How to avoid the agony of burnout as a business owner
The art of successful delegation - how to avoid the agony of burnout as a business owner
If you feel completely exhausted, trying to juggle the many plates within your business then you may be on the road to burnout as a business owner.
In this blog, we share some of our top tips, so you can regain your balance and fall in love with your business all over again by becoming a successful delegator.
Burnout is a form of exhaustion that is often caused by prolonged stress.
Whilst it’s not a diagnosable medical condition, burnout is now classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an occupational phenomenon.
WHO defines burnout as: -
“Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job, and reduced professional efficacy.”
When you are on 24/7 in your business, combined with factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit, the cost-of-living crisis, energy price rises etc. it’s important to be aware of burnout and ways to avoid it.
What causes burnout for business owners?
As business owners, we often create a burnout loop. We
1. Take on too much.
2. Refuse to handover and try and do it all.
3. Burn out.
4. Repeat.
Delegation, we all hate it because it feels uncomfortable and takes time. However, it really is the only way to grow and the only way to scale as a business owner. Before you begin delegating, consider the importance of the task and the implications of delegating it.
We have broken down some next steps to hand over based on the stage that you are at as a business owner.
What if I have a team?
You may struggle to hand over work to others, but you have to trust in your team to lean on them when you are struggling to keep up with deadlines.
Micromanaging is also a sure-fire way to disempower your team, so stepping away and handing over more control to those around you is not only great for your stress levels, but also your teams morale.
Knowing when to delegate to other team members is an excellent way to become a more effective manager. This key skill can offer strategic development opportunities for your team members. Delegation can help you build new skills for your team members.
TOP TIP – Identify tasks to delegate
Questions to consider:
Is this a repetitive task that one of my team could do with new energy, creativity and ideas?
Will delegating this task empower my team member to learn new skills?
Is the task time critical? Do I have the time to train the team, answer their questions and review the outcomes?
What if I need a team?
This is always a scary step, but if you feel that it is nearing the time to recruit, then it is time to start getting ‘team ready’.
This might mean documenting the processes you use in your business, which will make it easier to identify what skills you need and what the job spec. might look like.
This might mean checking your legal compliance such as health and safety and insurance provision. Consider these 7 steps from the government website https://www.gov.uk/employing-staff
TOP TIP – Get clear on your vision and values
Questions to consider:
Can I easily communicate what my business stands for?
How will I know whether a potential candidate will align with my values?
Where are we going as a business? What’s the roadmap to get there?
What if it’s just me and I want to keep it that way?
If you are a solopreneur, then maybe outsourcing some work could be an option?
Often our client’s first reaction to this is: “I can’t afford to.” However, ask yourself the simple question, can you afford not to?
Delegation for the first time will seem scary, but practice outsourcing small tasks to begin with before building up to bigger projects. You may find that someone who specialises in for example book-keeping, can complete a task in half the time it takes you because they are experts at what they do and will be focused on that one task for you, whereas you are juggling plates and multi-tasking. You can read our blog on prioritisation here.
TOP TIP – Get clear on what needs to be done
Questions to consider:
What is a standalone task that I could delegate first?
Ask for recommendations for someone to help you and speak to their current clients.
Be clear on the task and your expectations, time frame etc.
There is much to be gained by delegation, but you may want to discuss your ideas and plans with someone else for an unbiased perspective.
It is worth talking to your business coach about ways to improve your work-life balance and to help navigate the rocky road of business ownership, delegation, and growth. Being a business owner can be lonely and without a sounding board, these decisions can seem too overwhelming.
A business coach can help you develop the art of successful delegation of your workload, breaking down tasks into small manageable chunks and supporting you in reaching your goals, so that you never lose that spark.
Would you like support from our award-winning coaching team?
We would love to hear about your current business challenges and goals. Claim a 30-minute free consultation with our head coach, Esther by booking in here.
