One of the first things a company implementing EOS does is clearly define what it expects from its employees. They discover three to seven Core Values that define the organization’s culture, and they clearly define everyone’s roles and responsibilities. Those that consistently exhibit the Core Values and excel in their clearly defined roles are “Right People in the Right Seat.”
Over the last 11 years I have had my business, Nexus, I have probably said this phrase, “Good people in a bad system look like bad people” 300 times (if you are one of my big math people that is just about once every two weeks). The impetus of the saying goes back to the first year of Nexus when I was working with a local client.
"I wish my employees would take more responsibility?" How many times have you heard yourself say that? As owners of growing businesses we find ourselves working longer hours, making more decisions and feeling like we’re losing control of the business we’ve worked so hard to create.
Once upon a time in aviation, flight crews faced a culture of hierarchical command where it was considered disrespectful, if not insubordination, to question the captain’s authority. Doing so risked possible retribution.
The toughest part of any organization is leading and managing its people. Leadership is the more strategic, “thinking” part of the job — setting a clear direction, long-term planning, etc. Management is more about execution — the “doing” part of the job — setting expectations, communicating, coordinating, etc. A manager needs to be a coach, or a “Manacoach” as my colleague Kevin Armstrong calls it.
Over the years, I have seen several examples of managers who were so good that I believe they could manage almost anything. They just know how to manage people. They don’t need great technical skills in their field because they know if they get the right people in the right seats, the skills will be there.
