Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should
I've been thinking a bit lately about how easy it is to take on more than we probably should, particularly when we're the sort of people who like to get involved, solve problems and generally make things happen.
It's something I've become increasingly aware of as I juggle running my own business, family life and various community and volunteer commitments. I genuinely enjoy being busy, I like having projects to work on and I get a lot of satisfaction out of helping people, but I'm starting to realise that just because I have the skills or ability to do something, it doesn't necessarily mean I should be the one doing it.
And while that sounds like a fairly straightforward concept, putting it into practice is another matter entirely.
The Problem With Being Capable
I've always been someone who likes to figure things out. If there's a problem, I want to find a solution, and if there's a process that isn't working particularly well, my instinct is to look at how it could be improved. It's probably one of the reasons I enjoy bookkeeping so much, because a big part of what I do is helping business owners make sense of things and find better ways of managing their finances.
The problem is that this way of thinking doesn't stop when I finish work for the day. It follows me into the organisations I'm involved with, the committees I sit on and pretty much any situation where I can see something that needs doing.
I think a lot of people who run their own businesses can relate to this. We're used to wearing multiple hats, learning new skills and finding ways to get things done, often because when we first started out, there wasn't anyone else to do them. Over time, you become quite good at figuring things out for yourself, and that resourcefulness becomes something you're proud of.
But there's a downside to being the person who can usually find a way to make something work. You start noticing all the things that could be done better, and because you know how to do them, or at least know you could work it out, you feel an almost automatic responsibility to do something about them.
Before you know it, you've added another task, another project or another responsibility to an already fairly full plate, and quite often nobody actually asked you to.
When Helping Turns Into Taking Over
I've noticed this particularly in volunteer organisations, where everyone is generally doing their best with the time and resources they have available. You might offer to help with one small thing, but while you're doing that you notice another area that could use some attention, and then another, and suddenly what started as a relatively simple contribution has turned into something much bigger.
It's not necessarily because anyone expects you to take it all on. Sometimes it's simply because you can see what needs doing and it's easier to get on with it yourself than to explain it to someone else, wait for it to happen or accept that it might not be done quite the way you would have approached it.
Of course, people who are willing to take initiative are incredibly valuable, particularly in community organisations that rely so heavily on volunteers. Without those people, a lot of things simply wouldn't happen. But I do wonder whether, in our enthusiasm to help, we sometimes create a situation where too much responsibility ends up sitting with too few people.
And that's not particularly sustainable for anyone.
The same thing happens in business. When you're starting out, doing everything yourself is often a necessity, but as your business develops, continuing to do everything can actually become one of the biggest things holding you back. If every task, decision and problem has to come through you, there's a limit to how much you can achieve, regardless of how capable or organised you are.
At some point, you have to recognise that being able to do something yourself isn't necessarily a good enough reason to keep doing it.
What Are You Giving Up When You Say Yes?
One of the concepts we talk about in business is opportunity cost, which is essentially the value of what you give up when you choose one option over another.
We tend to think about this in financial terms, but I think it's just as relevant when it comes to how we spend our time.
Every time I agree to take on another responsibility, I'm making a decision about where my time and energy are going to go, whether I've consciously thought about it that way or not. An extra few hours spent on a committee project might mean a few less hours available to work on my own business, spend time with my family or simply have an evening where I don't have anything that needs to be done.
And I think that last one is something we tend to undervalue.
Somewhere along the way, being busy seems to have become something of a badge of honour. We talk about how much we've got on, how many things we're juggling and how little spare time we have, almost as though having a full calendar is proof that we're doing something worthwhile.
I'm certainly guilty of this myself, although I don't think it's necessarily about wanting to appear busy. For me, it's more that there are genuinely so many things I enjoy doing and being involved with that it can be difficult to decide which ones deserve my time.
But the reality is that time is one of the few resources we can't create more of, no matter how efficient we become, and filling every available hour doesn't necessarily mean we're using those hours well.
Being Helpful Doesn't Mean Doing Everything
Something else I've been reflecting on is the difference between helping someone and simply doing something for them.
In my work, I spend a lot of time helping business owners understand their financial information and improve the way they manage their businesses. Sometimes that means taking over a task completely, because that's what they need and where I can add the most value. Other times, it means showing them how to do something themselves, helping them develop a process or simply giving them the confidence that they're on the right track.
Neither approach is necessarily better than the other. It depends on the circumstances and what is going to be most useful in the long run.
