You’re overstressed and overworked. You can never find that right second in command to support you and grow your business. No matter how hard you try you can’t get your team to perform at the level you expect, and you’re driving them crazy.
So how do you solve your biggest people issues and ensure maximum productivity from your team?
Well, there’s good news and bad news.
THE BAD NEWS
is that you’re probably the problem.
THE GOOD NEWS
is that you’re probably the problem…and that means it’s something you can fix!
You just need to get clarity on your strengths, commit to using those strengths to the best and highest use, and focus on collaborating effectively with the right people.
Running a business is hard. It includes a lot of working parts, and many of those working parts are human beings with their own thoughts, needs, and strengths. You can’t be an effective leader until you get your own house in order. That’s why the first step to fixing your business is understanding your strengths.
Now, you didn’t get this far by accident. You obviously have a lot of skills and you’re clearly motivated. But that’s not enough. It doesn’t matter what you can do and why you do it if how you do it is all wrong.
You need to be able to execute the way you naturally take action or you will find yourself working against your grain and fighting an uphill battle all the time. That’s unsustainable for you and it’s unsustainable for your business.
Fortunately, you can measure how you naturally take action through the Kolbe A™ Index. This will tell you how you gather and share information, how you organize, how you deal with risk and uncertainty, and how you handle space and tangibles.
Once you have clarity on how you naturally take action, it’s time to commit to using your strengths to their best and highest use.
For instance, everyone has strengths in how they naturally organize, but those strengths can be VERY different. Some people create a plan and system for everything, others maintain those systems, and then others naturally adapt and create shortcuts. If you’re in that third group, your strengths lie in loosening up rigid processes and cutting through bureaucracy. So, if you’re stuck making and following systems all day, that’s not only a horrible use of your valuable time, it’s also going to drain your energy.
That’s true about how you share and gather information, deal with risk and uncertainty, and handle space and tangibles as well. You may be able to work against your strengths for a while, but it will always end up with you feeling drained, stressed, and overworked.
So, quit doing those things that take from you, and start doing the things that come naturally to you! Lean into your strengths and commit to them. You’ll find that everything is so much easier than before.
But wait…Don’t you need to do those things? Shouldn’t you persevere against all odds? Don’t you need to work smart AND work hard?
The truth is you can’t be all things to all people in a sustainable way. You just need to find the right people and let them be themselves as well!
Don’t naturally create systems but still need the systems? There are tons of people out there who naturally organize that way and will thrive if given the opportunity to do so.
Do you instinctively get to the bottom line but also know that you sometimes need more info than you’re willing to research and find? There is no shortage of people who will go in-depth because that’s what they need to do!
So many entrepreneurs make the mistake of trying to clone themselves or asking others to do things how they themselves would do them. But that just leaves everyone frustrated and burnt out.
The important thing is you identify what strengths you need, to find the right people for the right seats, and then give them the freedom to be themselves.
Have you been burning through Executive Assistants?
Once you know what you need in an Executive Assistant, you’ll be able to empower them to do the things they naturally do and the things you don’t.
Are you a Visionary/CEO who needs the perfect Integrator/COO?
Understanding the strengths you need to get everything done and then having you each focus on what you do best will move mountains.
When things feel overwhelming and your team is underperforming, it’s easy to blame others. But all you need to do is look in the mirror, acknowledge you’re the problem, and focus on supporting your strengths and the strengths of those around you. Do that, and the next time you look in the mirror, you’ll like what you see!
