Author name: Gordon Grigg

When you own a business and work with a team, delegating the work to your team members as well as to yourself is a tricky thing. For instance, you are not good at analyzing things but if you keep this work to yourself and distribute the other work to your team members, you will never be able to figure out the main cause of failures in your business. This is why it is very important to identify yours as well as your team members’ potential and then work accordingly if you really want to gain success as a businessman.

I, Gordon Grigg, a life coach and business consultant in Nashville, Tennessee, deal with many people daily who are all trying hard but not getting success only because of the lack of delegation. Hence, if you are really serious about your business, you should find the experts in everything. Read on below to know why you should hire someone for what you don’t do well and should do yourself what you’re an expert at.

● Increases productivity

The biggest benefit of delegation is that you will be able to increase the productivity of your work because when you distribute the work according to the potential of the worker, they will be able to give more in less time. Plus, they won’t feel burdened or stressed out because they would be doing the work they are an expert at. This way, the productivity of not just the workers but the whole business will be increased and you will obviously get better results.

● Creates a happy workspace

Just imagine how things would be if you are asking a boxer to play cricket or a footballer to play tennis. The same thing applies to the workspaces too. If you delegate the work of a writer to a designer or the workers of the finance department working for the production department, they will never be happy. It will eventually create an unhappy workspace, where obviously nobody wants to work. Therefore you should follow the right delegation strategy and create a happy workspace for your organization.

● Ensures the growth of the organization

As a business owner, everybody wants to see only the growth of the organization. Unfortunately, achieving it and then maintaining it is not as simple as it sounds. For that, you need to follow well-planned strategies and effective delegation is one of them. If you are delegating the work to the right person and keeping the right work to yourself, you will definitely see booming growth in your business, that too in very less time. The reason being, everyone will be doing their allotted work in the possibly best way.

● Helps you get the best out of everyone

Getting the work done in the best way by your workers is not a piece of cake. Sometimes, you need to explain many details again and again to your workers and, even after that, they fail to give the expected results. Do you know why? Simply because they are not meant for that particular task. Everyone can’t do everything. This is why before delegating the work to your workers, first, find out their potential and then delegate the work accordingly. This way, you will be able to get the best out of everyone and obviously reap the best results.

● Helps develop a good relationship with your workers

The biggest benefit of proper delegation is that it helps you develop a good and amiable relationship with your workers. The reason being, you don’t have to nag at your workers over and over again to get a particular task done. If they are good at that particular niche, they will simply be giving their best even if you don’t explain the ins and outs of the task. You just assign the work to them and they will do it happily. Given the fact, there is no place for annoying communication or irritating behavior from either side.

● Makes you a good leader

Leadership qualities and delegation strategies are two complementary things. They go hand in hand. In fact, managing delegation or working well with your workers is the first step towards good leadership. If you manage to implement delegation strategies effectively, you are definitely a good leader. However, if you are lacking in this, you are not a good leader. This is why learning delegation strategies and implementing them with yourself as well as workers make you a good leader over time.

● Frees you up for bigger things

If you will do everything by yourself and won’t delegate the work to your workers, you won’t be able to achieve big things. The reason being, you will keep banging your head on small things only. Considering the fact, it is a wise idea to delegate the work to your workers according to their potential and keep yourself free for bigger things, which is your ultimate goal. As the owner of the business, it’s only you, who knows what your goal is and how you have to achieve this. If you follow the right delegation strategy, you will definitely find a lot of time for yourself to focus on bigger things while getting the other work done as best as possible.

● Encourages to achieve more

When someone does their favorite work or the work they are expert at, they are encouraged automatically to achieve more and more because they enjoy the work and have fun while doing it. They love exploring new things in that particular niche and try to do something new every time. Not just that, they also use their creativity and initiatives to get better results than ever, which is not only beneficial for them but also for the organization at a big level. When you see your employees working great, you are encouraged to plan bigger things for you. Thus, effective delegation encourages both, you as well as your workers.

