You Can’t Do It All by Yourself. And That’s Okay.
The world has plenty of stories where apparent ‘self-made’ individuals made it up from pennies to riches, all on their own. Stories of Steve Jobs starting Apple in his backyard to Google’s humble beginnings in a garage dominate today’s folklore. The idea of ‘doing it all by yourself’ is deeply rooted in today’s world, leaving people reluctant to ask for help lest they seem incapable.
The truth?
The entire idea of a ‘self-made’ individual who did it all by themselves is a myth. It is probably the most harmful myth in human psyche.
Delegation of tasks ranks among the most underutilized skills in the workplace. The results of a 2007 study indicated that less than half [of the surveyed companies] were concerned with employee delegation skills while only 28% offered training on delegation of tasks.
This practice has led many to go at it all on their own. Here’s why that’s the wrong approach.
1. You Just Can’t
There’s only so much you can get done on your own, regardless of the effort you put into your work. The human body has a limited number of hours that it can work at peak performance and you can’t get everything done in those hours. Pushing yourself beyond will only result in immense stress and lower quality of work.
When you can’t meet — the unrealistic — expectations, you will be unhappy, stressed, and left feeling that you are letting people down. Whether it is a workplace or a more personal setting, accepting you can’t do everything required will result in a happier and less stressful day.
2. Encourages Teamwork and Collaboration
In a 2019 interview with Forbes, Bill Gates attributed his success to three factors; resources, team-building, and optimism.
Collaborating with a team allows you to pour together each individual’s skills, experience, and expertise into the project. For example, you may struggle with the technical aspects of the project but are great at presenting the final product. In that case, someone with more technical expertise can step in and cover for you. Effective communication and collaboration among everyone will help the team members share their talent to fill in the missing gaps and find the right solution to the problem.
The final result? Getting more done in less time.
3. Sharing Success Is Fulfilling and Motivational
Few things foster a more collaborative culture than celebrating victories together as a team and sharing individual victories with everyone. Unifying success stories encourages everyone to take an interest in assisting their colleagues.
Moreover, while people are motivated by various reasons, everyone likes — and deserves — appreciation and recognition for their efforts. Knowing that you can be mentioned on the company presentation, applauded during a meeting, or praised in a company-wide email will add additional motivation to everyone on the team.
Another lesser-discussed benefit is that sharing success stories and common goals build up the overall mood of positivity in the office and nurture meaningful relationships in the workspace, often leading to better communication with those outside their department.
4. Offers You a New Perspective
Let this sink in; 9 out of 10 start-ups fail. It may sound too much to believe but the guy running the start-up — the very same guy who nurtured a unique idea into good business — could actually be the reason the start-up is not doing well.
While there is no denying that a founder has developed a solid product and was responsible for getting the business rolling, they can’t do everything.
It’s not an issue of time. It’s an issue of skill.
A good leader must know the extent of their skill sets as well as their limitations. Finding the right people best suited for your task will deliver a better product. Take it from Mark Zuckerberg who said that he spends as much as 25% of his time recruiting talented people, both inside and outside Facebook, to fill impactful roles. He further emphasized his point by saying that ‘it’s never a person’ but ‘always a team.’
Another issue of doing it all by yourself is the lack of insight or your failure to see beyond your own view. A team of talented individuals will offer you a range of perspectives regarding the design, use, or the views of a consumer. This will give you a well-rounded product as well as the crucial ‘people element’ that you may not have been able to visualize.
As a founder of a start-up, attempting to go at it alone could be the major mistake that sinks your business. Instead of hoarding all the major decisions, surround yourself with a talented team that you can share your workload with. Don’t be afraid to admit that you may not be knowledgeable in a certain subject and listen to executives who could be more well-versed in certain subjects.
5. Brain Fatigue is Real
You wake up in the morning with decisions to make; what to eat, what to wear, and so on. By the end of the day, you have made close to 35,000 decisions. More likely than not, you will be emotionally drained and exhausted. But it’s not physical fatigue; its brain fatigue.
Brain fatigue has been proven to affect decision-making, willpower, and self-control. As we make decisions throughout the day, we gradually lose the ability to control impulses.
Ever wondered why Mark Zuckerberg, Barack Obama, and Bill Gates wear the same outfits all year long? Because that’s one less decision to make.
Similar to a lack of sleep, brain fatigue can lead to poor multi-tasking, lack of innovative solutions, and affect the ability to assess consequences and risks.
Developing a routine for menial tasks can conserve mental energy for more important tasks in your schedule but it only goes so far. The real change would be in the workplace where a delegation of tasks and responsibilities can further conserve brain energy.
Find a responsible team and delegate your work and decision making to those best suited. For entrepreneurs and others who are used to doing it all alone, delegating decision-making can seem very overwhelming but it is a practice that will help you and your business in the long term. When the minor tasks are taken out of your schedule, you are better equipped to focus on expanding your business.
6. Because there is no one-man team
“There is no “I” in team,” is an expression often repeated in sporting teams and now, the workplace. Although cliché, the meaning behind it cannot be easily dismissed.
Fostering teamwork will create a comfortable work culture where collaboration comes easily. The approach by Steve Jobs towards teamwork spoke loud enough. He intentionally added an open space in the middle of an Oakland office to give the various teams a mutual space to meet and hopefully connect with each other.
As Microsoft showed, a competitive warring culture does nobody any good. As a business owner, you will be better off encouraging a collaborative culture where employees can work well with each other and make maximum use of the available skills and resources to reach the goals of the business.
Planning, brainstorming, and decision making are all actions that are better when done cooperatively but it is up to you to begin the practice by openly embracing ideas and opinions from others.
Conclusion
Today, companies are realizing the importance of teamwork and collaboration and are continuously looking to foster closer relationships and develop teams within the workspace. If you want a business that is successful, it is high time that you develop this collaborative culture in the workplace while delegating minor tasks to more competent executives.
If you delegate well, you show your employees that you trust them, thus increasing commitment and productivity. Of course, it is up to you to find the right people and delegate the responsibilities that are best suited to their expertise.
In short, pass the baton. It is certainly an intimidating moment and will take you some practice but you can only take your business to the next step if you work at it.
