Why Hiring a Manager Fails
I’m going to bust one of the biggest hiring myths out there: your business needs a unicorn. If you’re thinking, what the heck is a unicorn? Let me explain. Business owners often think to themselves, “I need help in this business and I need someone who can do all the things and wear all of the hats because we don’t have the revenue or profitability to hire multiple people.”
Cue the business “unicorn.” If this sounds like you, this a good point to check in with yourself and your business. The reality is, if you don’t have the revenue/profitability to hire the right people in the right positions, that means you need to increase your trust AKA your revenue. Hiring somebody too early is actually going to set your business back and suck your time. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but sometimes you need to be in the trenches a little bit longer.
Business Unicorns Do Not Exist
If you’re looking for a unicorn, you’re really setting yourself up for failure because you are looking for someone who doesn’t exist. And when you’re looking for a unicorn, that means you aren’t aware of the one or two things you need taken off your plate to actually make the biggest difference in your business.
If you want a unicorn, you really just want someone to take tasks off your list. If you take some time to think about where your weaknesses are, and where you know you could benefit most with help, you can hire someone, even just part-time, to fill in that gap. Another mindblowing thing: part-time people who are experienced in what you need, will do 100% more for your business than a full-time person who’s mediocre.
A Worker Bee vs. A Player
Something I don’t think most people realize is that there are two types of people you can hire: worker bees and players. Worker bees are oftentimes the “unicorn” that business owners are looking for. But, they only work if you have a player in between you and them. A worker bee will suck your time and your revenue. And if they don’t have something to do, they will just sit and twiddle their thumbs. Players, on the other hand, come with a plan. They’re experts in what they do. They look at the big picture. While a worker bee is just doing tasks, a player is living out their area of expertise. They know what they are doing, and they love it too.
A great example of this would be if I hired a marketing person. I’m not a marketing expert, so I don’t want to hire a worker bee. If I did, I would have to be creating tasks for them. But if I hire a player, like my marketing person I have now, I am hiring an expert. And might I add, she’s part-time. She comes to me and says things like, “I made this tweak to our SEO,” or, “I made a change to our ads,” and I just sign off! If there’s a problem, she comes to me with solutions. The biggest difference between a worker bee and a player is that players are revenue, big-picture, and profitability-focused. And they give you your time back. I don’t have to spend time doing sales or marketing anymore, I can focus on what I need to be doing. Players elevate you from working in the business to working on the business.
You might be thinking if I hire a player, won’t I be spending more money because of their expertise vs hiring a worker bee with less experience? The answer is no!
If you have a full-time worker bee, it will cost your business two to three times more than if you have a player because a worker bee will suck time from you, your team, and your business. They also create inefficiencies because they don’t operate autonomously. They won’t work unless they have been told to work, which only creates bottlenecks that leak in time and revenue. Whereas a player, if they find a bottleneck, they will go around it or figure out how to break that bottleneck so the business can keep moving forward.
What to Ask in Your Next Interview to Rule Out a Worker Bee and Hire a Player
First thing first, you have to know exactly why you are hiring someone. Once you do, you can say to them, “The mission of this role is to do X. What is your plan to help us get there?” And if they say something like, “In my previous role, we had something very similar and this is what we did,” then you can see their experience and expertise.
They may also say something like, “I have to get in there and figure things out,” but they’ll give you a plan. That’s a player. A worker bee would respond with something like, “I’m not sure, I need to find out more.” A player may say they need to dig a little deeper, but it’s from a place of data vs permission. A worker bee generally won’t work if they don’t have permission to do so.
There is a statement I learned many years ago from a good friend called the “definition of done.” If you have a definition of done for the position where you know that X,Y,Z needs to happen, a player will move mountains and maybe go in a completely different direction than what you thought to get there, but they’ll get it done.
A worker bee will need to know each and every step. They’re going to need their handheld. A player will say, “Here’s the plan.” Then they will adjust and execute the plan as needed. They’ll get feedback. So in an interview, listen to how the candidate talks about what they do. If it’s the big picture, then the details, that’s a player. If it’s the details first, then maybe a sprinkle of the big picture, that’s a worker bee. A player shows confidence in an interview, whereas a worker bee will get nervous and not know exactly what to say. A player will say this is what I’ve done, this is what I have learned. Before you make your next hire, be sure to take the time to evaluate where your need truly is and screen your candidates well.
Don’t forget to tune into your newest, favorite podcast, The Biz Doctor HERE, where you’ll find honest insights into what it takes to grow, operate, and maintain a successful business that scales sustainably and has a beautiful life. Consider it a true-to-life, authentic, no-BS approach to business operations, high-performing teams, and leadership! Give season 1, episode 3 a listen for the full “Why Hiring a Manager Fails” experience!
