Julian Scadden

As an owner or service manager of a residential HVAC service company, your energy is a finite resource and you need to manage it. If your team is always coming to you for solutions to department issues, or if they cannot make decisions when you are out of the office, you may be the source of all energy for your company. This is a draining place to reside.

One way to shift from this position is to assess your team’s strengths and create champions for certain activities. For example, service partner agreement renewals, customer concerns, scheduling issues may all deserve your attention, but these issues must first flow through a process which allows others to resolve them before you are involved.

It may well require changes to your company culture to identify, set, and adhere to these processes. While you are creating this new culture of empowering your team, you’ll need to communicate with those you are empowering. Hold meetings with them to brainstorm ideas. Be clear at the end of the meeting you expect them to provide potential solutions to the issue, and they own the process now.

It is your role to help your team think through the issue and approve the best solution, and it is also your role to pass the ball for them to handle. Conserve your energy for coaching them when they return with their ideas.

Can you think of a time when you turned over an issue that was draining your energy? Share your comments below!