#169 If I Step Back…Will My Team Think I’m Lazy?

Are you afraid of building a business that creates more time freedom for you because you think you're team will think you're lazy?

In this episode, we're discussing why your team wants you to step back.

Apply to work with me here, and let's start designing a business that works FOR YOU.

Link to Music Credits
Track: Positive Motivation
Author: AShamaluevMusic (ASM)
Publisher: CD Baby (IPI 700570289)

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Transcript

Ilonka Ras (00:00.142)
Welcome to this week's episode. Today we're talking about what is in it for your team, why your team would want to help you work less. Let's go.

how to improve their operations and design a business that can run without them. If you're interested in leading your team more effectively, creating more operational efficiency, delivering with excellence while getting some of your life back, then you're in the right place. Here's your host, Strategic Intervention Coach and Operations Specialist, Ilonka Ross.

Ilonka Ras (00:46.134)
In a recent coaching session with one of my clients, we were talking about taking a vacation from his business. And for those of you who are new to my world or have just started listening, we typically take vacations and we use vacations as a tool for independence, right? So we use vacations to tell us where the business is still dependent on any given person inside of the business.

Now, this is typically the business owner because many of the business owners who come to me are the linchpins in the business. Everything revolves around them. And if they are not working, the business doesn't work. And so we had this discussion in this coaching session about taking that first test vacation. And his concern that my client's concern was what's actually in it for my team. Like, why would they want to help me go on vacation?

And this really comes from this thought that, or worry, concern, that if we work less as business owners, we're in essence asking our team to work more, that if we step back, we're somehow being selfish. I wanted to report a podcast episode on this because it's not the first time that this has come up. And I always explain to my clients that this is not the reason why we build a business that is independent from you.

is not so that you can go and sit on an island and sip pina coladas all day long. I mean, you can absolutely do that. That's also an option. But many of the business owners who come to me actually want to be involved in the business, right? But what they don't understand is that if the business is a hundred percent dependent on them being there, showing up, then this is actually a business built on shaky ground, right? It's almost like playing business Jenga.

And you don't know when things are going to come tumbling down because if you get sick or if you're not able to work inside of the business, then there in essence is no business. so building a business that can work without you isn't about removing yourself and never working in that business ever again. It's about giving your business the feet that it needs to have in order to stand on its own. That's what this is about. And so we use the vacation as a means to.

Ilonka Ras (03:12.174)
test whether the business is able to stand on its own two feet. Because you can think about this. If you had to step away from your business for a period of say two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, how much of the day to day would still happen? Would balls still get paid? Would clients still be served? Right? Would the business still grow? This is why we take the vacation because as soon as you step away, we can very quickly see what's going to fall apart.

I was having this conversation with my client because it's, it was time for them to decide on the timeframe and when they want to take their first vacation. And they expressed their concern because they didn't want their team to feel like they were slacking, right? To feel like they were lazy. One of the sort of mantras that they had is that if my team works 12 hours, I'm going to work 20. Right? If my team puts in.

a double shift, I'm going to put in a triple shift because I need to be the example. I need to show them that I'm willing to work just as hard, if not harder than they are. And this was actually backfiring a little bit, and it might be backfiring for you as well. We think that if we stay back, we're letting people down. It's selfish and that we are not great leaders when we do that. What actually happens?

is that it creates dependency. It shows everyone that it builds this culture inside of the business that's based on or built on the foundation of hustle, right? We have to work harder to achieve more. It creates a sense that if you're not there, everything crumbles. And that is actually dependency. It's not leadership. And so I want to share a couple of ways in which you stepping back actually benefits your team.

And why they won't think that you stepping back is you being lazy or selfish. Why they actually want you to step back. Why they can't wait for you to take a vacation. I always tell my clients that you don't need a vacation from your business. Your business actually needs a vacation from you. So let's run through what is in it for your team. Why would your team want to help you build a business that can run without you?

