Do you ever feel like your financial services practice is barreling out of control? Like a racehorse heading for an undetermined finish line and you are simply a passenger?
If you have ever had the experience of being on a horse determined to win the race (don’t tell my mom we raced the horses!) or simply head back to the barn (a horse’s version of, “I’m done!”) you know the choices are limited. Grab the mane and hang on or look for a soft spot to exit!
Human nature is that we are very “hand-oriented.” This is the physical method we prefer to control things, from a pen to our smartphone, to our car and even our horse. We are very adept at this. Yet to achieve the highest levels of performance from our equine partner in dressage, or from our team in our business, we must lose our focus on “management by hand” and trust in our teammates.
Most horses weigh upwards of 800 pounds. My horse clocks in around 1200 pounds and there are larger breeds who surpass 1500. Consider that my horse weighs eight times as much as I do (do the math and you will know how much I weigh!). Just how much influence can I have with my hands? Quite a lot and very little; it depends on how I use my hands.
If I take the approach of controlling my horse by holding the reins I get:
- An immediate reaction of obedience (generally!)
- A dependency on me to support him through the reins
- An eventual dulling of responsiveness to the reins and hand aids
- A limit on our success, as we cannot progress beyond my physical ability to do a great majority of the work
- Worn out from doing all the work!
Is any of this beginning to sound like your work life? If you are unable to loosen the reins you get:
- An important project completed more quickly than you can explain to a teammate
- A continued dependency on you by your team to get the important things done
- An eventual dulling of your team as they have little ownership or responsibility for the meaningful parts of the business
- A limit on your growth and success as you cannot progress beyond your physical ability to do a great majority of the work
- Worn out from doing all the work!
In case you are wondering, holding the reins does not keep a horse from leaving when frightened and requires even more effort to stop the runaway steed. Holding the reins of your business does not give you greater control and it leaves you with fewer resources to stop the runaway business.
There is a word we use for this in business. It is delegation!