● Teaches to work in a team

Another benefit of well-planned delegation is that it teaches each and every employee to work in a team in a cordial way. The reason behind this is that when someone is an expert at something, he/she expresses themselves openly without any fear of what others will think about his/her knowledge. This way, things come clearly on the table by everyone and there is no room for assumptions. All employees learn to appreciate each other and work in a team to ensure the growth of the organization. Plus, they themselves learn new things from each other.

● Ensures no stressed work

Tell me, will you enjoy working where you are stressed all day? Of course not, right? Well, the thing applies to everyone. If you have a stressed workspace, no employees would prefer to work for you. Nobody wants to work under pressure and stress all the time. Employees need freedom and open space where they can express themselves openly and use their own brains to give their best and this would be possible only if you are assigning them to work according to their potential. Only then, they will not feel under stress or pressure and work at their best potential.

● Helps hone the skill

One never stops learning. You must have heard this proverb, right? Well, effective delegation strategies open a new door for you as well as your employees to learn new things every day and hone their skills in a wide spectrum. The reason being, they would be working with experts in a particular thing. They will learn new things from them and try to emulate themselves as well. Given the fact, here everybody has the opportunity to widen their knowledge and grow professionally.

● Makes work smother

Delegation is the best way to get your work done smoothly in less time without creating any stress for yourself as well as your employees. If the right person is doing the work, he does not only increase the productivity of the work but also does it in the most efficient way. This is why it is very important to assign the work to the right person if you want to get it done in the most efficient and smoothest way.

● Ensures open communication

Another good benefit of right delegation is that it ensures open communication between you and your employees as well as between the employees themselves. When someone has deep knowledge about something, he/she doesn’t shy away from talking about it. This ensures open communication leaving no space for misunderstanding between the employees. Plus, it also provides an open space for your employees to interact with you because they won’t feel any fear or hesitation while talking to their higher authority when they have deep knowledge about something.

Conclusion

As a business consultant and life coach in Nashville, Tennessee, I, Gordon Grigg, am telling you that effective delegation is very important for the growth of an organization or an entrepreneur. I have already told you the benefits of proper delegation. Now, you yourself decide. I once again say that delegation is not just giving someone a job and getting it done anyway. No, it does not work this way.

How to Choose the Best Advisor? Learn with Gordon Grigg!

It’s natural to want to be in control of everything, but doing so can lead you down the wrong path and cost you time, money, and energy. We’ve all been there: you’re so excited about your idea that you dive right in before talking to anyone else about it. However, when things start going sideways, you’re stuck trying to figure out how to fix them on your own.

The best way to avoid this scenario is by getting advice from an expert. When you talk with someone who knows their stuff (and has experience with your industry) about what’s possible for your business, what challenges might come up along the way, and how best to tackle them, then you’ll have all the information required to make smart decisions from the beginning.

Not all advisors are created equal. That is why you need to be sure that the advisor you are hiring for your investment or business needs is the best fit for your situation and can give you the best service and advice.

Introduction to Advisory
You know that feeling you get when you’re looking for something but can’t find it? That’s what advisory is for.

Advisory helps you find the things you need to do in your business. It helps in organization, focus, and growth.

When you hire an advisor, you’re looking for someone to help guide your business through the complex and uncertain growth waters. You want someone who can provide trusted advice and ensure that your company is on the right track, but finding the right person isn’t always easy.

Before choosing the best advisor for your business, let’s first look at what an advisor does.

The answer lies in their role: advisors provide a wide range of skills, knowledge, and expertise to support businesses in various areas of their operations. They are responsible for everything from providing strategic advice and direction on what to do next to help your company grow by finding new opportunities or identifying areas for improvement through “benchmarking.”

They can also help you manage your finances by providing insight into the best ways to invest money and how much you should spend on marketing or branding campaigns. They may even help with hiring decisions by guiding you through the interview process or providing feedback about potential hires once on boarded at your company!

