Summary

A CEO reflects on the importance of delegating decision-making to empower employees, reclaim personal time, and be more present in family life.

Abstract

The article emphasizes the detrimental impact of micromanagement on a CEO's work-life balance and the company's potential for growth. The author shares a personal account of nearly missing out on his child's first year due to an overwhelming workload, particularly the need to approve every decision within the company. By shifting from dictating tasks to asking guiding questions, the author reduced their daily email volume from 140 to 10, gained free time, and improved their home life. The transformation was achieved by encouraging employees to take ownership of their responsibilities through thought-provoking questions, which in turn fostered a more autonomous and efficient workplace. The article is part of the "Ship 30 for 30" challenge, aimed at helping writers improve their online presence and writing skills.

Opinions

CEOs should delegate decision-making to avoid being bogged down by endless tasks and emails.
Over-involvement in day-to-day decisions can lead to a lack of strategic focus and personal time.
Employees are capable of making decisions and should be encouraged to do so through leadership that empowers rather than micromanages.
Asking employees the right questions can lead to better problem-solving and personal development.
The transition to a more hands-off leadership style can significantly improve a leader's quality of life and the overall health of the organization.
The author believes that by reducing control and fostering autonomy, teams can flourish and leaders can focus on more significant objectives.

Are you missing out on unique moments in your family to lead your business? To change course, stop doing this ONE thing.

The CEOs must stop telling people what to do.

As a CEO, you have a unique role: build your company's success. More success requires more tasks. More tasks require more people. More people need more leaders to guide them. If you don't get this, you will never have free time, and your free time will be continuous e-mail checking.

And not to mention other side problems you have:

Infinite working days
No time for family
No free time to explore things
No available time to create other businesses or to visit the customer

Being the one decision-maker in my company, I nearly missed my firstborn's first year of life.

Two years ago, I was in a vortex called "decisions by e-mails".

We were 90 people, and every decision passed through me: from which product to specify to the assignment of the remote for the gate. I was spending the day answering questions assessing people's work. The time was never enough, so I stayed the night in a hotel to work on offers and projects. I felt drained. I cannot raise my head to work through the future.

And I have a daughter just born that I saw only on the weekends.

This is why I want to share this with you.

Stop telling people what to do.

If I could go back in time, I would start asking questions instead.

Spoiler: People love to hear you not because you are a terrific storyteller but because you account yourself for responsibility. It's your fault. Let people be more comfortable with decisions. Start making questions!

Your life will change in a snap. Here is the outcome I had:

From 140 to 10 e-mails a day
Free time to explore business
Free time with family
I sleep at home most nights

Instead, start making propelling questions.

Some helpful prompts to use in the dialogue with your associates:

"What is your opinion?"
"How does this affect your goals?"
"What are the obstacles you have?"
"How can you resolve this?"
"When will you do this?"

You have a great responsibility: build a better world.

Stop creating dumb assistants and start to see how autonomous they could be. It’s frightening at the start, but then they will begin to bloom.

The CEO’s Doom — Graphics by Matteo Cervelli | People Gardener 👨‍🌾

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