As a leader, one of your most important tasks is to assemble a team that can achieve your organization’s mission. But how do you know which people are the right fit for each role? And once you’ve found the right people, how do you ensure that they have the tools and resources they need to succeed?
The answer lies in focusing on the nouns. Great leaders understand that success is not just about having the right strategy or the best technology. It’s about putting the right people in the right place and giving them the right things to do their job effectively. In this post, we’ll explore what it means to focus on the nouns, and how you can apply this approach to build a high-performing team.
The Importance of Nouns
When we talk about focusing on the nouns, we’re referring to the tangible elements of your organization: the people, processes, and resources that make up your team. These are the building blocks that enable you to achieve your goals, and they’re critical to your success.
Great leaders understand that these nouns are interconnected. You can’t have a great team without the right processes and resources, and vice versa. When you focus on the nouns, you’re looking at your organization holistically, and ensuring that everything is working together in harmony.
The Right People in the Right Place
One of the most important aspects of focusing on the nouns is putting the right people in the right place. This means understanding the unique skills and talents of each team member, and matching them to the roles where they can make the biggest impact.
But how do you know which people are the right fit for each role? One approach is to use a competency-based assessment tool, which can help you identify the specific skills and behaviors that are required for success in each position. By using data to inform your hiring decisions, you can increase your chances of finding the best candidate for each role.
But it’s not just about hiring the right people. You also need to ensure that they’re in the right place within your organization. This means being willing to move people around and restructure your team as needed. By putting people in roles where they can thrive, you can increase their job satisfaction and productivity, while also benefiting your organization as a whole.
The Right Things
Once you have the right people in the right place, you need to give them the right things to do their job effectively. This means providing them with the tools, resources, and support they need to succeed.
For example, if you’re running a marketing team, you might provide them with the latest marketing automation software to streamline their processes. Or if you’re running a customer service team, you might invest in training programs to help them improve their communication skills.
It’s also important to ensure that your team has a clear understanding of their goals and expectations. This means setting specific, measurable objectives for each role, and providing regular feedback and coaching to help them achieve those objectives.
Putting it All Together
Focusing on the nouns is about taking a holistic approach to building a high-performing team. By putting the right people in the right place and giving them the right things to do their job effectively, you can achieve your organization’s mission and drive success.
But it’s important to remember that this is an ongoing process. Your organization will evolve over time, and your team’s needs will change. By staying flexible and adaptive, and continuing to focus on the nouns, you can ensure that your team remains a competitive advantage for your organization.
Great leaders understand that success is about more than just strategy and technology. It’s about putting the right people in the right place, and giving them the right things to do their job effectively.