Ilonka Ras (05:38.334)
The first one is clarity, clarity around everyone's roles and responsibilities, right? What, what am I responsible for? What is my role in the business? What am I bringing to the table that is unique to me as an individual within this team? Having this clarity is so profound because I often see team members when I work with businesses, there is so much disconnect and so much confusion with regards to who does what.

And it's very easy for things to drop through the cracks or for things to not work as efficiently and effectively as they could because people are constantly moving things from their plate to someone else's plate, thinking or not being sure that, you know, is this something that I should be dealing with? Is it something that someone else should be doing? So there's this constant passing of the buck, so to speak. This creates a lot of

time wasted inside of the business. And also people aren't exactly sure how to deal with different things. And that's part of the reason why they will always come to you to ask for authorization or to ask whether they're on the right track or to give them, you know, the answer. Once we know exactly what our role and responsibility is, then we can move so much faster, right? We can do things with so much more confidence because we know exactly

What's on our plate and what we're responsible for. The second thing that happens when you step away is actually ownership and autonomy. Because if you're immersed in the day to day, you are probably like many of the business owners that I work with, micromanaging every little detail. We think that we're helping the team, but we're actually not because they get this feeling like they're constantly being watched or judged, right? Maybe they feel a sense that.

They just can't do anything right. Once you step back, you're in essence creating a situation where the team member or the team now needs to take ownership for the things that they do. They need to become more autonomous because you're not there. They don't, they can't go to you for the answer. They need to figure it out for themselves. And it creates a space room for them to make decisions. Right. And that creates trust.

Ilonka Ras (07:55.212)
that helps them feel trusted, not watched. The third thing that happens is growth. And this is because as your team members take on more responsibility and more ownership, and they work more autonomously inside of the business, they are actually expanding their skills. They're learning, they're growing. They learn faster because they are learning through ownership, through experience, and not just because you told them so.

They are taking action. They're making decisions. They're also making mistakes within guardrails, right within boundaries. And they are learning from that feedback. And so the more you step away, the more space you're in essence, creating for others to rise. And because of that, the team grows. They grow in terms of the capability that they have, the responsibility that they can take on the skills that they have, the experience they have, and it just makes a stronger team.

The fourth thing is stability. This is one thing that pops up a lot because business owners think that because they are at the center of everything, they are the pillar of strength. But your team actually doesn't feel that way. They are afraid that something might happen to you because they know that if you're not there, then everything falls apart because you're the one holding everything together.

And so you stepping away and building your business in a way that is more sustainable and independent, that actually creates long-term security for your team members, right? Because they know that things won't fall apart just because you're not there. Things can still continue. They will, they'll still have a job if you go away for four weeks. Number five is more rest and flexibility. This happens because when things are systemized, everyone can take time off, not just you.

So taking a full week vacation and going through this process for yourself is really just where we start. That's not where we stop, right? We want everyone on the team to be able to take a four week vacation. We want everyone to feel like they can rest and have more flexibility in their day. That is what systems create. The more systems we have, the more independent the business is. It's not just more independent from you. It's more independent from anyone, any one person in the business.

Ilonka Ras (10:17.804)
Number six is respect and trust. And this happens because we're delegating. We're not just pushing tasks off of our plate onto someone else's plate. We're truly delegating. We're delegating the task, yes, but we're also delegating ownership of the outcome. And this is a sign of trust. It builds loyalty very quickly with your team because they know that you're giving them this responsibility because you trust them. Number seven is a stronger team culture.

