In the last year I haven’t been very hands on with the cleaning in our business, and as the business grows I hope to do it less and less.
It’s hard for anyone who is a business owner to pull themselves away from the day to day grind! The work must get done, and there is always work to be done.
However, every year I listen to a great business book called the E-myth Revisited, and I get a big reminder that I am supposed to work on my business not within it. Yes that is hard to do, but I think this year we are making leaps and bounds in that direction.
At the moment, I am working with our manager to put together more systems and information files to get our business standardized and organized!
I have also been listening to some great audio books this year!
I just fully finished this book today, it’s called Extreme Ownership. Basically the book is all about taking ownership for every mistake made, and as a leader how it’s always important to take ownership of all the mistakes your team makes.
I really get behind this idea.
For example, last week I had a client let me know that she wasn’t happy with the service one of our staff provided her with. Of course I called her right away and we offered to come fix any issues, all said and done our client was very happy. Crisis averted!!
However, my staff member had not done a great job at this client’s home, and to be honest, it made me mad! My first thought was to blame her for not doing her job. However when I reflect on what this book is all about, it’s actually all my fault, and I need to take ownership of the mistake made.
Let me explain.
To start with, my staff member is actually a fantastic person, she has been with us for many years. She shows up on time, she is honest, friendly, loyal, and all around kind. I also know that to be a cleaner you really have to care about your work, and she does!
I, on the other hand, am the owner of this business, and a mother of two young children; I get pulled in all directions all day.
But I have set the standards of clean in our business, I also train our staff to meet these standards. If my staff member is missing things while cleaning, or not seeing the mistakes she is leaving behind. That is all my fault! I am ultimately responsible for her, and if she is not doing her job well, it’s because I have not explained the importance of slowing down, or how to double check her work properly so she won’t make these mistakes again. I also need to make sure I am taking the time out of my busy schedule to follow up with that staff member and make sure she has all the tools, training, and information she needs to get the job done well. At the end of the day, I have to take extreme ownership of all the ups and downs in our business. It all stems from me, the good and the bad. If I’m not doing my job properly, how can I expect our staff to.
Honestly it can be a hard pill to swallow! But after listening to this book I realize that to be a great leader you need to lead by example and you need to be humble enough to not pass the blame. Own and fix your mistakes so they can come to an end. It would be amazing if we all live our life by the Extreme Ownership model. I think leading by example, owning your mistakes, and the mistakes of your team can only help improve us as a team.
Anyways that’s what been going on in my head lately, Siera our new manager and I are on a mission to make our team the best that they can be!
TTYL!!
Stephanie B