Why founders need to know when to let go for the sake of business strategy

It’s natural that a founder or entrepreneur may want to keep one hand on the wheel — their vision, capability and the relationships they hold close has delivered the business to this point of success. 

But holding onto operational control can leave little time to plot a course that will shape the next stage of the journey.

When it comes to running their business day-to-day and planning long-term strategy, time is proving the enemy of those who are doing it all themselves. 

Hands-on business leaders hold tightly to key relationships while building a team around themselves that they trust, yet three-quarters of respondents to a recent survey believe there are parts of the business they cannot delegate.  

Pitcher Partners’ 2022 Business Radar report, analysing the mid-market businesses that drive Australia’s economy, shows 68% of decision-makers wish they could spend more time on long-term planning and thinking about ‘big-picture’ decisions for the business. 

But many feel they can’t commit the time necessary for planning as their attention is taken up on urgent, day-to-day matters — 64% say this is the biggest barrier. 

Staff, time and support

Delegating or outsourcing day-to-day tasks is key to making time for planning big-picture decisions — so what is holding business leaders back?  

One issue is high turnover of staff and a corresponding lack of confidence among leaders for delegation.  

As turnover rises, particularly when middle managers or key staff move on, it becomes harder to share tasks that require in-depth business knowledge and nuance.  

A second is a lack of internal time and capacity. Too much time is being spent weathering whatever storm has crossed the horizon this week, limiting the ability of business leaders to take a step back.  

Critical to tackling this challenge is a shift in mindset away from reactive behaviour to more proactive planning that allows for the certainty of uncertainty.  

But a third issue is simply a lack of support.  

A surprisingly high number of leaders report feeling unable to access the right skills and capacity to address complex strategic questions. 

Almost half of businesses (49%) report they struggle to find useful advice. 

Who can businesses trust for objective advice? This is where building an awareness of external support partners becomes vital. 

A third of business leaders want external help to provide ideas and guidance to help with their business, and in many cases, they are looking for this through business networking as much as, or possibly more than, external advisors. 

COVID-19 showed business that their people could work effectively from outside of a central location — and businesses are realising that functions of their operation also don’t need to be under the same roof, especially in a time of labour shortages. 

Where once every business needed its own chief financial officer, for example, in this market it is often more practical to outsource the financial function to a firm that specialises in this area, rather than competing on the open market for a position in high demand.  

Similarly, businesses need to look at whether outsourcing other parts of their strategy — appointing a virtual chief strategy officer, for example, or outsourcing strategic projects for IT — could alleviate the strain on leadership.  

Likewise, building stronger relations with advisors and getting regular support can bolster the number of wise heads around the table when difficult decisions need to be made.  

There is also great value in peer support. The time invested in building professional networks pays dividends through better access and connections, broadening of perspectives and the opportunity to learn more about how others are managing the same challenges.  

It’s never easy for leaders to delegate or cede control, but by having a pool of professional perspectives on hand, the burden doesn’t have be carried alone.