It’s been so long since Kathy Lehne had to do basically everything at her company that she can’t really recall if it was hard to let go of some of her power.
“We were growing,” says the founder, president and CEO of Sun Coast Resources Inc. “I just realized there are certain things you can’t do that you once did. You’ve got to trust someone else to do it.”
It may not have been a huge challenge for Lehne to delegate, but it was necessary. After all, who has the time to be making all the decisions in a company that now employs more than 500 people?
Certainly not someone who took a modest wholesale fuel and lubricants marketer founded in 1985 to revenue of more than $1 billion in 2008.
Lehne didn’t have an epiphany telling her she needed to begin delegating. It was just a gradual process when she began to see the need to share responsibility.
“Some of the things that you can delegate give you more time to think about the overall business than doing some of the day-to-day things that someone else should be doing,” she says.
Though she still admits to doing day-to-day tasks that maybe she shouldn’t, she realizes, as the leader, she needs to look at the overall picture of the organization.
“Delegation is one of the most important practices a CEO must adhere to in order to be successful,” she says. “Along with delegation comes accountability but not second guessing. In order to prosper, delegation must be the cornerstone of every growth strategy. Without delegation and support for their decisions, team members will not offer their insight and creativity in fear of retribution.”
Don’t hire alone
One area to start the delegation process is with hiring.
Lehne could overwork herself, do all the interviews alone and make the decisions, but that wouldn’t be productive.
In addition, having candidates meet with multiple employees in the beginning will help them in the end.
“By enlisting the support and perspectives from others, the candidate stands an improved chance of being accepted into the organization, compared to a situation where the CEO simply brings them on board without the prior blessing from other managers,” she says.
In the beginning, letting go of some of the hiring powers was a challenge, but it eventually paid off. You have to involve multiple people in an interview process to get other opinions besides just yours.
Lehne may have a potential hire interview with three people just to get different notes to compare.
“Many perspectives in the hiring process (are) important because the candidate will have to fit into the unique culture of the company and be able to work effectively with all the other members on the team,” she says. “All too often, companies hire candidates without proper questioning and scrutiny from others with whom they will work. That is prescription for failure.”
First, the process starts with the human resources, and then the candidate would meet the manager that was actually doing the hiring for that department. Finally, the candidate would complete a third interview with Lehne or one other person involved in the process.
“It’s more just to get a feel of the person because you have their resume or you have their history,” she says.
When all the discussions have concluded and a decision needs to be made, Lehne allows the human resources manager and the direct manager who the candidate will be working for to make the decision.
“At some point, you have to trust your managers,” she says. “That’s why you have the managers.”
While you may be tempted to make the decision for your managers, don’t do it. If you struggle with micromanaging, gradually work yourself into delegating things instead of just sharing responsibility all at once.
“Micromanaging can and often will act as an impediment to productivity and ingenuity,” she says. “The fastest way to kill teamwork is to second-guess and micromanage your department heads. CEOs reluctant to let go of the reins and delegate more should do so in small steps. Once they have done so and see the positive results, delegation will be embraced much easier.”
