then the owner grumbles about having to put out fires or babysit, all day long. In the employee’s mind, the easy solution is to ask YOU the question rather than risk doing it wrong. Let’s face it, depending on what kind of a culture was developed in the company, this easy answer is typically the “go to”. In most cases, an employee knows the answer but fear of retribution or pure laziness, they seek validation in any way they know how. That is typically to ask you.

Years ago, Scandinavian Airways had a problem that I believe most companies have when dealing with the front line, customer conflict. To abbreviate the story, ticket counter attendants had no authority to change, adjust or refund fares for passengers with traveling conflict. This was obviously quite unnerving to passengers. If you’ve ever traveled by air and have had to interact with the ticket agent, you can imagine the anxiety. Through serious examination, review and overhauling the decision-making authority, the company granted more “on site” decision-making authority to the front-line representatives.  In a year’s time, the company doubled its bookings and received AAA rating for customer service and passenger care.

Starting with clearly defined job responsibilities, levels of authority and a clearly defined organizational flow chart, the solutions become clearer. These are all part and parcel of developing effective operational flow and developing strong team members. Who is that employee’s direct report? What decision making authority do they have? Do they have a fear of their supervisor blowing up if something goes sideways or are they encouraged to think it through and provide solutions in future situations? There’s your culture kicking in AND providing solutions. Every time I have been with the owner, and I hear him respond with a quick answer, I always ask him, “how often do they ask you those kinds of questions?” Typically, the owner will say, “all the time!” How about this approach… ask them what THEY would do? Listen to the answer, agree to their response, or guide them through to the solution and applaud them (figuratively), and encourage them to proceed. What happens in this case? The employee slowly learns the value of decision-making, averts the conflict, gains confidence – everyone wins. It’s a process that takes time and patience to implement but in the long run you gain confident, more competent team members.

As for policing and babysitting… a review of company policy is probably a good start. You as a business owner and likely the one who started the business on your own, you absolutely recognize the nuances and details of the work you provide and the service you perform, intimately. As a business owner myself, I have realized that as my staff grows it is easy to assume that all the history and circumstances of previous work is somehow understood by all incoming staff members. I’ve learned that couldn’t be further from the truth. As your company evolves, it is a great idea to review process, procedure, and workflow changes with existing and incoming staff for understanding and compliance. Your staff wants to do a good job and be successful. Providing them with proper on-boarding, contemporary guidelines, and measures of what acceptable and exceptional performance looks like is essential for them, and you, to be successful.

As a company who works with businesses to help craft effective means to grow a company’s staff and improve overall effectiveness as they shift from being “firefighters” to business leaders, I can tell you with assurance the results are ultimately rewarding. I have confidence that “working on the business” vs “working in the business” will give you great peace and your customers confidence in referring you to others.