Find your go-getters?
As a leader leading teams, you might have experienced being upset and helpless because of the sheer number of problems you are surrounded with!. It is not that you haven’t tried to solve them, but it may seem too much to handle. You may be running out of options and becoming the bottleneck in the system.
Establishing the problem
For the sake of discussion let us assume that,
- Your team members have the right skills
- Team’s workload is within reasonable limits
- You have empowered your team in spirit to get things done.
In spite of this, you seem to be surrounded with problems.
A likely reason could be that some/most of your team members lack the mindset to look at problems as opportunities to solve. Let us build upon this hypothesis.
Let us classify your team members to the following segments
Waiters (Level 1)
They often seem blinded by problems within their circle of control and influence. They typically wait for instructions and have trouble taking the lead.
In this situation, the onus to solve the problem falls squarely on your shoulders and you end end up identifying the problem, finding the solution and coordinating with them to implement the solution. While this approach will get shit done, it drains you and is not sustainable!
Life is NOT OK here.
Pattern Identifiers (Level 2)
They are good at identifying problems and calling them out (which is great), but they don’t go beyond that. In some cases they may pass the buck and get stuck in the problem mindset.
You typically end up finding the solution for them and coordinating with them to implement the solution.
Life is BARELY OK here.
Problem Solvers (Level 3)
They are good identifying problems and finding solutions. They typically seek confirmation/approval from you before solving them. In some cases, they just keep their scope within their circle of control.
You typically end up asking them solve specific problems OR review the solution and coordinating with them to implement the solution.
Life is OK here.
The Crackerjacks (Level 4)
They proactively identify and solve problems within their circle of control and they typically inform once the problem is solved. They also double check with stakeholders in their circle of influence before solving problems in their circle of influence.
Life is GOOD here.
You typically get an FYI that the problem was identified and resolved.
Go-Getters (Level 5)
They solve every relevant problems within their circle of control and influence. They just do it, no talk only action :)
Life is GREAT here!
As a word of caution, you may want to communicate to the go-getters, their boundaries in their/your circle of influence especially, the DO’s. This will ensure that they take enough precautions in areas where, they may not have in depth of knowledge.
Take Aways
The objective of this blog is to provide a thinking framework to identify the Go-Getters in your team. Go-Getters will help you to scale the increasing needs of the team effectively and they are absolute pleasure to work with.
It may be a good idea to look for Go-Getters patterns during interviews.
Cheers, Swamy
