FOUR TIPS TO HAVING THE RIGHT TEAM IN PLACE: TIP 2

This week, we continue to expand upon one of my favorite analogies, “there is a butt for every seat.” In my last blog that began this series, I talked about how every single person has strengths, and that it’s up to you as a leader in your organization to help identify those strengths. Once you have a better understanding of your team’s strengths, you now need to make sure you have a clear understanding of the skill-sets and attributes required for the “seats” you have available. Sounds kind of like a no-brainer, right? 

In every position there are “must-haves” and then there are “nice-to-haves”. Sometimes those lines are blurry, or undefined. Being clear about what those are will allow you to place the right people in those seats, as well as to help shore up any gaps or weaknesses as well. 

TIP 2: IDENTIFY THE “MUST-HAVES” AND “NICE-TO-HAVES” FOR YOUR MISSION CRITICAL POSITIONS 

Every business has mission-critical departments that keep the company running on a daily basis:

• revenue generation 

• production 

• cost control 

• financial analysis 

• customer relations and satisfaction 

• Human resources and the list goes on and on. 

Some are more important to the company’s survival than others. Having a steady stream of revenue coming in is typically at the top of the list, since that’s what keeps the doors open and ensures the need for all other departments. 

Let’s use revenue generation as our example here. 

So, for someone to be in a revenue generating role, some of the “must haves” might include: 

• excellent people skills 

• prospecting skills 

• a results-driven attitude 

• a commitment to excellent customer service 

Skills that would be “nice to have” might include: 

• reporting and spreadsheet experience 

• ability to read financials 

• organizational skills 

Every company is different, but in my humble opinion, those “nice to haves” are not necessarily deal-breakers. You want people in those mission critical roles that can get the job done. One of the things I tell all of my clients is how important it is to your company’s success to have people do what they do best, and then find a way around the things that they don’t. (Hint: we’ll talk more about this in tips 3 and 4) 

Start out by doing this for those mission-critical positions first, but then make it a priority for all departments, because there is an impact to the business in general when you’ve got a square peg in a round hole. 

TAKE STOCK OF THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE

Consider the people you have in those positions now. Do they have those “must have” skills and attributes? If so, then great! Keep them in the seat and let them do what they do best. 

Are there some that are missing some of the “nice to haves”? That’s ok, you can always encourage additional training to fill in the gaps. We’ll talk more about that in Tip 3. 

Worst case scenario, do you have people in positions that are missing the “must haves”? That’s ok too, we’ll talk about that in Tip 4. The good news is, there is always something you can do about it.