#1 - You're in the weeds. The primary role of line managers is to eliminate the day-to-day responsibilities of the business owner or executives. Do you spend your time on issues like customer complaints or employee relations problems? If so, you likely don’t have the right leaders in place. | #5 - Things don't run smoothly when you're not there. How long are you comfortable being completely out of touch with your office? A week, a day, or a couple of hours? The quality of your leadership team predicts your answer. As Dan Sullivan says, the mark of a great executive is the ability to have a Self-Managing Company. |
|---|---|
#2 - Your departments and locations are inconsistent. When a branch office or a specific department isn’t performing well, it’s usually a management issue. Uneven management is more common than you might think. It causes friction, creates jealousy among employees, and generates headaches for you. | #6 -You're not spending time doing things you love. You know you're successful when you're doing what you want to do, not what you have to do. So? How much time at work do you spend doing the things you enjoy doing? If you're not spending most of your time doing what you love, the less competent your leadership team is. |
#3 - Employee Turnover is high. There are too many variables to define good/bad turnover in terms of percentages. The state of the economy impacts turnover as well. So simply stated: is your turnover acceptable to you? Or are you losing valuable employees every year? | #7 -Employee complaints are up and enthusiasm down. Good managers have happy employees. Happy employees are positive. They don't file lawsuits, work comp claims or grumble about minor issues. They’re not looking for another job. They’re happy and feel well compensated in their job and the company they work for. |
#4 - You're wondering: "Did it get done?" When you delegate, do you find yourself asking, “Did it ever get done?” Are you confident that things get done without having to check in all the time? Good leaders handle problems before they escalate and they get things done. | #8 -People are telling you what they think you want to hear. Are your employees happy? How do you know? People are always telling you what they think you want to hear. Do an anonymous employee engagement survey. Find out what they're saying behind your back. |