Management Matters

What if the biggest thing holding your business back is staring right at you?

When was the last time you stopped to reflect on your own habits and the impact they have on your business?

Sometimes, the hardest truth to face is that our own behaviors—not external challenges—are the real bottleneck to growth.

The Cost of Not holding a Mirror up to yourself

Here’s a story for you, that might hit close to home:

This week, I made the effort to catch up with a client who’s using our service, but we’d noticed his usage didn’t match the pattern of similar-sized businesses. I wanted to find out why.

Setting the appointment was a mission. He rescheduled four times. No worries—I had other visits in the area. But when we finally locked in a time, he still arrived 15 minutes late… to an appointment time he had set.

Within minutes, the problem became clear. As the 2IC, he was trying to do everything himself—admin, sales, landowner relationships, planning, even manually entering job data from worksheets. He had a sizeable team of operators, but he didn’t trust them to enter things correctly or communicate with landowners directly. So, he kept himself busy running around, trying to oversee it all.

And here’s the kicker: When I tried pointing this out, he didn’t even see it as an issue.

In fact, he thought being busy meant being effective. It seemed to me he liked the control—maybe even felt it justified his role.

But here’s the thing. Out of all the meetings I had that week, he was the only one who had to reschedule. Not once, but four times. If he couldn’t commit to a simple meeting that could help him get more value from something he was already paying for, what other opportunities was he missing?

I’d say plenty—big and small.

From enabling his crew to enter job details and make decisions on their own (improving productivity and their own sense of ownership) to missing out on potential new land access opportunities or a honey buyer’s call.

The reality? He had become the bottleneck. His need for control was slowing everything down. His team was forced to check with him before moving forward, reducing productivity and stalling progress. And the role he had carved out for himself—trying to keep everything in check—wasn’t a sign of importance. It was turning into a liability for the business.

Does any of this sound familiar? 

Do you find yourself micromanaging, taking on everything, or feeling like only you can do things right?

As an owner, manager, or 2IC, your real job isn’t to do everything—it’s to enable your team to perform at their best. That means:

✔ Creating systems to streamline workflow
✔ Removing roadblocks instead of being one
✔ Trusting and empowering your team
 

3. Systemize Business Information

Centralize everything—Have a place for storing and accessing information from SOPs, contact details, hive records, accounting, and invoicing. Automate repetitive tasks to boost efficiency and minimize errors.

4. Train Your Team

If you don’t trust your team’s. Competence comes from confidence. If you are not confident in your staff's ability to do a task, you must invest in their training. Competence is all about know-how and Confidence comes from repeated practice.  Skilled employees free up your time for strategic work.