First a story. For years, I “heard” my then CEO Dave Brandon say, “The company with the best people wins.” I was like yeah! I’m here, these awesome people are here, we will win. Naive. You see, words are not actions. When you purposefully don’t pay home grown talent. When you are told to adjust performance appraisals because a certain EVP likes this person, even though their performance is sub-par, you are not bringing the best forward. (This isn’t a knock-on Dave but on the mid-level managers who didn’t hear what Dave was saying.)
Don’t over-promise and under-deliver. Don’t forget to fix that piece of equipment. Don’t tell them that you’ll fix anything, then need a 15-page dissertation on why that great teammate needs a 25 cent per hour raise. Speaking of raises…..
I can’t state this enough. “Selling the dream” does not pay next month's rent or this week’s grocery bill. If I am stressed about bills, I will be stressed at work.
<aside> 💡
THE EMPLOYEMENT VALUE PROPOSITION
Pay / Enjoyment = Performance
</aside>
I didn’t say have fun or be happy. If you can’t find a way for your team to enjoy working, then you MUST pay more! Trust me, you and your brand are not nearly as cool as you think they are.
Most of what I'm going to share and the how are around processes. People make processes happen.
Most of the why is communicating to you why I am doing the processes or steps that I am sharing.
You’ll find I use the phrase team member or teammate nearly interchangeably.
They are your team. Not my team. I know what qualities I’m looking for, ways to complement and enhance my leadership style. Your style will be different from mine and therefore who you are looking to hire will be different as well. You’ll find I am not going to tell you who to hire. I will suggest how quickly to hire and why the selection matters.
Go through this WHY section and apply what you can to your team.
They are what truly matters the most.