The One Management Framework To Lead Your Team To Better Results Without Being An Ass
The best managers follow the sink-or-swim methodology.
But they don't shove people into the deep end before they're ready. Instead, they teach them how to swim, slowly walk them to the edge, and watch them dive in. At some point, you have to push the baby bird out of its nest so that it can fly.
Managers never assume when someone is ready to take on a challenge.
I recently wasted ten months, tens of thousands of dollars, and millions in spoiled opportunity cost building a new-generation sales team.
I hired a new Sales Manager with great sales management experience, just not in our complex aviation industry. I coached him and conducted weekly one-on-ones, but I made a critical failure.
I stepped away from the sales team, limited my direct coaching, and assumed the coaching they were getting was up to our standards—until I joined a sales call.
It was horrendous.
Although they were trying, the team didn't know how to speak knowledgeably to target clients and address their core challenges. Instead, we sounded amateurish and salesy. No wonder our pipeline was a disaster, stalling in the early stages of most opportunities.
The lesson was I pushed the new sales manager into the deep end of the industry and expected him to lead the team in having excellent sales conversations with little industry experience.
I abdicated and assumed the team could have these high-level conversations—a stupid mistake.
I failed the team.
I neglected the capability spectrum.
The Leadership Calculus of Control
This is the type of math I like—simple.
David Finkel says the leadership calculus of control helps determine the cost of a given task and how much control is needed depending on the person and task. It helps you differentiate between low-stake and high-stake situations.
Ask yourself these questions to determine the level of control something needs:
How significant are the consequences of this task or project?
If it's high-stakes, you'll need someone incredibly capable of handling it.
If it's low-stakes, allow some flexibility for someone to try it out with proper guidance.
Is the task/project a known, solved equation? Or is it a new field to be figured out?
If something is documented with a clear procedure, someone can be less capable and execute the process.
If it's new and unknown, someone with more capability will likely have to navigate the waters.
How capable is this person with this task/project/responsibility on the Capability Spectrum?
The capability spectrum is how capable someone is at accomplishing an assigned task.
Ask yourself on a scale of 1 (least capable) to 10 (most capable) how competent a person is at a given task.
Then, let your answer guide how you delegate or assign responsibilities.
What is the appropriate level of autonomy for this team member on this responsibility?
In low stakes, it'll need less control.
In high stakes, you'll want to find someone more capable or stay in the loop (more on this soon).
With these answers, you can determine what level of control the task or person needs.
For example, suppose it's a million-dollar project (higher consequences of failure) that has a detailed standard operating procedure (solved equation), with senior team members (high competency) leading the project.
In that case, I'd likely stay removed with very little control.
But in the case of my new sales manager, who was tasked to build a new multi-million dollar sales team (a high consequence of failure), that has a mix of standard operating procedures but also a lot of unknown industry insight (solved equation and unknowns), and little industry knowledge (low-competency) from the new sales manager.
The Dimensions of Employee Growth.
When you understand the people you lead, you construct guardrails, so the car doesn't fly off the road.
Everyone employee has a growth pattern. Some are good, and some are bad, but to effectively manage, you must know what they are and what it means for you and your team.
David Finkel calls them the four dimensions:
The Dreamer
A dreamer is someone who has a high desire but low competency in what they do.
Just because they say they don't want to grow doesn't mean they can or will. Because of their low competency, you have to actively decide, do I cut them or keep them? These employees require time to develop if they can develop at all.
The sooner you discover they'll never be competent in the role, the better you can decide to upgrade them off the team.
The Dead Weight
Dead weight is someone who has low desire and low competency
This one is simple:
Get rid of these people.
It's better to have no one than these types of players.
If you keep them, you're not serving your company, team, or the marketplace.
The Bed Rock
These are role players who have low desire but high competency.
All you have to do is get out of their way and let them do what they do. Just give them the resources to be successful and let them be.
They like what they do, and they don't get bored.
The Stars
Stars are grow players with high desire and high competency.
These team members don't want to feel stagnant. They want to grow. They might feel uncomfortable in the moment, as they're being stretched, but they love the finish line.
You need to develop and invest in these people.
A huge mistake most companies make is spending most of their energy on Dead Weight.
If it's dead, there's no amount of recitation that you can do to bring it back to life. You have to embrace reality.
An organization must be built around role and grow players.
They should get the majority of your time and resources.
Ask yourself, "who are my role and grow players?"
Execute Positive Feedback Loops.
A feedback loop is when the manager clearly articulates what's expected while the team member gets the information they need clearly and concisely.
Here's how they're structured for maximum impact:
What to report: a clear explanation of what's to be reported.
Frequency of the report: how often the report needs to be executed.
How to report: what medium the team member will use to deliver the report.
Why the report is important.
Confirmation of understanding.
A follow-up mechanism to ensure follow-through and accountability.
An example:
"Please send me an update on the status of x project every Friday by 3 pm EST via email. It's important we meet the y deadline to help execute our company's big objective, so making progress weekly is crucial."
"Do you have any questions? I'll follow up with you on Monday if I don't have the report to review." Then, create a follow-up task to ensure accountability.
Feedback loops are a fancier way of labeling effective communication.
Truly great leaders know the capabilities of their teams.
If they're highly capable, they give them more opportunities; if they're less capable, they help develop them or hesitate to assign them specific tasks.
The key takeaway: Know the individuals on your team and assign them responsibilities that are in the realm of their capabilities.
