I found it interesting that the last 2 podcast I listened to this past week were speaking on organizational challenges. These podcast are from 2 very different industries. The common theme was the challenge we face as owners, leaders, and managers with getting the most out of our team and organization. We seem to focus on results, which is not a bad thing, but it is usually facilitated in the constant focus on what we can improve. What the team member can do better. We never seem to focus on what is working and celebrating those results and pursuing how we can help our team improve even more in those areas.
I heard an amazing quote this morning while listening to a podcast on my morning walk. “We can only achieve good when we focus on fixing weaknesses but we will never achieve great!” Identifying team mates that are crushing it and pushing in to what is working and how to help them use that process and impact across as many areas as possible. How do we help them improve their strength even more? Instead of focusing on weaknesses and what could work better, we should move toward helping our people become even more amazing in what they are incredibly good at.
How do we empower our team to grow and be even better? What we know about great organizations, is that they allow there team to grow and thrive but also own and be accountable. If you hire me, give me some guardrails and tell me what we are trying to achieve, I’ll go crush it. You won’t need to encourage me or motivate me or try to keep me focused and engaged. I’m running. You may need to try to slow me down some days. I think a lot of people could be those people if we let them. We need to learn to give clarity, vision, goals, and direction and then empower our team to own it and crush it!!
John maxwell calls this process, “The Law of the Lid.” Your organization can only grow to your capacity. If you want to grow past your capacity it takes a talented team that is inspired and empowered. You lead us. We execute!!
You got this. Step away from fear and try a little delegating or allowing some ownership and see what happens. (You must have the right people on the bus.) Some of us will crush if you let us!
Great Podcast: Harvard Business Review: How to Give Your Team the Feedback They Actually Need
