Tired of babysitting your team?
“I wasn’t able to get to this.”
“I thought B was supposed to do it? ”
“I didn’t realize that’s how you wanted it done.”
And you catch yourself thinking:
Why wasn’t it done the way I wanted it to?
If this sounds familiar, it’s easy to assume it’s a people problem –
But more often, it’s because most clinic owners were never trained to lead.
You were trained to treat patients.
Not to manage people.
Not to create systems.
Not to scale sustainably.
You were not trained to be a CEO, a leader, or a steward of other people’s work.
And yet, you can’t make as big of an impact if you don’t have a team.
In fact, building the right team is one of the greatest opportunities to help more people without you having to do everything yourself.
If you’re tired of babysitting or hesitant to hire anyone to help you (even though you’re stretched thin & tired of doing everything yourself), here are a few things I’ve learned over the years that can help you:
1. Clear expectations create more happiness & less micromanaging
Have you set clear expectations and defined what success looks like?
I made this mistake for many years in my business, not setting clear expectations, whether it was related to the time frame I wanted something done or the standards I wanted it done with.
I expected people would do things the way I would–with a sense of urgency.
I expected that my team would uphold high standards just like me, because doesn’t everyone think the same way?
It didn’t occur to me that people couldn’t read my mind 🙂
An important key to freeing up your time & having things done the way you want is to set clear expectations and define what success looks like.
HOT TIP: Also remember to share your vision and why that vision is important for the practice & the people you’re helping.
2. Context beats task lists.
If you’re constantly telling your team what to do, it’s often because they don’t understand the bigger picture.
When you set context for people who are capable of being self-managing on your team, your team can think, decide, and lead – without you micromanaging.
Context is what turns helpers into leaders.
Do you make it a habit to set context vs asking people to do tasks?
I made the mistake of this for many years in my business. It started out when I hired my first assistant. I was excited to have this person take things off my plate. I would delegate things to them.
At first it was great, but then I got tired of telling them what to do. Part of my problem was that I didn’t always set the context.
They didn’t understand the big picture very well, so it was harder for them to make decisions. As a result, I felt like I always had to be telling them what to do.
Always set context, even if you think they should know. It will set you free sooner rather than later.
A caveat of this is that if you have a “doer” instead of a “thinker” on your team (FYI-they can both be valuable to have on your team). There may be people on your team who are more of a “doer” – these people are great at executing but aren’t as good at thinking things through & how best to go about doing things.
If they are strictly a “doer”, they may require more task management compared to a “thinker” on your team. You have a choice: hire someone who is more of both or still have your “doer” on your team but know that they will likely need to be overseen more than a “doer/thinker” or “thinker”.
3. Training systems are not optional.
Are there good training and systems & procedures in place that support learning the role or task well?
Do you spend time training and fostering the growth of your team?
Or, do you just hire and expect them to start taking things off your plate without much supervision?
If you don’t have a structured onboarding process, you will always feel behind.
In our Introverted Rebel Visionary Mastermind, when we are helping our clients with the hiring & team growth side of their practices, we help them get a 90-day onboarding plan in place.
It is amazing how much faster and smoother their new hires get up to speed than before having one in place. Having a solid 90-day onboarding plan reduces errors, shortens ramp-up time, and frees you up faster.
Clear training = faster confidence
Clear systems = less dependency on you
Clear team rhythms = more alignment, better performance, and less micromanaging
Do you have a 90-day onboarding plan? Or do you wing it?
Even if you have one in place, is it created in such a way that it can start becoming more hands off for you, so it doesn’t have to be so time intensive training them?
4. Sometimes it’s the wrong hire.
If you’ve done the above and you’re still babysitting your team, it could be that you simply don’t have the right hire.
The best systems, structures, leadership from you will not replace the fact that you don’t have the right person. They may be a wonderful person, but just not right for your practice, team dynamics, or situation.
Instead of holding on to someone who’s not working out, start looking for a new hire.
If you’re stuck at a plateau and know your next level requires better leadership and team structure or upgrade to your business model….
Or if you simply would love to help more people + scale to multi-6 or 7 figures the introverted way,
Book a FREE call to explore how we can help you grow faster & take home more!
You’re not meant to carry your practice alone.
Having guidance & help will take you further than going at it alone.
If you’d like the 4 Weeks to a New Hire system that comes with the 90-Day Onboarding plan template, click here.
Chen Yen, 6 & 7-Figure Practice Makeover Mentor
Would you love a more consistent flow of patients?
Or busy wearing too many different hats, and would love to add another income stream (or have the practice to run more without you) & accelerate growth to multi 6 or 7 figures the introverted way?
Book your FREE practice growth assessment now
There’s a reason why people like the recent President of American Association for Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), Chair of American Society of Acupuncturists (ASA), former Board Member of American Academy of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM), and Past President of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA)-Sports Council work with us.
Our mission is to wake up the planet and change the way we treat illness and health. We believe holistic options should be first line of care in this country. This can happen only if more acupuncturists, chiropractors, naturopathic doctors, therapists, and functional medicine practitioners get the word out there.
Your patients need you.
The most passionate visionary and spiritual practitioners come to us to fast track their growth.
If you are ready to fast track your practice growth
and have a practice you’re proud of….
