Walt Disney had Roy. Henry Ford had James Couzens. Ray Kroc (McDonald’s) had Fred Turner. These are now large companies, but they were small once. The game changer for them was having the right second in command to complement their gifts and talents to reach the next level.

“For every great leader, every WHY-type, there is an inspired HOW-type.”  Simon Sinek

“Why” vs. “How”

I invited a panel of business owners last week to share their stories about their second in command (SIC). Specifically, how they decided they needed an SIC; how they found and developed their SIC; and how it’s allowed them reach new heights personally and professionally. From an EOS standpoint, we call the SIC the Integrator. The Integrator is key in freeing up the Visionary (Founder, CEO, President) to do what they do best, using their Unique Abilities.

One key take away from the audience I heard was that Visionaries don’t need to understand the “how”. If you have the right Integrator that is aligned with your values and company mission (the “why), they can take care of the “how”, usually better than the Visionary. This obviously requires a level of trust that only develops through a healthy relationship. This means being able to be vulnerable with one another and able to address conflict constructively as taught by Pat Lencioni.

All of the panelists agreed that it was hard letting go (all were admitted control freaks as are most entrepreneurs), but they understood that they couldn’t be a bottle-neck for the organization if they want to grow (whether personally or professionally).

You Get What You Define!

So how do you find that right Integrator that completes the Ying and Yang combination for your company? It starts by defining what qualities you’re looking for in that Integrator. Sounds simple but very few people do it, resulting in bad Integrator hires that don’t work out (also lessons learned from the panelists).

Gino Wickman described the characteristics of a typical Integrator as follows, “He or she is a great executor, is a great manager, is good at holding people accountable, and creates consistency and prioritization; he or she harmoniously integrates the leadership team. He or she unfortunately has to say no a lot, is accused of being a pessimist and is typically the bearer of bad news in the organization”.

Once you’ve defined this person, then stay laser focused on finding that right person. A couple of our panelists were surprised that their Integrators rose within the ranks of their company.

Remove the Bottle-neck!

Imagine what you could do as the Visionary of your company if you had the perfect Integrator! Perfection is hard to accomplish. The panelists agreed that it took at least 2 years for them to groom their Integrator. One of them almost fired theirs after 1 year, but they weathered the storms and are a great team now. All of the panelists are now focused on using their Unique Abilities, growing as a leader, generating ideas, being a big-picture thinker, fostering big relationships, and being the face of the company.

Are you a bottle-neck in your company? Have you defined the qualities you want in an Integrator, to free you up as a Visionary?

Start there and you’ll be surprised how the right person may show up!

Take the Organizational Checkup to gauge the health of your company! For more information on creating a healthy business lifestyle, read about the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).

My next blog will be about the respiratory system of your business body – Your Sales & Marketing Team!

To Your Business Health!

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