Are you {am I} the drama?
Pop Culture reference, even though I’m not actually the biggest Taylor fan, but we’re going with it.
When an “annoying to the owner” situation pops up with your team, is it actually them… or is it you? Are you the drama?
The other day, I was working with a client, and they checked their phone to sigh as a response.
“What’s up?”
“Someone is asking for something…{My brain immediately wants to ask so many questions, but I refrain because I’m working on being a better listener}...and I’ve already sent the information via text and via email.”
I wanted to blurt out… ”Do NOT tell them the third time. Ask if they’ve looked at the other announcements and if they still can’t find it, then you can tell them”, but again…listening.
They received a response from the staff member. In this instance, the problem was simple: the staff member didn’t have their notifications turned on.
In this case, the issue was simple—notifications weren’t turned on. Easy fix: “Notifications must be on during these days and times.” But this got me thinking… how often do owners get frustrated over things that could have been prevented with clear expectations?
Before getting frustrated, ask yourself:
Do I have a clear communication system for announcements?
Is it updated regularly so everyone has time to read and understand?
Is there a clear chain of command for questions?
Does my staff actually know this process exists? {this one may have stung 🫣}
When working with an owner who wants to remove themselves from some of the day-to-day operator tasks, my goal is to uncover ways they can not be the point of contact.
Mapping out the flow of how things work is how this is uncovered. Half the time, an owner doesn’t even realize how many times their task hopping and how much time and energy they take.
Here’s an example of what this could look like. If you’re away from the store and hear about a maintenance issue, should you call the repair person? Or should the staff member who’s already there and who is fully capable handle it?
Some would think it’s a no-brainer. BUT, there’s potentially a lot going on inside the owner's brain.
They may be feeling guilty that they’re not at the shop, so they want to call
They may not want to hinder the work that the staff person is already doing
They may still be in the solopreneur mindset of doing it all and haven’t quite gotten to that empowering point
Back to Taylor… “You need to calm down.”
If your team keeps asking the same questions, before you sigh, take a pause and check—have you given them the tools they need to figure it out?
These are typically the types of situations I see when I ask the question, “What’s recently pissed you off”.
It is an opportunity to determine if the owner might be the drama. Is it pissing them off because they’re not allowing help, afraid of asking for it, or if they haven’t put systems in place for their staff to follow.
I love to uncover these moments with clients—where a simple shift in systems can save hours of frustration and help them step into their owner role fully.
If you’re an operator looking to step into the owner role and you hit a hiccup and find yourself sitting in that {SIGH} moment, be sure to first look in the mirror and see if there’s something you can create to prevent this from happening again!
If you’re ready to stop being the go-to operator and start leading like an owner, let’s talk. I’d love to help you map out your flow and free up your time.