Importance of Advisory
Advisory is a key part of any business, but it’s especially important for startups.

Advisors can help you answer questions about your business and advise on how to run it. They can also help you identify potential issues before they become problems.

They are often the first to see your product or service before anyone else. Hence, they can offer feedback on the process and improvement. They’ll also know what other companies are doing in your industry, which can help you stay competitive.

The most important thing that advisors can offer is their experience in business and other areas like marketing or finance. They’ve seen what works and what doesn’t, so they’ll be able to offer you advice based on their own experiences that may not have occurred to you before.

Additionally, advisors can share details about your business with their network. And if they have a strong enough relationship with their network, they can introduce you to new connections or investors who could help grow your business.

Difference between a Good and the Best Advisor
Are you looking for a good advisor or the best advisor? You might be asking yourself this question, but we’re here to help.

The difference between a good advisor and the best advisor is that the best advisor will help you make better decisions. A good advisor will give you some advice, but they will only be able to help you in some situations. It’s okay to seek professional advice from time to time, but if your life is going downhill and you realize that your investments are totally out of control, it’s time for an expert!

The best advisors are trained professionals who have been through the same process as their clients. They understand what it feels like when things aren’t going well for a client and can advise them on how to move forward. They can also identify red flags early on to help prevent problems from becoming more serious later on down the line.

The distinction between a good and the best advisor boils down to three factors:
● Understanding more than your clients do.
● Better using that knowledge to your client’s advantage.
● Being clear and adamantly convinced of what is best for your customers in every aspect of their financial lives.

Who is the Best Advisor for You?
Finding the right advisor can be a bit of a wild goose chase—you’re not going to find them by asking around or googling “best advisors.” You have to know what you want from an advisor, your goals, and what kind of personality will fit your needs.

So how do we do that? I have put together some criteria for choosing the best advisor that will help you figure it out:

1. What is their specialty?

2. What is their experience level?

3. Do they have any certifications or awards?

4. What is their approach to working with clients

5. Are they empathetic or more analytical?

6. Are they direct and upfront or more reserved?

7. What kind of relationship do they want with their clients?

8. How often do they see them, and how long are those appointments usually?

10 Qualities of the Best Advisor
Here are the 10 qualities of the best advisor. This way, you can choose the best advisor for yourself.

1. Desire to Share Expertise and Guidance
This quality includes sharing knowledge on how to approach different problems or opportunities in business as well as personal financial advice.

2. Genuinely Care about Other People’s Success:
They should care about helping people reach their goals, whether financial independence or having enough money left over at the end of each month for fun activities.

3. Coaching Aptitude:
Coaching is one of the essential qualities you should look for in the best advisor. An advisor who can help you fulfill your goals and give you direction is someone who has coaching aptitude.

4. Powerful Communication Skills:
The best advisor can communicate effectively with their clients. Hence, everything is clear about the process and requirements. It helps ensure that your business continues moving forward without any delays due to miscommunication between yourself and your team.

5. Positivity:
They should be able to help you navigate the complexities and keep your mind focused on what matters most. They should also be able to see the bigger picture and keep things in perspective when things get stressful or difficult.

6. Flexibility:
You need someone flexible enough to adapt to any situation at hand. They will advise on handling all kinds of problems—whether managing your portfolio in times of high volatility or helping you through a divorce.

7. Strong Business Expertise:
You need an advisor with extensive industry knowledge who can assist with strategic planning and guide you to avoid pitfalls. Their expertise frequently also grants them access to a broader professional network. An advisor could better serve the requirements of the businesses with appropriate industry experience and can discuss fresh and unexplored prospects or best practices.

8. Trustable:
You need an advisor who inspires trust. This act may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s not always easy to tell when someone is trustworthy or not—especially when you’re just starting! It’s important that your advisor is honest and upfront about what they can do for your business and what they can’t do.

