Ask Andi: An realistic entrepreneur assessment reveals my Achilles Heel. I have a low tolerance for people who don’t quickly get things that seem obvious to me. I am sure it gets me in trouble with clients, prospects, and employees. Any suggestions?
Thoughts of the Day: Entrepreneurs don’t have the luxury of avoiding realistic assessments. Comparisons deem them to be very demanding. Build skills as an executive by learning to deal with people for who they are, rather than who they should be. Tap into the potential of the individuals around you. Build a diverse organization, made of complementary skills and talents.
Entrepreneur assessment
Entrepreneurs can be high-intensity people, who focused on what they want to achieve. Their attitude of, “I’ll make it happen” is both a strength and a weakness. Knowing the risks that are on the line, they tend to be impatient and demanding. If someone else doesn’t quickly step up to the plate, the entrepreneur will be tempted to move in and take over, just to get work done.
Some entrepreneurs find it hard to acknowledge the help they receive from those around them. They concentrate on the challenge, the effort, and what still has to be done. There’s little time left to reflect on what’s already been accomplished. They overlook the need to build confidence by reviewing what’s been achieved before charging ahead to master the next set of obstacles.
The result of a forceful entrepreneur overriding everyone around them? Limited communication. People are trained to hold back and wait for the owner to take the lead. Lack of action if the owner doesn’t initiate it.
Entrepreneurs would do well to remind themselves that they can’t do it all. Sooner or later, if they are going to grow their companies, they need help. And that means they have to step back, gather input, and let others learn to take over. Build strongly collaborative teams who can take initiative in the owner’s absence.
Don’t obsess over the “right” way to do things
Focus on your goals. Start with a realistic assessment. How often does the owner interrupt people when speaking? What are people capable of, without the owner’s input? If the owner weren’t around, would people eventually figure out what to do? (The answer to this last question is probably, “yes”, but hard for many owners to admit to.)
Owners are well advised to practice listening rather than doing. Learn to sit still and take notes in a meeting. Give people time to talk, work through issues, and share ideas.
Suspend judgment about what “should” be. Deal with reality. Either thing is or isn’t progressing. Either task are done, or they’re still pending. Stop wasting time complaining, “but they ‘should’ be doing x, y, and z”.
Create opportunities for people to communicate, gather ideas, process, formulate, and evaluate. Recognize that part of building collaborative teams means encouraging participants to discuss, disagree, and then build consensus – or at least agree to disagree as things move forward. Don’t rush ahead with a half-baked plan only to wish you could undo mistakes later on.
Unite around a common goal
Deal with reality by asking the people to address the current situation. Start with a status update. Ask people to go through a list of options, next steps, and possible obstacles. Encourage debate. Conclude by asking participants to come together with a set of recommendations on how best to move forward.
Recognize that each person has individual strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth. Learn how best to tap into individual assets. Just because someone approaches a situation differently doesn’t make it wrong. In fact, looking at situations from multiple points of view can increase objectivity and lead to more robust solutions.
There is a great deal of value in diversity, as long as it can be channeled into a collaborative approach. Use goals to provide direction on where everyone is headed. Set up key measures against which to benchmark progress. Make discussions about business issues rather than personal concerns. Increase the quality of outcomes by giving people a mission. Remind people to stay focused on overall objectives while allowing them room to chart their own paths.
