Part of growing a business is growing your team. And part of this process is stress. It’s inevitable. Some stress is healthy. Especially if this drives you to learn and build a strong brand and business.

But did you know that you can be stressing out your team, too?

It’s true. And you might not even be aware of it.

Here are ways you’re burning out your team without you even knowing how to avoid it.

Micromanaging them

Do you like asking them minute details every 30 minutes? Or do you keep asking them the same question over and over? Or, do you like overseeing all their tasks down to the last tiny detail making sure everything is thorough?

This might sound overly dramatic but trust me, this happens. And it’s not good. 

In fact, it’s stressing out your team.

Breathing down the necks of your team will not only hamper their productivity but can also demotivate them.

Give your team some leeway. Provide clear instructions and then learn to step back. Some business owners are afraid to take a step back because they’re afraid their team will make a mistake. To that, I ask the question. So what? What if they make a mistake? Will your business implode? Probably not. They may make mistakes, yes. It can happen. But mistakes are where people learn. Preventing them from making mistakes is preventing them from growing.

Give them the freedom to grow by learning to step back and allowing them to do the job you hired them to do.

Not having clear goals

Not having clear goals for your own business can burn out your team more than you can imagine. Especially since they may not necessarily voice this out freely to you.

They can sense if you’re not fully committed to your business, or if you’re just into too many things and cannot commit to a certain goal. They can tell because you’re not able to lead them.

When you don’t have clear goals, it sends them a message that you don’t care about their future. You have to remember that each team member is a family that depends on them. If you don’t have clear goals for your business, that means you don’t care if your team gets paid next month. This stresses them out because they have a family to feed. This leads me to my next point.

Not paying them on time

This is a VA’s nightmare.

Like you, they also have bills to pay. If you have VAs in the Philippines, it could be worse for them because bills are paid mostly in cash, not by credit cards. So if you pay them late, that could mean having a not-so-romantic-candle-lit family dinner. Because they were not able to pay the electricity bill on time. Please don’t do this. Make sure to pay your VAs on time.

Giving them tasks more than they signed up for

I once had a client who hired me to be his executive assistant. Then one day he wanted me to be his project manager, and then his email marketing manager. Don’t get me wrong, I loved his work. But I was so stressed out with all the things he asked me to do. I was doing things beyond my job description.

One day I gathered all my courage and politely asked him to seek advice from a marketing consultant because the areas he was asking me to handle were not my area of expertise. 

Remember that your VA is not everything you want them to be.

Give them room for growth, yes. But do so without sacrificing their current job description. And if you want to transfer them to a different job role, make sure you communicate this clearly with them. If you want to promote them, make sure you raise their salary as well!

Mental health is ignored

Work-life balance is important. Make sure you give your team enough time for vacation and sick days. 

As I mentioned above, make sure their job is on par with their job description.

Have regular check-ins with them and ask them how they’re doing. It’s better if you know some details of their lives. I appreciate it when clients asked me about my family. I mean, we’re humans after all. We can’t all be about business talk. Ask your VA about her toddler and how he’s coping with school. Remind her it’s tough to be a working mama but it gets better. You never how much your words will mean to her. I know, because I once had a co-worker who said those words to me.

No room for growth

Unlike the other items above, this one doesn’t hurt like the others. This one is subtle. It won’t make them lash out in anger but it will make them lose sleep. It will make them ask questions about themselves, and doubt themselves, without really realizing it’s happening.

Have a company structure where you invite team members for leadership roles. Growth has to happen inwards. Remind your team members they are welcome to give suggestions and feedback about their roles. Make sure you assess each team member regularly every couple of months. This will not only help motivate your employees, but it will have a great impact on the growth of your business.

Over to you

It’s tough to build a team. But if you play your cards right and create the right one, they will help you take your business to the next level.

Let us help you build your dream team. Reach out to us now.