As a CEO or business owner, you tend to think a lot about the things you should be doing … what your role and task should be in running and leading a company. But to properly balance your team, it’s equally important to ask, “What should I NOT be doing.” It’s entirely possible that you’re perfectly capable of doing a certain task, but are you really suited for that task?
Start by identifying your current workload and tasks that you take on personally. Once you’ve done that, look at each one with a discerning eye and identify which ones you enjoy and which ones drain you.
Generally speaking, the tasks that drain you are not suited for you. You could make your business stronger by giving those tasks to someone else in the company who is better suited for that type of work.
Don’t stop this exercise with yourself … try it for your entire team! The idea of balancing a great team is ensuring you have the right people doing the right things. Verne Harnish says in “Mastering the Rockefeller Habit,” “we need to get the right people doing the right things right.” In his book, “Clockwork – Design Your Business to Run Itself,” Mike Michalowicz modifies the maxim like this: Have the right people, do the right things, in the right proportions, right.
He breaks it down in the book like this:
“Have the right people…”
Understand the strength of each team member and know their “zones of genius.” When a person is great at doing something and they enjoy doing it, they excel.
“…do the right things…”
Identify what your business needs and eliminate the rest to get rid of the distraction. Then transfer the work to the right people. This aligns the right people to the right things.
“…in the right portions…”
Your team is made of people and people are human. Humans need balance – this comes from the appropriate amount of work and variety.
“…right.”
This means your people are properly trained, have the resources they need, and have clearly defined expectations for desired outcomes.
Ultimately to have a balanced, high performing, inspired team you have to implement this formula for all tasks and for all roles, starting with the leader … you. Just because you CAN do it, doesn’t mean YOU should be doing it.
Run this exercise across all levels and re-align your team’s work around the right people, doing the right things, in the right portions, right. Sounds like an injection of productivity, an elevation of culture, and ultimately an improved bottom line to us!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you’re ready to take your business and leadership skills to the next level, and if you think your business could benefit from more insights like what’s offered in this article, let’s start a conversation. LXCouncil may be the perfect next step!
CONNECT WITH LXCOUNCIL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
