Today's quick thought is about the 'Big 3.'
In a book club for one of our clients, we have been reading through John Maxwell's excellent book Developing the Leader Within You. In the last chapter, Maxwell talks about staff development.
One of his key points is that "excellent leaders keep control of the 'Big 3'." While a leader or executive may want to be involved in many, many areas of their organization (sometimes to their detriment), if they lose control of any of the Big 3, their authority and influence will be greatly diminished.
The first area is finances. This one is pretty clear: little will aggravate a board or executive team more than spending too much money, or having no clue about the financial status of your organization. Just about every leader I've ever met has a keen eye on their financials.
The second area is planning. Part of planning is vision - knowing where you want the organization to go - and part of planning is strategy - putting a plan in place to set and achieve goals that move towards the vision. Many of the executives I speak with are excellent planners and strategist, as these are competencies in high demand.
The third area is personnel. The people you choose to make up your organization will ultimately decide whether you achieve your plan, steward your finances well, and in general make your vision a reality. Not only that, personnel are crucial components to the other two areas, as hiring and turnover are huge strains on finances, and poor morale, conflict, or 'people in the wrong seat' cause planning failure.
Unfortunately, few executives I talk with understand the importance and power of the people they are hiring. They give precedence to finances and planning, and fail to give the same level of thought and care to the selection, placement, and development of their people.
Picture a 3 legged stool. Each leg represents one of the Big 3, and the seat is your organization. What happens when you break off one of the legs?
The stool crashes to the floor.
Are all three legs of your stool strong? Do you know how and why you hire the people you do? Do you know why they are in the role they are in? Do you know what motivates them? What drives their behavior? What skills in them are highly developed?
We help you hire, manage, and develop your most important asset: your people. We have solutions for you to make the 'people' leg of your stool the strongest it has ever been.
Connect with us today. And that's your Tuesday Quick Thought.