Delegate
Part of having an open structure is delegating tasks down the line, which can be a challenge for you.
“In our size company, you have to be pretty deeply involved, but you can’t micromanage your staff,” he says. “You have to get them to the point where they make their own decisions. But I have to be involved enough that I feel we are going in the right direction.”
The challenge in delegating can come down to the fact that you might be able to complete a task more efficiently than those below you.
“That’s a dangerous thing to do,”
he says. “You have to keep pushing it down and let them try. They’ll fail sometimes. You have to help them get through it — why they made the bad decision. But delegating is very important. You can’t run a business … and do everything yourself. It’ll kill you, and it doesn’t grow other people in the company either.”
Stewart says he sometimes even falls into that trap when he knows it’s not the best way to lead. With a background in sales, he sometimes starts to think he can do it better than one of his employees, but he has to remember to back off. Stewart learned that lesson from watching previous bosses become involved in negotiations with clients and then end up trapped.
“If you have a negotiation, you don’t want the top person there because you have no place to fall back on,” he says. “If I want to go, I know I can’t. If you do have a problem in negotiations, there’s no place to go.”
When a delegated task doesn’t get completed or is done incorrectly, Stewart deals with the manager because the lower-level employee might be more reticent to talk about a mistake or failed task.
If someone who Stewart works with directly is having problems delivering, he speaks with that person directly. If you’re in this situation, avoid the typical office setting where you are behind your desk and your manager is called in to explain the situation. Stewart finds getting out of the office is a better way to handle a problem with a manager.
“It has to be more personal there,” he says. “We have to keep discussing again what our objectives are so they understand it. It’s again much more personal.
“We go outside for a drink, get outside the building or go out in the evening sometime, and we’re talking business, trying to get to the heart of the problem.”
Getting outside the building can help ease what could be a tense situation, which could lead to a better discussion.
“You get a little more informal, and you get a little more openness in people,” he says “A more formal office environment, people will lock up a bit. It’s a little more difficult.”
At the end of the day, whether you are dealing with a managerial problem or you have to make a decision on a policy, you are the one who will be held accountable. But to create an open structure and stop walls from forming, you have to continually stay in touch with employees and give them responsibilities.
“I try to push down, as much as possible, decision-making where it belongs,” Stewart says. “I don’t want to get involved in a lot of the day-to-day things that lower managers should be able to handle. Some people are reluctant to make decisions so one of our challenges always is to make sure that you understand that and don’t be afraid to make decisions. I don’t have a problem if they make a mistake. I want them to learn from it. I don’t want them to repeat that mistake. Obviously, we’ve all made mistakes here, and we look at them and say, ‘We messed that up.’ Let’s go back and fix it and go on. We don’t want to dwell on it and try to attack people.”
How to reach: FS-Elliott Co. LLC (724) 387-3200 or www.fs-elliott.com
