By: Don Maranca, Certified EOS Implementer and TAB Facilitator
70% of the time, there is at least 1 change in the leadership team, usually within 2 years of implementing EOS! That has been my experience as a Certified EOS Implementer. Those instances can be whether it’s a new external hire in the leadership team, a team member left voluntarily or involuntarily, or a promotion within. This percentage is consistent with what I’ve heard in the EOS Community.
“The team that got you here is not necessarily the team that’s going to get you to the next level.”
Change in Team, Change in Results
Change is healthy! As individuals, we are always striving towards being the best version of ourselves. And it always starts with mindset. As an organization, we strive to be the best we can be. And that starts with your Leadership Team’s mindset (the brains of your business body). If you’re not getting the results, it’s usually due to your Leadership Team. So how do you get to the right leadership team faster?
Use these 4 resources to help accelerate the necessary changes in your leadership team.
Accountability Chart
First your leadership team has to be crystal clear on who’s accountable for what, starting with the right structure. In EOS, the Accountability Chart simplifies and clarifies the organization’s roles and responsibilities. We focus on structure first, people second. Once we have a solid structure, then we find the right person to fill each of the functions in that structure. Too many times we create structures based on our people’s existing strengths and weaknesses. Instead we need to fight for the greater good on who we need, based on the right structure that will get us to the next level.
People Analyzer
Once you have a clear Accountability Chart, then it’s time to get the Right People in the Right Seat . . . or RPRS. A simple but powerful tool we use is the People Analyzer. It measures whether your leadership team members embody your Core Values (“Right People”) and if they GWC their seat (“Right Seat”). GWC stands for do they Get the seat, Want the seat, and have Capacity to fill that seat. If there are any RPRS issues, the team works together to resolve those issues for the greater good.
Ideal Team Player
When you’re working towards RPRS, you also need to consider whether your leadership team members are “Ideal Team Players”. Pat Lencioni describes ideal team players as those who are Humble, Hungry, and Smart. It’s the combination of these that make them ideal. Are they Humble – lack excessive ego and concern for status? Are they Hungry – looking for more to learn and more responsibility? Are they Smart – emotionally intelligent and have common sense about people?
The Motive
And finally, if you believe they are ideal team players and the right person in the right seat, do they have the right motive to be a leader? In his book, The Motive, Pat Lencioni explores what he calls the two leadership motives: Reward-centered leadership which assumes that the leader is free to choose what they work on and avoid anything mundane or unpleasant; and Responsibility-centered leadership which is the belief that the experience of leading should be difficult and challenging. Reward-centered leaders are poor in the following: 1) Developing leaders, 2) Managing subordinates, 3) Having difficult conversations, 4) Running great team meetings, 5) Communicating constantly to employees. Does your leadership team have the right motive to sit in their seat? Are they Responsibility-centered?
Your Ultimate Team
Don’t be surprised if you have changes in your leadership team when following this process. It just means you are getting closer to a highly functioning team . . . your Dream Team. You might be 1 step away from a breakthrough in your company by 1 people move. Keep expectations and motives clear. You’ll get there faster!
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).