I work with entrepreneurs every day. The successful ones have tapped into a sort of formula that allows them to obtain success that they can sustain. They’ll start by evaluating their natural strengths and how that impacts the way they lead the team. Here are the components…
The most successful business owners I work with start by understanding their natural strengths – how they instinctively get stuff done – and how that impacts their productivity. Once somebody knows their “MO”, as we refer to it, they can figure out how to prioritize better, delegate more and spend valuable time doing the things that make the most impact on the business.
“Dream teams” don’t just happen. Once leaders and managers understand their own personal strengths, the next step is to help team members find out how they naturally operate and how the team can work together. It’s amazing when a leader takes the time to really understand her team and realizes that she has the right people – they’re just in the wrong roles. Or, she has too many people who have the same natural strengths and she needs to bring in somebody new to help balance things out. But, the obvious questions becomes, “how do I find the right people?”
Stop guessing. Instead of taking a bet on how well a prospective new employee will perform based on a resume and an interview or two, the best managers hire based on natural strengths. They ask, “how is this person going to problem solve and how are they going to help or possibly detract from the team I have in place?” Hiring is expensive. It’s takes a lot of time. A bad fit can kill the productivity of an entire team. The best leaders I know take hiring very seriously and invest in hiring according to natural strengths.
Everything can be running smoothly at the office, but if things aren’t great in an entrepreneur’s personal life the business could suffer, too. Remember that true success is the freedom to be yourself at home and at work. When the two meet, that’s when productivity peaks. If things are stressful with a spouse or romantic partner, it may be because of differences in how both people naturally act, not just personalities clashing. The same goes for kids – if they’re stressed or parents aren’t understanding why the kids are acting a certain way, we can help identify their instinctive abilities which, in turn, may improve the family relationship.
The key to long term sustainable success is finding that “sweet spot” where everything aligns. When you: