Each Sunday our goal is to share a piece of gold with you. Some small piece of information that helps you to have a better week and achieve a better outcome.  

It is very common for the entrepreneur to be one of the original drives in the growth of our organization. From being the lead salesperson, to developing the relationships, to maturing the products based on the feedback from Clients, and much more. After all, it is often the goal and the dream to build the organization so that it is sustainable, so that it provides new opportunities, and makes a positive impact.  

There is a point in the maturity of the organization where it becomes imperative that the leader or leaders of the organization to shift from most of their job revolving around operations to most of their job revolving around leadership. It is a hard habit to break, a hard mentality to accept, and often frustrating as we delegate, and we see others learn the lessons that we learned years before.  

Despite the habits and frustrations… The shift must be done.  

I can say that I’ve seen many organizations stall, shrink, have high turn-over, and simple become a frustration because this shift doesn’t occur, or doesn’t occur well. The hard part, and often confusing part is knowing how to do it, when to do it, and what it actually means.  

Let’s start with What it means… Shifting into a primary focus around leadership means that your plans for the day shift from “What do I need to get done?” to “Who do I need to help/serve?” or “What conversations do I need to have to help others grow, learn, or mature in the business?” and “What am I doing today that can help another grow?” This means shifting priorities from doing the proposals, having the Client meetings (by yourself), performing the production, to a focus on empowering others to do what you would.  

The truth is that your Team wants to have a career opportunity. They want to do new things that challenge them and help them to provide more value. Doing the same things over and over causes turn over. If you are stuck on operations, then someone else is stuck in their role too. The only way for them to progress in their career is for you to get out of the way.  

Sure, it may mean that you have to do less of (or stop doing) something you enjoy. However, it provides the opportunity for someone else to experience those activities. Therefore, you must make that possible.  

When to do it… I can tell you for me, when I realized it, I was already late. It took me over a year to make up lost opportunities because I was head down focused on solving a problem instead of focusing on serving a person. What I know now is that as soon as you have the opportunity to work with one other person, you should be focused on delegating and leading. Form the habit as soon as possible.  

Finally, How to do it… This part is different in every organization and with each person that is looking for an opportunity in your business. However, here are a few keys that I’ve learned (sometimes kicking and screaming) over the years. Focus on schedule management that includes meaningful one-on-one meetings where you are coaching others to grow to a new level and see things from a new perspective. Discuss scenarios – but listen first. Ask questions like, “How would you solve this problem?”, “What might be the outcome if X happens?”, “How would you approach a conversation with a peer who has been negative in the business?”  

Chances are, they will have great answers and through the conversations you will learn as much as you teach. However, the schedule focused on intentional dialogue is where it starts. From there, do your best to never attend a sales meeting alone. Every conversation is an opportunity to provide expansion. Retrospect each escalation, each client interaction, each coaching opportunity so that everyone is learning around you. Share what you have learned. When you demonstrate the mentality of being a student, that behavior becomes safe and the type of growth mentality that you want everyone to have.  

Ultimately, you want you team coming to you and saying, “I know you could do this, and your are willing to do this… but I would rather you be focusing on building new opportunities so we can all grow.”  

When you are fortunate enough to have a Team pushing you, the organization will hit new levels of success.  

The goal of AoD is to build better leaders who run better companies and change the world. Better leaders doesn’t just mean in the office, but at home too. If you’d like a copy of our Perfect Week Template, purchase your copy of Adapt or Die here and then go to adaptordie.com/assets to get started. I hope you enjoy it and figure out your perfect week!