I sure have! And after being in business for over 30 years, you'd think I'd have it all
figured out by now, right?
But here’s the truth: I got complacent.
Two things, at least, led me to a situation that I’d rather forget. One of my
employees, let’s call them Pat (to respect privacy), was incredibly competent. Pat
could handle so many tasks on their own. So, naturally, more and more
responsibilities kept getting added to their plate.
Pat was also a perfectionist. When another team member offered to help, Pat would
insist on doing it themselves—because it had to be done perfectly, or “Pat’s Way”.
Over time, this led to Pat’s overload, frustration, and a sense of being overwhelmed
and downright angry. I allowed it to continue.
On the surface, this seemed like a win for me. I didn’t have to deal with tasks I
didn’t enjoy, like handling technology. But here’s where I went wrong. Despite
multiple conversations about resolving the workload and frustration, the toxic
situation continued much longer than it should have. When it finally blew up, and
Pat left, I found myself in a complete mess. There were business aspects I knew
nothing about. And the perfection I thought was there? Many of those tasks that
were done, weren’t done so perfectly at all!
So, should I blame Pat? No. I was the boss, the leader, the CEO. The responsibility
was mine.
The situation also created a toxic environment for the rest of the team. I’m honestly
lucky they didn’t all walk out.
Lessons Learned:
● Understand every aspect of your business (even if it’s not to perfection).
It’s okay to delegate, but there’s a boundary. Don’t let things slip through the
cracks.
● Address issues immediately before they grow into bigger problems.
● Clarify roles and responsibilities to avoid confusion and prevent
bottlenecks.
Running a business is a learning experience every single day. The key is learning
from mistakes and making sure they don’t happen again!
Want to know what my next step was? After Pat left? How it affected me
financially and personally? And how I moved forward to “fix” things. Let me
know if you’d like my next business article.