I think the same principle applies to leadership and volunteering. Just because you can do something more quickly or easily than someone else doesn't mean taking it over is the best outcome. Sometimes sharing your knowledge, providing a bit of guidance or giving someone else the opportunity to learn is far more valuable than getting the job finished yourself.
Admittedly, this isn't always easy, particularly when you know you could have something sorted in half the time it takes to explain it. But if we never make the time to bring other people along with us, we end up creating organisations and businesses that are overly reliant on a handful of individuals.
We also miss the opportunity to develop the next generation of people who are willing and able to step up.
I've been fortunate to have people throughout my own journey who have shared their knowledge, encouraged me to take on new challenges and given me opportunities to learn. It would be a shame if, in trying to be helpful and efficient, I didn't make the same space for others.
But What Happens If Nobody Else Does It?
I think this is probably one of the hardest parts of learning to step back, particularly when you're involved in something you genuinely care about.
It's all very well saying that you shouldn't take everything on, but when you can see something that needs doing and nobody else is putting their hand up, it can be difficult to leave it alone.
The question I find myself coming back to is whether something actually needs to be done, or whether it's simply something I think should be done.
There's quite an important difference between the two.
Just because I can see an opportunity to improve something doesn't mean that improvement needs to happen immediately, and just because I have an idea about how something could work better doesn't necessarily mean it's a priority for everyone else involved.
Sometimes there are more important things that need attention, sometimes the resources simply aren't available, and sometimes something that's perfectly adequate doesn't need to be turned into another project.
I think this is particularly relevant for people who are naturally inclined towards problem-solving, because it can be quite difficult to leave something alone once you've worked out how you would fix it.
But learning to recognise the difference between what could be done and what needs to be done is an important part of making good decisions, whether that's in business, governance or everyday life.
Learning to Be a Little More Selective
I don't think the answer is to stop getting involved or to become someone who automatically says no to everything. Some of the most rewarding experiences I've had have come from putting my hand up for something that was outside my comfort zone, and I've met some wonderful people and developed skills I might never have discovered otherwise.
Being involved in my community is important to me, as is continuing to challenge myself and look for opportunities to learn and grow. I wouldn't want to lose that simply because my calendar occasionally gets a little out of control.
What I am trying to become better at, though, is taking a moment to consider what I'm actually committing to before I agree to something.
Do I have the time to give it the attention it deserves? Is it something that aligns with what I'm trying to achieve, either personally or professionally? Am I genuinely the right person to be doing it, or am I simply volunteering because I know I can?
And perhaps most importantly, what am I going to have to give up in order to make room for it?
I think there's also something to be said for accepting that we don't have to be involved in every good idea. We can support something, encourage the people behind it and genuinely want it to succeed without necessarily needing to take on a role ourselves.
That's probably a lesson I still have some work to do on.
Finding the Right Balance
As my business has grown and my responsibilities have changed, I've become more conscious of the need to be deliberate about where I put my time and energy. Not because I want to do less or contribute less, but because I want the things I choose to do to be worthwhile, and I want to be able to do them properly.
There's only so much any one person can take on before something starts to give, and I'd much rather recognise that before I reach the point where I'm no longer enjoying the things I originally volunteered to do.
I also think we need to be careful about how we measure our own contribution. Being the person who does the most isn't necessarily the same as being the person who makes the biggest difference, and sometimes the most valuable thing we can do is create the space, systems and opportunities for other people to contribute.
Ultimately, I don't think success, whether in business or in life, should be measured by how many responsibilities we can juggle or how full we can keep our calendars. I'd much rather be doing a few things well, enjoying the process and having the time to appreciate what I'm working towards than constantly rushing from one commitment to the next.
So I'm trying to get into the habit of asking myself a slightly different question when an opportunity or problem comes along.
Rather than immediately thinking about whether I can do it, I'm trying to consider whether I should.
I'm sure there will still be plenty of occasions where my enthusiasm gets the better of me and I find myself wondering how I've ended up with yet another thing on my to-do list. I suspect that's just part of who I am, and to a certain extent, I quite like that about myself.
But perhaps being a little more selective about where I put that enthusiasm isn't such a bad thing.
After all, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should, and sometimes knowing when to step back is just as valuable as knowing when to step up.
I'd love to hear whether this is something other business owners and volunteers struggle with. Are you someone who finds it difficult to say no, particularly when you know you could help, or have you found a way to strike a better balance?
