In our American rush to success we entrepreneurs err critically in trying to grow our businesses when in fact we shouldn\u2019t grow our business at all; we should grow our people and let them grow the business.<\/p>\n
![\"thinking\"](\"http:\/\/www.jbarrywatts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/thinking.jpg\" "\\"thinking\\"")
This is difficult for many of us to comprehend because our entrepreneurial careers were often started as a one-man show where if you didn\u2019t grow the business today you were not going to eat tomorrow. I get that. But as soon as you begin building a team it is important to shift a portion of your mental and time resources toward planting the seeds of multi-generational growth in your followers, rather than continuing to just plant your own personal crop for harvest.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not saying you should send them to a conference or workshop. That can be fine, or not. I\u2019m saying you need to begin teaching them how to replace you. You do want to be replaced, don\u2019t you? You do want to spend less time doing things you don\u2019t want to do and more time doing the things you want to do, don\u2019t you? Then, you\u2019ve got to replace yourself with someone who can do all those other things that you aren\u2019t so good at or don\u2019t enjoy.<\/p>\n
Twenty five years into my career, I\u2019m just now grasping this concept at a level where it is meaningful and makes a difference for me. (I\u2019m a slow learner.) It\u2019s always been a nice idea that sounded good in books and from business guru\u2019s, but I didn\u2019t have a clue what it really meant that I should do. Now I do, so I want to share that hoping you can accelerate your achievement and increase your difference-making sooner.<\/p>\n
When I speak of growing people who are on your team, I\u2019m talking first about being sure they understand their job responsibilities. This involves the implementation of SYSTEMS. A system is simply \u201cthe process by which do something in the same way every time.\u201d Because we entrepreneurs are creative by nature we tend not to follow systems. We\u2019re easily bored and so we may do the same task a dozen different ways to keep ourselves entertained. However, when handing responsibility to team members we mustn\u2019t burden them with an obligation to be creative—which often leads to inconsistency in results. Instead we must say \u201cThis is exactly how I want this done every time. Follow this procedure and you will not fail.\u201d<\/p>\n
W. Edwards Deming taught that failure was almost always a result of a break down in a system, rather than a people problem. If you have a system and perform the same activity in the same way every time, you\u2019ll be able to predictably produce consistent results. It is that resulting consistency from team members that is required for you to replace yourself.<\/p>\n
Teaching people to run your system is the key to getting consistent predictable results. You do have a system, don\u2019t you? Of course you do. You just may not have realized it and written it down. So begin thinking \u201csystemically\u201d and you\u2019ll likely capture little systems and ways that you always do things in a certain way that you never realized. That is an AH HA moment and you are now a guru!<\/p>\n
Teaching people to run a system may be the first step in their career with you, but in order to grow them you must also begin to teach them how to think. \u201cWho am I to teach them how to think\u201d you may ask? It\u2019s simple, you are the teacher. You are the better thinker, aren\u2019t you? If you aren\u2019t then you\u2019ve already found someone better than you to whom you might want to consider handing over the reins and getting out of the way. That\u2019s the goal: for your thinking to become obsolete because you have replaced yourself with people who are better than you. Meanwhile, you know things they don\u2019t, and they\u2019ll never grow in their capability until you teach them what you know and HOW YOU THINK.<\/p>\n
Often when we run up against an unusual situation or challenge I\u2019ll say to a member of my team \u201cHere\u2019s how I want you to think about this.\u201d If they are \u201cdull-eyed\u201d or too busy talking to listen, learn, and develop thinking skill it then tells me that they are ultimately not promotable.<\/p>\n
It is a lot easier to bark out orders than it is to teach thinking. But if you are ever going to be able to step aside, let others lead, and develop unstoppable momentum you\u2019ve got to help them develop critical thinking skill. Doing so first involves helping them see how you think, what process your brain goes through, and then how and why you achieve a conclusion. Then, it\u2019s time to put their own brains to work by asking questions about their thinking and decision making—typically hard questions—and critiquing their answers and thought processes. If you\u2019ve got a team member who can stand up to and shine under that scrutiny, then you may just have a winner!<\/p>\n