There are all kinds of crazy in this world. For example, being a control freak. It has its pros and cons, but it’s a totally manageable type of crazy. That is until you let your control issues get so out of hand your business can’t get anything done because you have to oversee everything.

See where I’m going with this? Your psycho control issues are hurting your business. 

Can you imagine how much work wouldn’t get done at Roundpeg if I had to talk to Lorraine every single time I changed something in a customer newsletter or blog post or if I had to get her approval before I posted a status on Facebook?

Nothing would get done! She wouldn’t be able to make calls, answer emails and attend meetings because she would be too busy hanging over everyone’s shoulder making changes to projects everyone is working on. And trust me, we are all working on a lot of projects. You cannot run a successful business by micromanaging all of your employees.

You need to hire professionals, train them and trust them to do the work you delegate to them. Sure you might have to guide them in the beginning, but if you hire the right employees the first time around you won’t have to train them for too long. They’ll be working on projects and communicating with customers without your supervision in no time.

Sometimes projects won’t be completed in the exact way you would have done them. Once you realize different isn’t wrong and sometimes different is better, you free yourself up to work on more important projects.

Delegate responsibility like a BOSS

“Maybe you’re not the type of control freak who wants to micromanage every aspect of your business at all hours of the workday, but you could be the other type and that’s just as bad.”
– The Over-Delegator

You have hired all of these great people to work for you and you are handing off responsibilities. Cool, just be sure you are clear who is supposed to do what.  If not, you’re going to run into a new breed of control issues as employees start fighting for control over the same project which will again lead to nothing getting done in your office. You can’t tell Susie that she has the responsibility to review your monthly newsletter each month and then tell Mary that she needs to review the newsletter, too. That’s already too many hands in the cookie jar.

Isn’t there some saying that goes, “Two sets of eyes are great, but 10 sets are awful,” or something like that? Maybe I just heard Lorraine say it, but it makes sense. Too many people looking over blog posts or web projects leads to way too many opinions from people who don’t necessarily need their opinion vocalized. I have no business telling Peter what looks good on a website because I have no idea what his client wants (and I know nothing about web design). You need to delegate the right tasks to the right people and only those people. This will eliminate confusion and will also move projects along without unnecessary delays.

There are all different types of crazy in this world and sometimes that’s ok. Crazy can be fun, but when it comes to being a psycho control freak or an over-delegater with your business you’re going to need to find a way to manage it and quick.

The longer you struggle with control issues, the longer your business will feel out of control.

photo credit: Amy McTigue via photopin cc. This photo was modified to fit the featured image space.

Looking for more tips on managing your team? Kyle Gorman of the Employer Blueprint has some excellent tips for leaders of all capacities:

This post was updated July 31, 2019.