John, a freelance computer app developer, came to me because he had built up his business to the point where he was working more than full time and his health was suffering. But he was holding back from hiring help because, as the ‘talent’ in the company, he felt that no one could do the work he was doing.
This is a very common problem for a ‘talent’ company. You’re brilliant at your business, you need to expand – but you can’t because you don’t want to hire in someone else who hasn’t got the magic touch that you have.
I helped John to:
– analyse in detail what he did, then work out what only he needed to do and what he wanted to do – in other words, where his talent lay.
– realise that the elements he didn’t need to do – like the paperwork and the day-to-day organisation – were probably ones that others could actually do better than he could.
– realise that the elements he didn’t want to do were often ones that other people actually loved doing – so he could offload those knowing they’d be done well.
– draw up a detailed spec for an assistant, a spec that listed not only the skills they needed but also the personality traits that would make them a good co-worker for John.
– create an interview format that checked not only that the new employee’s skills would complement John’s but that their personality would ensure smooth running.
– develop the management skills that, because he’d worked alone up to now, he’d not had the chance to obtain.
John took my advice on board, successfully hired a first employee, grew his business and is currently advertising for a second team member.
Want to explore how I could help? Please email me with a brief outline of your situation and I’ll get back to you. If I feel I could help, we can arrange for an initial coaching session to explore how we would work together. I’d be delighted to hear from you.