Scalability vs. People in the Workplace

First off, for companies of a certain size, scalability ALWAYS becomes part of the equation. So let's make sure we know what exactly scalability is.

The Stack Overflow community has a definition that I love: "If a framework or an application scales well, it means that it can handle larger loads. As your site becomes more popular with more visitors and more hits per day, a framework that scales well will handle the larger load the same as it handles a smaller load."

Let's extrapolate this to scaling when it comes to business...

A scalable business is one that can handle a larger load the same way it handles a smaller load.

NOTE: we're not talking about a DIFFERENT thing. We're talking about a greater LOAD of the same thing.

And what are those things?

I went back to a trusty resource I have in this arena, Verne Harnish's book Scaling Up. The book outlines the 4 key activities involved in scaling:

1. Attracting and keeping the right PEOPLE,

2. Creating a truly differentiated STRATGY,

3. Driving flawless EXECUTION, and

4. Having plenty of CASH to weather the storms.

In this article, we're going to be focusing on the first one (as you can probably tell from the title). Specifically because, in our current environment of layoffs, we are taking action that is in direct opposition to scaling up.

Let's explore.

Attracting the Right People

So, how do you attract the right people?

First of all, we need to know who the right people are.

And how do we know that?

Values alignment.

But not just "documented" value alignment. LIVED values alignment.

Let me explain the difference.

Let's say that a company has Empathy as one of it's core values. Alignment would look like, "people who are empathetic" (showing an ability to understand and share the feelings of another.) But then, a company leader shows up to an HR meeting and uses derogatory terms for a specific cultural group. Those actions are not in alignment with the value. You report it, having experienced the discomfort in YOUR values misalignment. And the company does nothing, which shows you they don't actually LIVE a value of empathy.

And when you do, as an employee, or client, or other stakeholder, it makes one of you the WRONG person.

So in order to attract the RIGHT people, you need to know who the WRONG people are, you need to honor that in your actions in the workplace, and you need to hire (and fire) based on those values.

And if you're NOT willing to do that, you CAN'T attract the right people.

BONUS NOTE: if you don't SHOW people, through your actions, your company values (I'm thinking digitally here), people can't know it about you. And you can't attract new people that way.

Keeping the Right People

When it comes to KEEPING those right people, the ones you tried so hard to find by living your true values, there's a little more that comes into play.

Belonging.

Belonging is all about the rules for what it looks like to do business together. The rules are BASED in the values, but true belonging is about AGREEING to those rules, from all parties.

Not about using your power as a leader to force people to accept the agreement. And not by letting people off the hook from the agreement. But in encouraging all team members to agree to the rules of engagement voluntarily.

It's about creating an US Story for the team. And giving everyone the opportunity to actively participate in the US Story.

BONUS NOTE:

If you're willing to accept behavior outside of the Belonging Agreement, as a leader, you are actively allowing the agreements to be broken. Broken agreements do NOT lead to scale.

The Right People Doing the Right Things, Right

OK, so now we have the right people. Next, we need to talk about the THINGS they are doing, and the clarity on how to do them RIGHT.

For this section, I'd like to bring in a sports analogy...and for me, you know it's going to be basketball.

A championship basketball team is filled with players who all have unique skills. Some are better at rebounding. Some are better at dribbling. Some are faster. Some have outstanding outside shots. Some are the heart of the team. Some create a reprieve so everyone can feel refreshed.

No two players are the same.

Ditto that within your team.

Getting the right people doing the right things RIGHT isn't just all about assigning tasks. It's not just about you, as the leader, deciding the right things. Equally, it's not just about YOU deciding what it looks like to do something RIGHT.

The right things for one person could be the wrong things for another person. It doesn't mean the THING is wrong, it just means the right person needs to be doing it.

No one makes the team's best rebounder shoot three pointers.

No one makes the teams best shooter only responsible for ball handling.

No one makes the best point guard responsible for rebounding.

It just doesn't make sense.

But in the corporate workplace, we do this ALL the time.

How to fix it? Profile your people. Learn what the right things are for them. Give them those things. And then work with them to find a way that feels RIGHT to them, so they can move you towards the championship.

A Note On Leadership

One of my favorite bits of the Scaling Up book is on Page 5...a highlighted section titled: Dumbest in the Room. Here's an excerpt.

Senior leaders know they have succeeded in building an organization that can scale - and is fun to run - when they are the dumbest people in the room! In turn, if they have all the answers, it guarantees organizational silence, exacerbates blindness, and means the senior team ends up carrying the entire load of the company on their backs. The best leaders have the right questions, but turn to their employees, customers, advisors, and the crowd to mine the answers.

Just like we saw in Jacinda Arden recently stepping down from her leadership role, this isn't about a leader trying to be all things to all people. It's about a leader knowing their role, just like the other chess pieces, and letting the others play the game as well.

We Mastermind the business, just like Napoleon Hill shares in his book Think & Grow Rich. Scale never happens on the back of one person; it happens when the team is ignited to move somewhere together.

In Summary

Recently, a lot of large, profitable organizations are treating people as resources that can be cut to make the bottom line look better (I'm looking at you Disney and Amazon). Scaling Up refers to these companies as Elephants.

And following that example, many smaller companies use the savings in salaries to look profitable. But when you're in the Mice Stage, this decimates your ability to actually scale. You stay with the other 96% of new ventures that spend their entire existence as "mice". And lay-offs are getting you FURTHER away from Scaling Up, and closer to Stalling Out.

I believe every company deserves to reach their potential.

But your potential only goes as far as your people.

If stalling out isn't an option for you, let's chat.