PRE-SEASON BLOG #1: Embrace Your ROLE

How Many Roles Are You Playing?

3 Simple Steps To Get You Out Of Overwhelm and Back In Control

As I said in last week's blog, January for small business is what sports people call their Pre-Season.

So throughout this month, I'm going to share my 5 Pre-Season Blogs with practical strategies so you can springboard into your 2023 Small Business Season by

1. Embracing Your ROLE
2. Focusing Your TIME
3. Building Your SYSTEMS
4. Managing Your PEOPLE
5. Growing Your BUSINESS

In this blog, I'm going to share 3 simple steps to get you out of overwhelm and back in control including why it's important to take off one Role (aka Hat) to put on another one throughout the day, especially when you're the Chief Everything Officer CEO.

FOUNDATION BRICK #1 Embrace Your ROLE

For many small business owners, they aren't just the Owner or the CEO – they're the Chief Everything Officer! Which means they play a number of roles within their business, or put another way, they wear many hats.

But as any successful sports player or coach will tell you, until you understand and embrace the role you have to play, at that particular moment; success will continue to allude you. Instead, all you get is people feeling confused, overwhelmed and frustrated.

The reason for this is because not only are the lines between each positional role within your business blurred, but there's not a clear idea of when one finishes and another one starts. Because during any one day, you could be the CEO, HR Manager, Sales Manager, Finance Manager, Marketing Manager, Admin Support Officer and Technical Expert/Doer.

Sound familiar?

And when you're playing that many roles, wearing that many hats, is it any wonder you feel like you're being pulled in 20 directions, things fall through the cracks and you're not sure what to do next or even where to start because there's just too much to do.

This is a common problem my coaching clients raise so let me share with you 3 simple steps to get you out of this feeling of overwhelm and back in control.

3 STEPS TO HELP YOU PLAY YOUR ROLES AND GET YOU BACK IN CONTROL

STEP #1 Develop Your Organisational Chart

Such a simple task to complete but unfortunately many small business owners don't have it documented, particularly if there's only themselves and/or maybe a few staff.

And this is the time when you need it the most. Because although your name is probably in just about every box, just like mine is, until you clearly decide the roles you and others play in your business, you can't begin to document the responsibilities and procedures for each role; and this is where the confusion begins as lines become blurred.

So take the time to develop your organisational chart which will probably have boxes like HR Manager, Finance Manager, Sales Manager, Marketing Manager, Admin/Operation Manager - all reporting to the CEO.

Then list the dot points about what each position actually does so you can move on to step 2.

STEP #2 Get Different Hats

In my experience most small business owners, even with a team, will hold at least 3 roles ie Owner, CEO and another title so they need a different hat for every role they hold.

And this is what I recommend to my coaching clients.

That they see what's at home or go to the cheap shop to buy a hat for every role they hold so they can start physically taking one off to put another one on to ensure they are only completing the tasks and responsibilities of that role and not a different one.

Case in point: I was working with a husband and wife (owners) and their team to find ways to increase the productivity, profitability and performance of their small business (and to identify why staff weren't getting on well with each other).

When I was discussing the Business Manager's role (who was the wife), I discovered she stopped her work and left her office to walk down the corridor twice a day to put the kettle on for morning and afternoon tea. I asked why she did this and her response was 'because I've always done it – we're a family here and I'm the mother hen'. My next question was 'so if someone else was employed as the Business Manager, would you expect them to do this?' And her answer of course was No! So we immediately made a change whereby the staff (whose desks were closer to the kitchen anyway) worked out between themselves who would put on the kettle each day.

Now you may be thinking: what's the big deal - it's probably only a 5-10 minute job so why change it?

We changed it for 2 reasons:

1. This task takes between 10 and 20 minutes a day which is over an hour a week of lost and interrupted productivity – time which would be better spent sending quotes and invoices to clients so money can keep coming into the business.

