This is an article about delegation, but I promise you that I am not an expert on this subject. As I share my experiences and perspective, maybe I will find friends who can commiserate with me as we improve together.
Like so many small-tree-business owners, I started from the ground up. In the beginning, I had to wear every single hat in the company, including receptionist, bookkeeper, human-resource manager, marketing manager, scheduler, mechanic and bill collector. Of course, none of these positions pay the bills, so I did many of these tasks poorly while I made time to go knock out a mountain of tree work to keep the boat afloat.
As the company has grown through the years, I have, begrudgingly but successfully, let go of many of those roles. It started with acquiring a receptionist, then a crew leader, then a scheduler, then a payroll company and eventually even an estimator. Each one of those tasks I delegated was very difficult for me to let go of. I just knew that nobody else could do the tree work as well as me, build customer relationships like me, control the finances like me or schedule the estimates and jobs as well as me.
Pleasant surprise
To be fair, when I first handed these responsibilities off to someone in my company, they were not as good at doing them as I was. It didn’t take long, however, before I began to realize that, with good training and putting the right butt in the right chair, many of the tasks were being done better than I was ever able to do them.
When I was finally willing to let go of my stubborn pride and delegate a job to someone else, it actually grew my abilities and skills as a trainer and leader. Now we send out multiple crews every day that perform at a higher level than I was ever able to accomplish when I was wearing all of the hats.
Work to do
Reading that last paragraph, you might believe that I have mastered the art and skill of delegation. I wish that was true. Even as I write this article, I acknowledge that I have made progress but am still falling short.
Last year, I did more than a third of the sales in my company, and I still take care of all of the equipment repairs. I’m still climbing trees and grinding stumps, welding broken tailgates, collecting overdue invoices and cleaning my shop when it gets filthy. I can rewire the light plug on a trailer faster than anyone, and I personally take the deposit to the bank every week. I am still doing so many things that I know I should empower someone else to do.
Maybe you have experienced the same death grip on roles you should pass off. Maybe you have delegated so well that you can sit next to your pool with a cold libation and just watch the money roll into your account. Maybe you are reading this wishing your boss would give you more responsibilities.
Whichever category you fall into, I think we can all agree that an ability to delegate roles to the right people is the secret to growth and sanity. I am working on it. And I hope my perspective might encourage you to join me in making a plan to release more of our duties to other capable people.
Noel Boyer, Board Certified Master Arborist (BCMA) and Certified Treecare Safety Professional (CTSP), is owner of All About Trees LLC, a 13-year TCIA member company based in Springfield, Missouri. He also is vice chair of TCIA’s Board of Directors and a member of TCI Magazine’s Editorial Advisory Committee.
Thoughtfully said and presented in a personal/professional manner. You are appreciated for your skills and intelligence in the tree service business for sure!