On this episode of The Impact Ripple podcast, I’m talking about something a lot of new leaders struggle with – the fear of delegating! I share what delegating means, as well as why it can feel SO scary when delegating for the first time in your small business. 

If you've had a bad experience in the past with delegation, you might be hesitant to do it again. We dive into how this fear, and the act of delegating or letting go, can be made worse by something called confirmation bias.

If you think it's impossible to find good help, that no one wants to work these days, or that you’re going to have to do a superhuman amount of oversight with your employees, this is the episode for you!

I share some helpful insights and great advice on how to overcome this fear and build trust in yourself and the process of hiring new team members, so you can get the help you truly need and deserve in your business.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why delegation feels SO damn scary

• The role confirmation bias plays in your hiring troubles 

• Insights and advice on overcoming the fear of delegating

Mentioned in This Episode: 

• Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyncox 

•  Ready to hire with more confidence and ease? Our Hiring VIP Day is the perfect way to get the support you need and deserve! www.sprouthr.co/hiring

Transcription for Episode #14 - Overcoming the Fear of Delegation: My Favorite Insights on Hiring for New Leaders

Ashley Cox  0:06  

Welcome to Episode 14 of the impact ripple podcast. The go to source for hiring leadership needs simple, doable and fun for visionary female business owners. I'm your host, Ashley Cox, author, certified HR expert and founder of sprout HR. And I believe you don't have to change who you are to be a great leader, because you already are one. Join me as we kiss uncertainty and overwhelm goodbye and say hello to the tools and support you need to grow a profitable, sustainable, impactful team with more confidence and ease. 

Ashley Cox  0:44  

On today's episode, we're exploring a topic that often strikes fear into the heart of many business owners. And that is how to trust others, and let go to get the help you need and deserve in your business. We're going to talk about why it feels so damn scary to grow your team, and how you can cultivate trust. So that letting go aka delegating is easier. So let's start with the definition of delegation. And I've got a couple of them here for you.

Ashley Cox  1:20  

Merriam Webster defines delegation as the act of empowering another to act for you, while Cambridge Dictionary defines it as the act of giving a particular job duty, etc, to someone else. So essentially, delegation is asking someone else to do something for you by empowering them, and letting go. Seems simple enough, right?

Ashley Cox  1:49  

So why does delegation feel so scary? I think delegation feels scary because it can sometimes feel like you're losing control. And maybe you felt this way before. Perhaps you've had some experiences where you've tried delegating in various areas of life and business, and things just didn't get done. Or maybe they didn't get done the way you wanted or needed them to.

Ashley Cox  2:20  

Maybe you're just not sure why you're struggling with the idea of delegating, which in and of itself can be super frustrating. I think a lot of our fear of delegation stems from toxic cultural narratives that have been around for a long time now, especially one that we're probably all familiar with hearing and I bet you can even finish the sentence. So let's give it a try. If you want something done, right.

Ashley Cox  2:53  

Yep, you got to do it yourself. Where did this thing come from? And why have we as a society internalized it so deeply? Well, I did some digging around. And I couldn't find the original source of this age old saying, but it's probably fair to say that it began with someone who had been burned when delegating. Have you ever been burned before? I have, think about the last time you delegated something, it may have been a chore at home, a task that you gave to a virtual assistant. Or perhaps you even asked someone to pick up a few last minute items for a fundraiser that you were in charge of.

Ashley Cox  3:37  

When we tried delegating, and it doesn't go the way that we imagined it should, it can lead to the feeling of quote, being burned. Essentially, what's happening is a breach of trust. And when trust has been broken, it is very difficult to repair. Note, it's not impossible, but it is really, really hard. However, when we head into delegating tasks with thoughts like I've been burned before, so I probably will again, or I could probably just do this faster, myself, or I need this done right. So I have to do it, then the chances of getting burned, again, increase tenfold. Why is that? Because our thoughts play a big role in creating our realities. And there's a little phenomenon called confirmation bias that I want to talk with you about today. Now, confirmation bias is a concept that was first described by Peter Watson not that long ago in 1960. Confirmation bias is our underlying tendency to notice, focus on and demonstrate greater confidence in evidence that fits with our existing beliefs which

Ashley Cox  5:00  

Essentially means if we think or believe that we're going to get burned when we delegate tasks, then it's more likely that we're going to focus on all the things that do go wrong. And none of the things that go right, which inevitably feeds this confirmation bias cycle. So let's take a look at an example. When it comes to hiring and leading a team.

