We are in the middle of a 4 part series, looking at 4 practical ways to organically grow your business. So far, we’ve focused on the importance of building relationships and networking.
In this post, we are going to shift our attention to the internal work of maximizing your team.
In Jim Collin’s business classic, Good to Great, he explains the difference he saw between good leaders and those who were able to make the leap to leading truly great companies: having the right people on your team and for the right people to do the work that is right for them. Here’s how he describes it:
“We expected that good-to-great leaders would begin by setting a new vision and strategy. We found instead that they first got the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats—and then they figured out where to drive it. The old adage ‘People are your most important asset’ turns out to be wrong. People are not your most important asset. The right people are.”
One of the practical ways Cassie has grown her business organically has been to do just that. For her, it’s about maximizing her team:
“Each person on your team brings unique experiences, knowledge, and talents. Tapping into that has allowed me to offer new services for clients and to connect to my employees’ passions and interests. Expanding our services has increased the number of services for existing clients and allowed us to engage new clients. Connecting to employees’ passions and interests keeps them engaged with our clients and our company. Happy, engaged employees = happy, engaged clients.”
As a member of this team, I can say firsthand that this is true! In 2023, one of our clients, Licking County Aging Partners, won Non-profit of the Year for the county. In a testimonial from their Executive Director, Melissa Owens, she highlights how critical the work we’ve done together is to the forward motion her organization is experiencing:
“Erin and Kane Learning are helping LCAP create a new model for what non-profit organizations can and should look like in the future.”
When we maximize our teams, we let each person focus their time and energy on doing their best work.
So, leaders, how are you maximizing the unique talents, experiences, and skills of your team members?