How to nurture the growth of your team to get the support you need as a working parent
Key takeaways
- Hire people to help you run your business. Even independent contractors can be valuable here.
- Put structures in place to nurture your staff, and support you at the same time.
- Remember, it's OK to ask for help.
Maybe things are rosy right now. Maybe your child is sick for the fourteenth time this month. As you navigate your first year as a business-owning parent, you might find the juggle getting harder. You might be working with fatigue, or be feeling the burden of an increased mental load and having difficulty balancing all your priorities.
Not every business owner is going to have access to additional resources, and some may not have the staff to support them. As a business owner, it's important to nurture your team (or to start building that team), to enable you to share the load, and to get the help you need. It can't all fall on your shoulders.
Why it can be hard to seek help
The fear of failure. Many people are counting on you, and you may feel the burden of responsibility for others working in the business such as family and staff members. You don't want to let anyone down or be seen as a failure.
You're fatigued and possibly not thinking straight. When you're working through fatigue, it's more than simply feeling a bit weary. It's a state of physical and mental exhaustion which impacts your ability to perform your work safely and effectively.
You're too busy working in the business instead of focusing on the big picture. Hiring trained and trusted people to take over your daily tasks frees you up to work on the business, set strategic goals and drive new business objectives. If you can’t hire more staff, consider reviewing your priorities to see where you can free up some time.
Running a business can be lonely. The long hours and demands of running a business are often not conducive to sustaining healthy and happy relationships. Some of your friendships may have dissipated and your partner might be busy juggling their own workload. You can find yourself without peer networks or people who know you well enough to know you're not coping.
How to start building your team
You don't need to go on a hiring blitz or spend a fortune to have support around you. Start small or build a stable of independent contractors who can get to know your business and ramp up when needed. Hiring contractors means you can access specialised support on an ad-hoc or regular basis without paying high full-time salaries. This strategy works even if you are a sole trader. Need help finding good people? Ask for recommendations in online small business support communities and groups.
How to nurture your team's growth
Once you have the right people in place, it's time to think about building them up to be able to manage without you. Think of it like a succession plan – but as a means of supporting you as a parent.
Set clear goals – no one likes to feel undervalued or unsure of their objectives at work. We spend a lot of our lives at work, and since the pandemic more people are now searching for meaning in what they do. Talk to your team members to understand their desires and goals. Set them SMART (specific, measureable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) and ‘stretch’ goals and encourage people to work together to achieve them.
Support professional development – as a small business you might not have a learning and development budget, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still support the development of your employees. Think about how you can provide upskilling opportunities, have regular conversations with your people about their development and interests in the business, and explore any free training opportunities that might benefit your staff. Remember, a lot of the time it costs more to recruit new staff than it does to train an existing employee.
Be flexible – not just in your mindset but in your policies. The ability to work flexibly with autonomy is one of the key drivers employees want now, and employees are willing to leave organisations to get flexibility.
Lead by example – the best way to foster a healthy workplace culture? Role model it yourself. You don't have to be perfect, but your actions matter. For example, how you show up after a sleepless night might mean letting the team know your baby is teething, and you'd appreciate not having to attend an early meeting or make any tough decisions. This allows people the same courtesy to be able to bring their whole selves to work too.
Show appreciation – recognition is a big driver for many people at work. It doesn't have to be a showy display or big gesture either. A simple 'thank you' or 'well done' goes a long way. In the context of the current talent wars, people are jumping ship if they feel undervalued and under-appreciated. Think about how you might show recognition in a way that’s unique to your business. It could be a visual board displaying meaningful numbers or targets, an award, a gift voucher or a well-crafted email to say thanks.