Ashley Cox  5:27  

Kara, not a real person, but a very real scenario. Kara is a busy group therapy practice owner who needs help with administrative support. She's drowning in paperwork, endless intake calls, and trying to keep up with the daily tasks that are required to run her very busy practice. She's heard horror stories from other practice owners about their hiring experiences. They've told her things like you can't find good help these days, and nobody wants to work anymore. Or you have to stay on top of anyone you hire, and so on. Naturally, she's feeling uneasy about the whole process. Now, thoughts start to roll through her mind, as she's posting the job, like, nobody's going to apply. And I'm probably gonna have to waste a ton of time sorting through a bunch of crappy applications. And that's what happens. She then begins to interview the few sparse candidates that she thinks are okay. All the while feeling resistant to the process, and knowing that they're all going to be duds.

Ashley Cox  6:44  

Kara finally settles on a candidate she thinks is better than no help at all. And extends an offer. The candidate starts and Kara hasn't done the first thing to prepare to onboard her new hire, because she's convinced that they will not work out. So things are really chaotic and frustrating for her and her new hire on that first day. By the end of the week, Kara hasn't delegated much of anything at all. And when she has, she has hovered over her new hire so closely, that they keep making mistakes. Kara is feeling a lot of anxiety about her new team member, and she thinks I Knew this wouldn't work out, I'm going to have to let this person go.

Ashley Cox  7:32  

Now, while this story may seem made up, I have seen it happen over and over and over again, in many different ways. When we don't trust us the process from the start, this leads us down a path of confirmation bias that nothing is going to work out. And it's not just about our thoughts. It's the feelings that come up around the things that we're thinking, like fear, doubt, disbelief, that drive the actions that we take.

Ashley Cox  8:08  

If we're fearful that no one is going to apply for a job opening, then we may not share it as often as we could or in as many places as we could or with the kind of excitement and enthusiasm that we should be promoting our job with when we are putting it out into the world. If we're doubtful that anyone good will apply, we'll look for what's wrong in every application and resume in every interview. And we will absolutely find something wrong with every single one. If we don't believe that we can find good help, we may micromanage or act like a helicopter leader over our employees creating stress and tension for everyone involved.

Ashley Cox  8:58  

Now, I'm not saying that if you put on a happy face and you only think positive thoughts, that you'll be able to hire the perfect team member right out of the gate, or that they'll be the most incredible employee in the whole entire world. But your chances of hiring an incredible team member will increase significantly because of the way that you show up and do the work of hiring and leading your new team member. Hiring is an action. It is not a passive task that we just check off of our list.

Ashley Cox  9:37  

In my one on one work with clients, we explore the thoughts that they're thinking every step of the way. We challenge stories and assumptions that they have and reframe them in a more constructive and helpful way. And notice I didn't say positive with over 17 years of hiring and leading teams. I know some things to be true in the process that you may have simply not experienced yet. Here's a few examples.

Ashley Cox  10:08  

You don't need 100 people to apply for your job, you need the right people to apply for it. And that starts with getting really clear with your job description and what you need. 

Ashley Cox  10:21  

You need to ask quality questions during the interview process to help you hire the right employee, to chatting with folks, ain't it, we may like the person as an individual and see ourselves being friends with them are hanging out. But that does not necessarily mean they're going to be a great fit for the job you're hiring them for.

Ashley Cox  10:44  

And finally, you have to prepare to bring your new hire onto your team with intention and care. A willy nilly onboarding experience or making your new hire drink from the fire hose will not serve you or them or your business.

Ashley Cox  11:04  

So if you're thinking about hiring, or if you're preparing to add another member to your team, I encourage you to sit down and spend five to 10 minutes writing out all the thoughts that you're having about the process, the people and the outcomes that you're expecting. And I want you to challenge those thoughts. Ask, are these thoughts true? Or are they just stories that I've heard or believed to be true? And consider the opportunities and the possibilities? If the opposite were true instead.

Ashley Cox  11:42  

And if you're like my client will, you'll end up with the opposite problem, too many incredible applicants to choose from. So you end up hiring three people instead of the one that you would set out to hire. I love that. It's such a good problem to have.

Ashley Cox  12:00  

So let's wrap up this episode with our final segment. Imagine the impact where we get to envision what it could look like for you to take action today. In a world where it's easy to believe the worst case scenario is true. What could it look like to envision a world where the opposite is true? Where plenty of the right people apply for your open job, where you feel confident in the applicants you interview, and the individual you choose. And we're having the help that you need and deserve feels invigorating, exciting and full of ease. Imagine the impact that believing and hiring the right team member could have on your business, your community and the world.

Ashley Cox  12:56  

If you found this episode helpful, I'd love for you to pop over to LinkedIn and share the episode along with your favorite takeaway or two. And be sure to tag me. You can connect with me on LinkedIn at the link in our show notes. And I'd love to continue the conversation with you over there. Thanks so much for joining me today on the impact ripple podcast. It's an honor to be here with and for you when your leadership journey.