I was speaking with a client this week about a new hire. The team member was attempting some new tasks, and the client was starting to feel frustrated and ready to take it all over again. And this isn't the 1st time I've had this kind of conversation. I've definitely experienced similar frustrations myself, and I've heard them many times. I was actually reminded of a written conversation I had over two years ago, and I tracked it down and decided to share my response in this episode. The question was, I'm feeling like I'm quickly closing my openness to outsourcing. I keep wanting to take everything back. What do you do when something you've outsourced is not what you want, and you feel like you'd rather no one touched it but you? Does this question sound familiar? Whether it's outsourcing or delegating to an internal team member, this is very common.

I wrote back a response, and here it is. Bear with me here. I've been there, done that, and learned some things along the way that may be helpful. I have high expectations. Quality is extremely important to me, and I've had a tendency to pull back in the past and just do it myself. Sometimes doing it myself felt like the right thing to do in the short term, but long term, it didn't pay off. And here's what I learned. I believe when leading a team, whether outsourced or not, it's important to set your own expectations upfront.

I myself have learned that when leading others, I cannot expect that everything will be done as I would do it. They're not me, and it isn't fair to expect them to do things exactly as I would. You can choose to delegate or not, but you must define your goal for outsourcing. Sometimes it's about getting help from someone who can do something better than you. But other times, it's about freeing you up to do things that only you can do or that will bring in more revenue. You have to weigh the opportunity cost. If you outsource, what's the return on investment, not only in terms of what they are doing, but what frees you up to do. Allowing others to work in your business frees you up to work on your business.

It may be that they don't do things exactly as you would, but there are opportunities open up if you get things off of your plate versus if you try to do everything yourself. Are you willing to sacrifice some things not being done exactly as you want in exchange for a larger overall gain? If not, then by all means, do it yourself. But own that you may be missing some opportunities to grow by doing it all. If you're willing to sacrifice some and maybe more in the short term, then the first step is setting and communicating expectations. What are the goals you're giving them? What are the guidelines they should follow? What are the non-negotiable and the standards they should adhere to? The next step is creating a feedback loop. Build in an opportunity to review the work, to measure it against the agreed upon expectations, and to provide feedback as well as clarification. This phase can be tough for us perfectionists. It's easier to feel like you want to take things back than to provide the feedback and work through it. But be patient, and it should pay off.

Rather than taking control back, take on the leadership role and coach them up to meet your expectations. You hired them for a reason, but sometimes it takes a little time before you see the return. Investing in people isn't always a quick win. If you give it some time and they're still not getting it, then maybe they weren't the right fit for the job. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't outsource. Maybe you just need to find someone else. Ultimately, it's all about weighing the return on investment, giving the people you hire space to do what they are experts in, and shifting your role from the one implementing everything to the one leading. That was my response, and every word I wrote still holds true today.

If you struggle with letting go, I hope that those words speak to you today and that you're encouraged to step up into your role as a leader.