And when everyone has a clear role, there was actually less competition and more collaboration. It creates space for collaboration, right? What we want to generate is we want to generate a culture where everyone knows that we're working towards a common goal, that everyone on the team is playing an essential part and that I don't need to protect my own back because everyone has my back. So remember we said that we want to

remove you from the center of the business because you're probably the one that's holding on for dear life. Your team cannot wait for you to let go of a couple of things. And there's obviously a process to this, right? But once you do that, your team will start stepping up. I have never worked with a business where the team didn't step up. People want to take responsibility. People want ownership. People want to have your back as well. Building a culture where everyone knows that

We're in it together, we're working together. And this is not about hustling your face off so that you can show everyone on the team that, you you can work harder than they can work and that it would be very hard to replace you inside of the business. We want to shift that culture to one that is collaboration and teamwork towards a common goal. Number eight is beta communication. And this happens because of

systems, right? It happens because of the structure. And the better communication happens because now that we have structure in place, we actually have systems for feedback. So it's much easier to communicate where things are, where things aren't working. And because we're working cohesively and the structure is in place, we don't need to make decisions based off of gut or memory. We actually have the structure in place that allows us to

Ilonka Ras (12:40.376)
better communicate, to catch things faster and to move with less effort towards our goals. Number nine is a healthier leader. When you're not overworked and overwhelmed, your energy is better. And that affects everyone on the team. You can recharge and free yourself from all of the decision fatigue that's weighing you down if you step back. And this is what we want. It's not about

not doing anything inside of the business or not contributing inside of the business. It's actually contributing in a different way. So when you're healthier, when you're happier, when you have more space in your calendar, in your week, you can actually show up with so much more for your business and for your team. Number 10 is aligned vision. If you step back and you shift your role from being the doer of all the things to actually being the visionary leader,

you're able to create that vision to sit in the front of the ship, right? As the captain, create the aligned vision and set the direction and priorities for the team. So you're the one that's building the vision and then aligning everyone according to that vision. If you're so busy in the day to day, you're probably not even thinking about tomorrow, right? You're just getting today's stuff done. Number 11 is Shade wins. And this is because a streamlined business grows.

faster when we have the structure in place, when the business can stand on its own two feet, it actually creates opportunities. It creates opportunities for raises, for bonus, bonuses, right? And the more the business wins, the more the entire team wins. And then lastly, it becomes a model for sustainability. You show the team what healthy success looks like when you rest, when you set boundaries, when you delegate.

This idea that we need to model more martyrdom or model that we are the hardest worker in the team. That is the thing that actually needs to stop because we're creating a culture. We're creating the norm that we have to hustle our faces off. Otherwise we're not contributing. Otherwise we have no part in this where we're not doing our part and we're not adding value. What we want to model really as leaders.

Ilonka Ras (15:04.234)
is that rest is critical to our success, that boundaries are important and that delegating, truly delegating and allowing someone else to rise into their full potential. That is how we build a business that is sustainable, that can scale and that doesn't drain the life out of everyone involved. So it allows you to focus on driving the ship and to build the vision and determine the next destination and to help your team.

to step in fully into their roles, into their zone of geniuses, so that the entire thing is moving towards this common goal that you are working towards. I want you to ask yourself, where are you holding back from creating a scalable business? Because you're afraid of what your team will think. Where are you telling yourself that if you do this thing, if you step away, if you let go, if you transfer tasks or activities to someone else's plate,

that they're going to think that you're lazy. You're now giving them too much to do. Where is that happening inside of your business? And what if your team is actually waiting for you to let go a little bit? What if the clarity, the trust and the direction that they crave is on the other side of you stepping back a little bit? So I want to invite you, if you...

know that you are the bottleneck inside of your business, but you don't know exactly how to shift this for yourself without feeling guilty and feeling lazy. I want to invite you to apply to join my private coaching program. This is where I'm going to teach you my scalable firm method and help you design your business so that it works for not only you, but everyone on your team.

You can fill out an application to work with me at the link in the show notes. When you click the button, you're going to be asked to fill in some information about yourself and your business. And then you will schedule a call with me so that we can talk about your specific situation and how I can help you create a more streamlined, simple business that can sustainably scale. Thank you so much for tuning into this week's episode. I will chat to you again next week.