2. Because it was a task the Owner liked to do and not a task which should be done by the Business Manager.

By getting 2 different hats, the wife was able to wear the Owner labelled hat when she wanted to put the kettle on and chat to staff, and when she was wearing the Business Manager labelled hat, she remained focused on the tasks to be completed in that role.

By having to physically take one hat off and put another one on may seem a silly thing to do, but you'll be amazed at how quickly you can undertake the right tasks and make clear decisions relevant to just that role.

If you have a team, there's the added bonus they can also see which labelled hat you're wearing and decide whether they should interrupt you or not.

STEP #3 Decide the Role/s You Want and Excel In

I'm sure like me, you started your own business to do the work you love and are good at. But we all quickly find out, there's more involved when running a business.

You also have to be good at sales, marketing, admin, IT, HR, social media, finance and the list goes on.

And that's why one of the Foundation Bricks is about Embracing Your ROLE because with all of these other functions and skills we either don't like to do or aren't good at, there's only 2 choices to be made:

1. Get someone to do this work OR

2. If the dollars don't allow this to happen, then you have to step up and do the work until the business has the dollars to get someone to do it.

Ignoring things or procrastinating is not the answer and this is another reason why you need to develop your Org Chart – to help you decide what work you really like to do versus the work you want to get someone else to do.

And this choice will be different for everyone.

People have always told me the first thing you should outsource is your accounts, and for most people I would agree. But I like doing them so why would I? I've also been told to have other people deliver my presentations but again, why would I give up the work that I'm not only good at and love, but lights me and gives me energy to then do work that I don't enjoy as much.

Because the reality is every role – whether we own the business or are an employee – has tasks in it we don't like to do but have to be done.

What's Next?

When a sporting team wins, you'll just about always hear players interviewed say 'everyone played their role' which is the ultimate compliment. But that doesn't happen overnight.

It occurs when the coach has clearly defined what a player must do (and not do) in that role. Then it's practised many times at training, constructive feedback is provided in a game about what they should and should not be doing until ultimately, it becomes an ingrained habit and everyone in the team knows what they and everyone else is doing.

And for those players who have multiple roles eg can play forward or defence, the same principles apply so they only do what's required of a forward when they're in that role, and vice versa when they're in defence.

What successful sports players don't do is try and play 2 roles at once because it doesn't work and only results in confusion and frustration – for them and the team.

The same can be said for any small business. Staff always want clarity about what they should and should not be doing, and be given enough training and support to get to the point where it becomes habit so the team and the business are working in unison.

So how many of these steps have you completed in your small business?

What support, help, skills etc do you need to embrace each role you play in your business?

What support, help, skills etc does your team need to embrace each role you ask them to play in your business?

And here's my final thought:

For those working with family or friends, I'd also encourage you get a hat labelled accordingly eg Friend, Mum, Dad, Son, Sister etc.

I've worked with a lot of family businesses and not only do we have to take off the role title hats to determine what's working and what's not; we also have to take off the Family/Friend hats so those relationships stop being blurred and fractured.

I'll leave you with one of my favourite quotes from Benjamin Franklin:

They that will not be counselled cannot be helped.

No one is knowledgeable enough or have enough experience

to think of everything at once,

to see all possible meanings in a contract or commitment,
or be aware of all the hazards,
or see all sides of the subject.

Look out for Pre-Season Blog #2: Focus Your TIME

Cheers
Tamara

Author: Tamara Simon

Tamara Simon uses the world of sport to coach people to grow their small business.

For over twenty years as a Speaker, Author and Coach, she's been providing much needed support to small business owners, CEOs and their teams so they can build, manage and grow a simple profitable business.

So if your organisation's members are small businesses or you're a small business owner who is...

- ready to GROW but not sure where to start

- overwhelmed with managing your GROWTH

- looking for possibilities to GROW further

Then check out her website to find out how to work with her, and book her to speak at your next event.
www.tamarasimon.com.au

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