Devan’s post on why employees need their bosses to take vacations offered an employee perspective on how great it is when the boss goes on vacation, much like when mom and dad go out of town. Things are more relaxed and there’s a lot more fun in the air, but more than all of that, employees feel independent and free — not to do the things they shouldn’t do, but rather, things that they can do but typically aren’t allowed to do.
Employees, the good ones anyway, like to have responsibility. But the boss doesn’t always give them the freedom to have responsibilities until there is no choice, like when she finally takes a vacation or has to be out of the office unexpectedly. During these times, the boss often gets quite a surprise — that her staff does a pretty good job of holding down the fort! They can do a lot more than she thinks!
But wouldn’t it be great to give your staff that type of freedom throughout the year, without having a reason?
- “Sally, can you please write a follow-up letter to the prospect we met on Tuesday and mail it right away? I trust you; I don’t need to proof the letter before it goes out.” And more than likely, Sally will proofread that letter 500 times before she mails it out!
- “Tom, you’ve been doing such a great job on sales calls that I think it’s time you start going out on your own.” And Tom, with this new responsibility, goes out there and does a bang-up job just to show the boss that she made the right decision in trusting him.
- “Tricia, I’d like to get a new website. I value your opinion and would love for you to look at our options and give me a recommendation on who to use. Can you provide an update in a week?” And Tricia will likely vet every web firm in the United States and provide a full report on capabilities and pricing to the boss before a week passes.
Ok, I know what you’re thinking right now, business owner. You don’t want to give your employees more responsibility because then you will have to pay them more! Am I right? It’s natural, on the one hand, for business owners to feel this way but it’s a pretty short-sighted. After all, if your employees are doing more, you can do less and focus that extra time on growing your business, which in turn makes you more money. Do you see how that goes?
What can you do today to provide your staff with a little more independence?
