Over amazing french toast at Mud House in St. Louis (truly, it was good french toast. I highly recommend it), a friend and I discussed a common phenomenon for small business owners and managers: how to be good at everything, even when you're not.
That was Monday. Thursday I joined a group of hard-working women business owners at The Rung (another amazing place, albeit not food. Clothes. Really great clothes for a great cause). We discussed challenges and opportunities of daily business, and I found myself answering the same question: how are we to be expected to be good at everything?
Of course the answer is we're not. No one is good at everything. We must align ourselves with the right people or resources to fill the gaps of our own shortcomings. But that's only half the solution. The other half is to ask ourselves a better question: Are you good at what you want to be good at doing?
Business owners, founders and top leaders go into business or volunteering because they are passionate about a specific topic, field, or skill set. But they often find that they are not, in fact, doing what they set out to do or want to do. I met a baker who spends more time filling out tax forms, advertising, networking, deliveries and administration than on recipe development. She's not unusual, and neither is her frustration.
We gravitate towards activities and careers that reflect three factors: what we are good at doing, what we like doing, and what we want to be good at doing. Are you doing what you want to be good at doing, or are you spending the majority of time doing what needs to be done? More importantly, are the tasks you want to be good at doing inherent to your current role? If not, it's time to rethink. Subject matter experts are not necessarily the best people to lead the subject matter.
As difficult as it is, we must know where we are needed and best serve. We need to outsource all activities that we do not want to do well, even if it means stretching our budgets, exchanging services/goods or letting go of control. We must rely on mentors and friends to help us. Finally, we need to consider that we may not be playing our best role. If you are my baker friend and find you never have time to bake, it may be time to get a business partner or hire someone to fill the business's leadership role. It may be in our best interest to get out of our own way and concentrate on what we are good at and want to be good at doing. This does not mean we have failed as leaders. Quite the opposite: there is no greater success than fulfilling our true purpose.
Great post. I reevaluate my Life on a regular basis for the reasons you give above. While I do this regularly; every 5 years, I do a more comprehensive review of my Life to see if my career, friends, family, my choice to be single (basically my entire belief system) is still serving me well.
ReplyDeleteSteve Jobs said in his Commencement speech at Stanford in 2005, "Every morning when I look in the mirror, I ask myself, 'If today were the last day of my life, would I still do the same things I plan to do today?' If the answer is 'No' too many days in a row, I need to change something." Sounds like sound advice to me.