Is your OCD limiting the growth of your business?

As a Business owner, have you created systems whereby members of staff are required to check in at various times throughout their daily tasks, despite having extensively trained them?  Do you often change systems or policy as a result of one small, completely human mistake, or even just in case someone makes a mistake?  Is your day filled with long hours, team meetings, discussions with multiple people on the same subject and then more review meetings and /or systems changes?  When questioned, do you explain away your constant checking by proclaiming that you want to ensure the best possible service for your clients or that you need to make sure that everyone (in the team) are doing their tasks correctly?  Maybe you feel that you are providing support to the members of your team but let me suggest something to you.

You are allowing your fears to run your business.  OCD is defined as follows;  Acts or rituals carried out in response to fears generated by obsessions.  As sited at Anxiety UK website.

These behaviors, which you think are hard working efforts to grow your business, are in fact limiting the growth of your business.  Let me explain why.

You are dis-empowering your staff.  You have taught them, guided and supported them but now you are saying that you don’t trust them to do their jobs correctly. Disempowered staff, over time, will become one of three things; despondent and disengaged, dependent and incompetent, or ex- employees.

You can not perform all functions within the business.  If you could, why would you be paying people when you are doing all of the work yourself?  Teach them and let them step into their own power.  If they make a mistake, teach them again, support them in fixing the problem and then let them do their job again.

You can’t be a good leader if you are running around trying to be everyone else.  You will not be there to support and guide your team when you really need to be.  You will be distracted or simply absent when you are needed the most; resulting in your staff feeling unheard and unsupported.

You will be so exhausted and burnt out that you simply will not see the potential for new opportunities within your business. 

So If this sounds like you (be a little honest with yourself here) at this stage you have but a few options;

• You can continue on in the hope that we can outrun the monster.  You could even convince yourselves that the daily chaos means that you are busy and productive and successful; both as a person and a business owner.
• You can burn out which often results in the sale the business.
• OR You can choose to change your current behaviors. 

Busy-ness doesn’t equate to productivity!  Trust in yourself that you have the ability to create a good strong team and don’t allow the obsessions generated by fear to govern your business. Stop working in the business for you have hired people to do that already, and start working on the business.  Lead, grow, support and guide your team to a better, bigger, stronger business.  Get out of the way and allowed your business to grow.

Gina Munro –  Support and facilitation of your professional learning.