Podcast Date: How Do You Work Through People?

In This Episode

A common struggle for leaders of just about any organization is that they often feel like they have to do everything themselves. Even when they have a lot of good people around who are able and willing to help. We see this with many small business owners and we’ve seen it in several non-profit situations as well.

One of the key principles we hammer into our clients’ heads is that their job consists of three simple things, and it’s not “Do, Do, Do”! We teach our clients how the embrace the approach of “Plan, Direct, Control”. This simple but powerful model is what we use to orient our business owner clients as well as ourselves or any other leader we counsel.

First things first, “what’s the plan?” This quickly becomes a favorite mantra for our business owner clients. It starts with us asking them this question and it flows throughout the organization as they begin to ask everyone else that same question. It all starts with the plan. Next is the Direction. Think of yourself as a conductor of an orchestra when you are in a leadership role. You have to give direction (sometimes correction or encouragement) to your team. And then comes the Control. We do this in business through a series of regular meetings and reporting.

Not sure who you can build around in your company? Try scheduling a few brainstorming sessions and see who stands out. Also, have people Present as much as possible. This doesn’t need to be a “formal” presentation but can simply be someone up at a whiteboard. You’ll get a great sense for how they think when they present. We shared several success stories during today’s show as well as some other helpful tips!