Do Your Job!

There are many capable leadership coaches out there. I am not really one of them.? However, over many years of managing successful teams, large, small, local and distributed, I’ve learned enough about both team dynamics and management skills to feel comfortable sharing my experience and perspectives. I’m not a huge football fan, but I am a bit of a NE Patriots “homer”, or at least I was until that fateful day when Tom Brady left us and our team sank into ignominy. Frankly, my biggest takeaway from those years of consistent success was ex-Coach Belichick’s oft repeated phrase, “Do your job”. Three simple words that still appear on tee shirts, inspirational posters, internet memes, even (poorly thought-through) tattoos.? To me, the phrase is shorthand for “stay focused, do what you’re supposed to do, and all will be well.”

Now, anyone who knows me at all knows what I think of those ubiquitous inspirational posters and phrases that blight the walls of offices everywhere (visit www.despair.com? if you’re curious about my favorites). In a few cases, however, there’s both merit in the phrase (and its variations) that are useful to anyone running a growing business, especially if you’re an entrepreneur or trying to scale a business. In other blogs I have suggested taking some time to look yourself in the mirror and ask some important questions about business and how your operation is running.? This time, sans mirror, I want you to think about (ex)Coach Hoodie’s phrase and this variation: “Should I do your job?”

Consider the characteristics of an entrepreneur: vision, passion, relentless work ethic, an unshakable belief in the value of the product or services he or she is bringing to the world.? A mentor of mine once characterized a self-described visionary as being “not always right, but never uncertain”, and that too has stayed with me.? Those same attributes that give someone a chance to be successful can also create a complicated workplace environment which can undermine the foundations of that potential success. On the other hand, with even a modicum of self-awareness (and some trusted, knowledgeable advisers) you can create a great environment in which to work and for the business to grow.

Unsurprisingly, creating that environment can be a challenge, but it’s critical to success.? You’ve got to make good hires, of course, but then you have to give those people room to Do Their Job.? Putting aside a discussion around the hiring process (which would take many columns), when you, as a business leader or entrepreneur hires someone for a function, it’s important to provide guidance and support but not to hover or interfere.? Ask yourself how often you think “it’ll be easier if I just do it myself.”?? Easier for who?? You? Better for the business? If that’s true then you should fire everyone and, indeed, do it all yourself.

But that’s not really true, is it?? And it certainly doesn’t allow the business to scale. Often the biggest “concern” for an owner isn’t making sure something’s done right so much as it is the fact that it may be done differently than they’d do it.? Not better, not worse, but certainly different.? The same internal impulses that cause one person to love red and hate blue, or to adore Picasso and not like Matisse, or to crave steak and recoil in horror from sushi are the same impulses that generate a creative, additive energy in a business and should be encouraged.? Contradictory though it may seem, leadership is about letting go, not tightening a grip, and that’s something that does not come naturally to most entrepreneurs.? Having spent years in and around the VC, early-stage company world, I can tell you first hand that investors worry most about the entrepreneur-as-CEO, and it can be a huge impediment to growth.

Often an entrepreneur will ask me how to proceed once leadership is hired for key functional roles like sales and marketing, two areas where most entrepreneurs find the most affinity.? My answer is usually the same: Do Your Job--be an evangelist.? Drive the vision for the product or services the company offers. Let the sales and marketing team use you as the celebrity you are.? Set the tone for the company culture but don’t try and make everyone a clone of you—or judge them as lacking because they’re not you.? Competence takes many forms and as long as they are doing their job and you are doing your job and you’re making sure your job isn’t the same as their job (did you follow that?) then you’ve got your best chance to succeed and grow.? You can do this.? In fact, it’s your Job!

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