Delegating leadership tasks - And suddenly we have a commercial proxy in the house

Vanessa Weber led her employees alone for 16 years. But in order for the company to continue growing, she has now hired a sales manager. What has changed in the company as a result?

When I took over Werkzeug Weber from my father in 2002, the company had nine employees. Today, there are more than three times as many. Until recently, I led these employees all by myself. I did have contacts in the individual departments. Nevertheless, all threads came together with me. And the larger the company grew, the more there was to coordinate. The consequence: I couldn't always stay as consistent on projects as I would have liked. Focus on new business areas? Optimize our processes? There was often little time for that. Especially in sales, I found that we were not optimally positioned; and in conversations with employees, I found that they shared my opinion. One of the most important skills of an entrepreneur, in my opinion, is self-reflection: One should be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and find ways to compensate for their weaknesses. I honestly realized: Sales control and sales organization are not among my greatest strengths. So how could we strengthen ourselves in sales? I had been pondering this question for several weeks when an acquaintance approached me: He knew an experienced sales manager from the tool industry who was looking for a new interesting and challenging task. It's crazy how life sometimes brings about such coincidences!

What has changed for me

When I got to know Mr. Waade, I immediately noticed: We are on the same wavelength; he fits not only professionally, but also personally into my company. However, I did not make the decision lightly - bringing a stranger into the company and giving him power of attorney right away was a big step for me. Since the beginning of February, Mr. Waade has been working at Werkzeug Weber. And I have already benefited from my decision:

I can focus more on my strengths.

I am strong in marketing, networking, and talking to customers. However, there are also entrepreneurial tasks that I don't enjoy as much and that don't suit me as well - I think that's the case for everyone. For me, these include organizational tasks such as scheduling or controlling. I have now delegated these tasks to my new sales manager. This allows me to focus more on my strengths - and at the same time, I know: There is someone who professionally takes care of the other issues. This not only relieves me, but also benefits our customers and my employees. Delegating has never been difficult for me anyway. Two years ago, I even took a nine-week break - and the company continued to run.

I have a sparring partner.

In the past, I could only have a dialogue with myself about business decisions. Sure, I sometimes consulted with my parents or my partner. But now I have a sparring partner with whom I can discuss upcoming decisions on a daily basis, as well as the company's strategy. This exchange on an equal footing - we even talk several times a day - is good for me. And together, we also develop many new ideas. So far, there have been no conflicts, but surely there will be topics where we have different opinions. I am curious to see how we will handle them.

My work is more structured.

In the past, I didn't have to coordinate leadership tasks with anyone: I just had to keep them in mind myself. This of course no longer works. A new solution had to be found. My new sales manager used to work in a larger company and knew the project management tool Asana from that time. We now use it for planning: We enter our to-dos there and assign them deadlines. It helps us not to get bogged down and makes coordination easier. So far, only he and I use the tool; gradually, we also want to expand it to other employees.

What do the employees say about the change?

I had expected that my employees might have reservations about my new sales manager: after all, a new boss being imposed on them out of the blue! In hindsight, I am surprised at how smoothly everything went. Certainly, the conversations we had with all employees contributed to this. Because at the beginning of February, the employee discussions were scheduled anyway when Mr. Waade started. I simply took him to all the appointments; this way, he quickly got to know all the employees well and gained insight into their work. In addition, he also had individual conversations with all employees without me.

Our plans together

The first major issue that Mr. Waade and I will tackle together now: creating structures that allow for further growth. Although we have been growing steadily, our structures have not kept pace. When a company grows, it's like building a house: You build a small house, but eventually you realize: I need more space. So you expand the attic, build an extension, then another extension ... until your house is big enough. But when everything is finished, you realize: Much is not well thought out, a makeshift solution, a stopgap. And you know: If you were to build a house of this size again, you would plan it completely differently from the start. We are now gradually reviewing many processes in the company. Just to give an example: In sales, we will in the future form fixed teams, each consisting of an inside salesperson and an outside salesperson. Such a team will accompany the customer from the offer to the order confirmation. Fixed contacts are more pleasant for the customer - and hopefully, we will save many internal queries within the team.

Our premise: The slowest sets the pace

My employees know: We have a challenging time ahead with many changes. So far, everyone is willing to go along, there is almost a sense of a new beginning. I know, of course, that the mood can also change; it is always said that during changes in a company, employees go through various phases. As in any change management process, my sales manager says we will also have to go through the valley of tears. Our most important goal is to take all employees with us on our journey and not leave anyone behind. Our premise: The slowest sets the pace. We will constantly exchange ideas with our team, inform the employees about all upcoming changes, and involve them in the important decisions. I am curious about what lies ahead - and at the moment, I am simply happy that everyone is so motivated. Learn more about our Top 100 entrepreneur Vanessa Weber: https://www.excellente-unternehmer.de/redner/vanessa-weber-geschaeftsfuehrerin-werkzeug-weber-unternehmerin-mit-herz-verstand.html