If you want to catapult your company to its next level of success, it will take more than your own two hands. Jack Stack, President and CEO of SRC Holdings and author of the popular business books The Great Game of Business and A Stake in the Outcome, identified four critical employees you need on your team:
Strategists – These are the people that see the big picture. They not only see where you are as a company right now, they see where the company needs to go and how to actually get there. They are the ones that typically begin any diversification process and actually see those profit-making ideas. If your company’s business model seems stuck, you either don’t have a strategist on board or have driven them out of your company by continually rejecting their innovative, strategic ideas.
Change Agents – These staff not only love change, they make it happen! They love measuring variances and tracking progress. They like to be sure that when someone says they’ll do something, it actually gets done. If your company gets tons of ideas and input at staff meetings, but then doesn’t seem to have the energy or inclination to see projects through to completion, you are likely missing change agents on your team.
Relationship Builders – While strategists are seeing the big picture and developing road maps, and change agents are prodding the processes and measuring incremental improvements, relationship builders are soothing ruffled feathers and creating strategic partnerships. Relationship builders are essential to success, because after all, business really is relationships. They will instill trust and stability into your dynamic processes. If your company is lacking in relationship builders, you will have strife in your ranks and may even be driving away customers.
Talent Developers – These are the coaches in your business. They see potential in themselves and others and instinctively know how to draw out the best in everyone. They will immediately see job/personality mismatches and help you redeploy your team where they can best utilize their God-given talents. When forced to fill a vacancy with an under-skilled worker, a talent developer is your best ally. They will quickly have that person performing to the best of their ability. If you are missing talent developers from your team, your company will be the victim of high turnover and job dissatisfaction. You can spot talent developers from the sparkle in their eyes!
If you find your company is deficient in any of these four critical areas, recruit immediately. You can attract each personality type you are currently missing through careful job ad wording. Need a strategist? Talk about strategic direction, ability to see the big picture, etc. Need a change agent? Talk about embracing change. Need a relationship builder? Talk about relationships! Need a talent developer? Talk about coaching/leadership.
With all four employee types in place, you’ll have the horsepower you need to drive your company to its next level of success!