9 Common Mistakes Business Owners Make That Frustrate Their Teams

As an operations professional who has supported various businesses and teams, I see and hear firsthand how business owners are frustrating their teams… quite often without intending to or even realizing it.

Here are the top 9 ways you may be driving your team nutty…

1. Changing your mind and not committing to a plan

One of the best ways to get the most from your team is to decide what you want ahead of time (ideally 90 days out) and commit to the plan. Every time you change your mind, it means wasted work, wasted time, and in many cases, having to do things repeatedly. Not only does this frustrate your team, but it means you are paying for work that you no longer want or need (and quite often puts your team in a crunch, having to fast-track your new idea.)

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not to say that you can never change your mind – we all do it at times. But when it’s the norm vs. the exception (i.e.: bright shiny object syndrome) that is really going to drain your team.

2. Not giving them time to get to know you and your business

It takes someone at least 90 days to get to know you and your business. Yep, you read that right – this has been tracked and tested for years.

You know your business inside out, so you may forget that any new people who are working with you have a lot to learn about how your business is run. That’s not to say that they can’t do great work while learning – they can – but you do need to be OK with the fact that they won’t know everything overnight. They will have questions. They may need to clarify stuff. Be OK with that and be ready to answer.

3. Expecting them to read your mind

The key to successful team leadership is to master communication. Your role as a leader is to be crystal clear in what you want from your team – be it a simple task or a big project. You must be clear in your request, the deliverable/result you want, and the deadline.

Expecting them to “just keep up and figure it out” isn’t enough – especially if they are new to the team and don’t know you yet (as per the previous point.) If you aren’t clear in your requests, you won’t get what you want – simple as that.

4. Expecting your team to work nights & weekends

You are welcome to work anytime that you like but don’t expect your team to keep the same hours that you do. I know many creative entrepreneurs find that evenings and weekends are their most productive times – where we come up with all kinds of great ideas – and in our enthusiasm, we often throw stuff at our team, expecting unrealistic turnarounds.

In other words, don’t send your brilliant idea over on Saturday afternoon and ask them to finish it Monday by 9 a.m. That’s an unrealistic timeline and puts your team members in a bind. If you are in the middle of a launch and it’s “all hands on deck” then you want to plan ahead of time for folks to put in extra time – that’s fine – but again, it needs to be the exception and not the norm.

5. Micro-managing your folks (or not giving them anything at all)

If you have made a clear request, set your expectations on the deliverable, and have given them a deadline, then it’s time to let them do the job. You don’t need to know how they are doing every step and you don’t need to keep checking in with them all the time (unless they are late with the work). I know many a recovering control freak, so this can be hard. But, as long as they get the work done, it doesn’t matter how they got there.

Likewise, don’t hire someone to help you with someone and then never hand it over. You are wasting their time and your money (and probably keeping yourself “safe” doing work that shouldn’t be on your plate anymore.)

6. Not doing YOUR job so they can do theirs

Sometimes, your team needs something from you to do their job. Every time you are late on your part, it has a trickle-down effect that throws off the entire team, making everyone late.

If you are late for some reason – we all are occasionally – let them know you will be late and adjust the timeline accordingly. ie: If you were to get them something on Monday so that it could be ready for Wednesday, but you can’t get it to them until Wednesday, then their timeline needs to change now too.

7. Rescheduling or avoiding team meetings

I firmly believe in a weekly team meeting with your key players – so that you can check in on progress, get updates on projects and clarify upcoming projects/work. Many issues arise when leaders don’t make a weekly meeting part of the ongoing communication/connection with their team. (and it doesn’t have to take long!)

Every time you reschedule a meeting with a team member – especially if you do it regularly – you are essentially telling them that they don’t matter to you. If your team matters to you, honor your commitment to meet with them weekly.

8. Taking your stress out on them

We all have our moments. We all get stressed out from time to time as leaders. That doesn’t mean you get to take it out on your team members.

I’m surprised how often I hear stories of leaders snapping at or yelling at their team (even worse when it’s in front of others). There is never a reason to yell at a team member – even if they screwed up. If you are angry or frustrated, find a way to “vent” that before you communicate. And if you have a grumpy moment with a team member, own it and apologize.

9. Not allowing people to grow within your company

When team members feel valued, they will often stay for years.

Why? Because their client got to know their goals and aspirations. They looked for ways to allow them to grow with the business and try new things. Don’t try to keep great people in a role they no longer want or have outgrown simply because you want them there (they will quit at some point.) If you want a team that will stay with you long term, create a space where they get to grow.

I’m curious: which of these surefire ways to drive your team nutty do you know creeps in for you?

Connect with me! I’d love to discuss ways to make your team sing your praises.

Meet Kiva Slade - the Founder and CEO of The 516 Collaborative. With a unique background in high-power politics on Capitol Hill and sixteen years as a homeschooling mama, Kiva found her calling in the online business world as a trusted guide for entrepreneurs looking to build the business of their dreams.

Kiva's work began behind the scenes, orchestrating the back end of businesses and managing teams. But her inner data diva couldn't help but notice that small businesses needed help harnessing the power of data for growth. So she and her team set out to uncover and tidy up the data required to enable clients to grow their businesses confidently and easily.