Oversimplified Model for Business Success
More from Mark:
The worst feeling for an operator is not failure, it's being stuck. I was asked to expand on this tweet & talk about how we, as managers & leaders, can "unstuck" our teams. 11 ideas to unstuck your people:
Tools — sometimes it really is as simple as "the right tool for the right job." But guess what, your team in the field, your team on the floor, they don't have time to research what's new. It's your/your management team's job to keep an eye out for better ways of doing things.
Software — the proliferation of no-code/low-code solutions in the past few years is remarkable and can radically change workflows / entire jobs. It's up to you as manager to identify work that can be automated.
Autonomy — a recurring theme of this list: you may be the reason your team is stuck. Have you delegated authority to your team so they can make good decisions in the moment? Or do they constantly have to check with you/their manager?
Boundaries — counterintuitive, but understanding the bounds of the playing field gives your people the freedom to fully play the game.
Permission — similar to autonomy, but this is about how people *feel*. You've heard the old trope about asking for forgiveness vs. permission. You have solid folks on your team who are permission-seekers. They need to hear from you, proactively, what their locus of control is.
Direction — does your team have a clear heading? Your mission is worth repeating over and over. Please don't misunderstand: I'm not talking about telling people *how* to do their jobs, but *why* they're doing it.
Communication — are your people connected to each other? Or are questions that could be answered directly routed circuitously? As a manager, you don't need to play telephone operator. Let them get the answers they need directly from the source.
Affirmation — even A+ teammates have misgivings about whether they're working on the right thing, doing it well, etc. Take the time to thank them for a job well done, even if what they're doing is part of their job.
Funding — yes, money, but also the permission to spend it. Be specific and proactive. "You have a budget of up to $1000/yr in personal productivity tools." This is permission + means and giving it without them needing to ask can be a big unlock.
Training — people get stuck when they literally don't know how to do something. Similar to Tools, be on the lookout for new training solutions, or, develop your own based on your company's best practices.
You — make yourself available. Make it safe for your team to tell you they're stuck. Tell stories about how great employees have gotten stuck and how you got unstuck together. Identifying and communicating stuckness should be part of your culture.
Original post here.