9. Compassion:
Sometimes the subjects on, which advisors offer guidance are emotionally charged. It is advantageous if an advisor is empathetic while discussing subjects connected to human emotions. If he doesn’t have compassion, he can struggle to convey the emotionally charged advice in a way that the advisee can understand.

10. Culture Match:
Your advisor’s advice is likely only effective if they get your business’s character, passion, and goal.

Conclusion
The above advantages and benefits are good reasons to use advisory in your business. It’s not just about keeping books up to date or from an external point of view; it simply gives you clarity of thought to focus on running your business to deliver what your clients want and the result they expect.

The choice comes down to what works best for you and your business. We’ve shown you a few options so you can make an informed decision, but it’s up to you to choose the best advisor.

GORDON GRIGG – LIFE COACH AND BUSINESS CONSULTANT:
I am Gordon Grigg. I help people improve their personal lives and businesses. I always believe in true advisory and consultation. Therefore, I focus on both professionalism and care. I am of the view that the best advisor shares premium knowledge with care. Therefore, I offer quality advisory with personalization. This way, I can better understand and help my clients.

Every employer wishes that the work environment in their organization is productive, positive and efficient. Every employer wishes that employees of his organization are motivated, reflect the organization values and have a high employee morale. But, not always do the things we wish for come true, do they? Maintaining a positive and proper work culture in an organization can be tricky as it is a very delicate topic. A workplace has employees from different backgrounds, beliefs, thinking and opinions, so making sure that all reflect the organization values and gel easily into your work culture can be difficult. As a business Consultant and Life Coach in Nashville, TN, I, Gordon Grigg, believes that even one employee who does not share company values or just doesn’t fit in the workplace culture can lower the morale and affect productivity of other employees. In HR discussions, these employees are usually referred to as the ‘toxic employees’.

A study by Harvard Business Review reveals that avoiding hiring a toxic employee can save an organization twice more than what they would have earned from hiring a well performing employee. Studies also show that 54 percent of good employees are more likely to quit their job when there is a toxic employee at the workplace. Yet hiring a toxic employee is inevitable. No matter how well defined and filtered your hiring process is, toxic employees somehow slip through and become a part of an organization. It is very important for companies to take steps to identify toxic employees and deal with them in the best possible way.

Warnings signs that toxic employee is present in your organization
Did you know dealing with a toxic employee is not difficult? The most difficult part is correctly and timely identification of toxic employees. From a bully to gossiper, slacker to ignorant, burned out to social butterfly, toxic employee can be of various types. Any of these types of toxic employee can create an imbalance in the work culture and cohesion of your organization.

Want to check if there are any toxic employees in your organization? Check out for these warning signs:

1. Negative or low response to company initiatives – You may often come across people who do not support most company initiatives. Not only they seem uninterested, they involve other people into their negative thoughts too but never openly. You may have often heard people talking hush hush about some new team building activity or gathering the company is planning. If you feel an employee or group of employees are harboring negative thoughts and spreading them to others, they can be classified as toxic.

2. Instances of workplace bullying or harassment – Have you often come across complaints of a person bullying his team members? It may be an official complaint or come to you through the grapevine. Have you seen a team member bulldozing other people’s ideas or opinions? Well, bullying or bulldozer traits are a clear sign of toxicity and you should watch out for.

3. Displaying privilege or pride – It has often been seen that employee with special skills or with a long history with the company or a good position in the company display pride in their interactions. No employee likes having a “know-it-all” as a peer or senior. When an employee displays privilege, they often disregard the ideas, thoughts and views of other employees, especially juniors and new employees.

4. Constantly complaining or whining – Do you have an employee who is constantly complaining about something or the other? His whining may not always be about something at work, it can be related to anyone or anything. People who complain constantly find something wrong in everything and build up negativity. This building negativity often spreads to other employees in your organization.

