Hey friends, Tappy here! I usually take the lead on these blogs, but today our founder, Eric Garcia, wanted to share a message personally. At Tapir, we’re all about recommending smart technology to help veterinary practices run more efficiently—but we also believe tech should create space, not take it up. Setting boundaries with technology is just as important as choosing the right tools. It’s how leaders grow, teams thrive, and everyone gets to focus on what they do best. So, I’m handing the mic to Eric to talk about something we all need to hear: sometimes, the best way to lead is to let go. Take it away, Eric!
By Eric D. Garcia
Pause for a moment, and think about your work environment.
When things get difficult, like when lab equipment is missing, the printer isn’t working, or the website breaks, we tend to rely on one person – a definitive voice – to have all the answers. They’re the person to turn to when there’s an angry client or a blinking error screen you’ve never had to fix. Chances are you already have someone in mind. Whether that person is the boss, a trusted co-worker, or a loyal employee, this expectation can only lead to future problems and results from a fundamental failure in leadership. What happens when that person goes on vacation or even retires? What if they get another opportunity, or a family crisis arises, and they leave the office in a lurch?
All too often these questions aren’t asked until it’s too late.
But where did this mentality come from?
Back when I first started unplugging – taking a sabbatical away from work, technology, and all of its constant reminders and notifications – I’d learned to expect that I’d come back online to hundreds of emails all awaiting my response. I often talk about how this is a normal part of unplugging – that the benefits of getting away from constant connectivity for a necessary break outweigh the inconvenience of needing to circle back when you’ve returned, and that plugging back in is never as terrible as it seems.
And yet, I remember one particular time, a few years ago I returned online after a 3-week unplugged period to find that one of our new team members had proactively decided to answer the majority of the emails that had come in for me. Reading this, perhaps it seems obvious that I should have been grateful and even relieved to see a much shorter to-do list than usual — especially during one of our busiest years on record.
You might think that I should have been excited to see it would only take me a few hours to catch up with what I’d missed while I was away. Spoiler alert: I was not.
I remember my mentors at the veterinary clinic I worked in growing up telling me that any time I took a vacation day I should have made it easy for someone else to do my job. I didn’t take that well then, either.
I didn’t want someone else to be able to do my job — that would make me replaceable! It’s easy now to chalk that fear up to insecurity that comes with young age. But was that the only reason?
At the direction of my bosses, I created protocols for everything I did. There was rarely anything at that veterinary office that someone couldn’t find or figure out how to do because it was all spelled out in the binders I’d created.
Though I was reluctant then, I soon saw my fears were baseless: instead of being replaced by other team members, I made my job (and my life) easier by allowing room for collaboration.
I learned a valuable lesson then:
“Your value isn’t in being the only one who can do the work. Your value is in how you approach the work, how you carry yourself, your dependability, and a myriad of other factors that make you different from anyone else who does that work.”
When I started my own company, I tried to instill this in my team but without the binders this time. Though it had worked for me at the clinic, I felt that my team at Tapir would be able to follow my lead in how I approached projects, challenges, and day-to-day work without needing written instructions. And I was right.
But when I plugged back in several years ago to find a tiny list of things to do, that same old insecurity reared its persistent head, a feeling that was exacerbated as I began to look through some of the replies this employee had sent to clients on my behalf.
Dread built by the second. I’d forgotten the lesson I’d learned before and instead was hit with the discomfort that came with realizing that he could do my job.
“Sure, he works for me now,” I’d thought then. “But what happens when he leaves?”
As I continued to review his communication, however, some of that fear faded as I grew impressed by how he’d handled things while I was away. I found myself saying, “That’s pretty damn good advice,” or “I would have probably approached this differently, but he gave them a solid answer.”
After a few minutes of thinking this through, the dread dissipated as I realized something groundbreaking. I wasn’t the only one in my company with all the answers…
My company could run without me. And that was GREAT!
From there, I started to explore just how much others were capable of within our team. What opportunities existed within each role and task? There were, and are, limitations of course. Most brand managers can’t code, develop, and build a website, and most web developers aren’t expected to run advertising campaigns. However, a brand manager can give marketing and UX (user experience) advice on a project in a developer’s absence. In the same way, a web developer can advise on how to amplify a brand message on a website with dynamic visuals.
Ultimately this is what every business owner should want. I know too many practices where the office relies heavily on a small (and I mean small) select group of individuals. We’ve all been there: everything is left in limbo while these people are out of the office, with everyone fearing getting something wrong if they dare make a decision “above” their pay grade! This often becomes problematic when someone decides to try and enjoy their day off or a long-planned holiday which is inevitably interrupted when the rest of the team bumps up against something they can’t do without them. Or worse, they don’t even attempt to take the time off in the first place thanks to past experiences, knowing that if they weren’t there chaos would follow: they’re only going to get work calls and emails anyway, so why bother taking those days off in the first place?
And that’s a wildly unhealthy mindset for any business culture to foster.
I strongly feel there are failures in leadership and management when only one person has all the answers to questions that anyone else on the team might regularly need answered.
It could be as simple as only one person having the password to a certain website or something like only one person knowing how to handle an upset client. Whether this person actually does eventually leave or merely needs a break, their absence creates a vacuum, and frankly…that sucks.
As leaders, we need to foster an environment where if anyone on your team wants to unplug from work for any period, you can let them do that without any need to reach out to them for help on something. This is not to say that accidents or work emergencies can’t or won’t happen. There are still things that rely on me and my team knows that if X, Y, or Z happens, to contact me anyway. But under most circumstances, we shouldn’t be stuck relying on one person and putting the weight of the entire business on their shoulders.
As the CEO of my own company, I’ve learned that when unplugging, the power of immunity is important. This means that my team knows that they have the power to approach any challenge the way they see fit without fear of getting in trouble for not always doing things the way I might have done if I had been there.
To do this, you have to trust your team and yourself – that you’ve hired people who are capable of doing their job, choosing to foster an environment where they do what they do best – and resist the urge to micromanage yourself into burnout.
Tapir is made up of a remote team that handles a large variety and volume of projects at any given time. Autonomy is critical to our success. This is where hiring top performers pays off for any company – as one of my favorite reads, No Rules Rules Netflix suggests, you’ll keep them as long as you foster a great culture and pay them accordingly.
I challenge you to think about ways you can embolden others on your team to step up. Not only to keep your work running smoothly when you’re away but also to allow the others on your team the opportunity to get their well-deserved rest when they choose to unplug, too.
Ultimately, when we do this, everyone wins.
Back to you, Tappy!
Tappy here! See what I mean? Sometimes stepping back is exactly what moves us forward. If your practice could use support with smart veterinary marketing, creating healthier boundaries with technology, or building confident, empowered teams—Tapir’s here to help you make it happen.