How to deal with toxic employees and maintain proper work culture
Toxic employees have a negative impact on the overall work culture, employee productivity and happiness. So, never take toxic traits of employees lightly. Even though it may seem small at the time, it will grow and act as a poison for your work culture. The sooner you deal with toxic traits of an employee, lesser is the damage done to your organization. Every employee and situation are different, so careful consideration and communication is required.

Here are few ways that you can use to deal with toxic employees and stop them before they poison the entire business process:

1. Identify early on – Keep an eye open for situations that showcase someone’s toxic trait, no matter how minor or severe. Early identification will help nip the problem in the bud and reduce the effects on other employees. Chances are the employee does not even realize his behavior is toxic. For example, they may feel that gossiping with fellow employees is just for entertainment and do not realize the negativity being spread through it. Sometimes, a single discussion with them may change things just ensure that you take action proactively.

2. Never avoid confrontations – It has been often seen that managers or HRs avoid confrontations related to toxic traits. The belief that everyone is grown up at the workplace and has a good understanding may not always stand true. Whenever, you come across any situation that indicates toxic trait of an employee, no matter how minor it is, don’t turn a blind eye. Have a one-on-one conversation with the employee and share your concerns.

3. Create a clear set of guidelines – To ensure that everyone receives the same treatment, it is important to have clear set of rules and processes, and what are consequences and actions that can be taken. Document clearly what is considered as professional behavior and what is not. This document should be shared not only with new employees but also with existing employees. Ensure that you make this document as a part of your onboarding process.

4. Do not use threats as a measure of action – Remember, no one wants to be toxic on purpose, but their background, current situation in life, past difficulties and other factors may be influencing their behavior. Try to understand what they are going through in life, and understand if it is resulting in a negative behavior in their personal and professional lives. Remember, empathy is always better than threats. When you show empathy towards a person, they will be willing to share their problems and understand the solutions you are proposing. If you use threat as an action directly, they will feel cornered and attacked and may become more toxic.

5. Practice what you preach – As a leader and stakeholder in the organization, make sure you practice what you want the employees to learn. For example, if you find that in a team the hardworking people are always covering the mistakes or pending work of a fellow employee, do not turn blind eye just because the work is getting done on time. If you do so, you will become an enabler allowing them to continue, thus being unfair to your hardworking employees. If you show preference towards an employee or give special benefits to someone, then you may become the root cause of toxic environment. You need to ensure you follow consistent standards for everyone, irrespective of their seniority.

6. Create a plan of action and follow-up – Firing an employee is not the only solution for dealing with toxic situations, you can guide them to improve their behavior too. The choice between letting an employee go or allowing them to change their behavior will depend on what are their toxic traits, how it is affecting the work culture and their willingness to bring a change in their attitude. Be a mentor and guide the employee at every turn they need.
When an employee understands his toxic behavior and is willing to change, then create a detailed action plan for the time moving forward. Set clear expectations in terms of behavior. Regularly monitor and follow up on the plan. If there are no improvements, you may need to consider termination. Remember, bringing a change in a person’s habits and personality cannot happen overnight; there is a long road ahead.

7. Be communicative and transparent – When an employee leaves the organization or is terminated, make sure you clearly tell other employees on what happened and the steps you took for improvement. Being clear about how you tackled toxic behavior of the employee or how their toxicity affected the work culture. Make sure you do not talk negatively about the person who left, talk about them with respect and dignity. This will build transparency and trust among your people. If you keep the entire thing hush hush, it leads to speculation among employees and adds fuel to the negative environment.

Dealing with a toxic employee is never easy! Though it may hurt, sometimes, letting go is the best option to preserve the brand, culture, and growth. It is always better to seek the help of a life and business coach to bring the transformation you wish to see in your organization. Myself, Gordon Grigg, has been helping businesses in Nashville, TN bring a change in their work culture, help employees build a positive mindset and reduce negativity. Share your thoughts and concerns with me, and we will together find a way moving forward.