Latest / The Operator’s Seat Podcast / Get the Right People in the Right Seats | The Operators Seat E7

Transcript

Get the Right People in the Right Seats | The Operators Seat E7 · The Operator’s Seat Podcast

• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome back to another episode of The Operator's Seat.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_02: I'm your host, Landon.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm your host, Sabrina.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_02: And today we have um another question.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: Ever since our last episode, the questions just flooded in.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_02: So super excited about that.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, by the way.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, thank you.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_02: Keep them coming because that's what helps us stay on the air and have things to talk about.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: So and we're not just talking about things we want to talk about.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: So we can definitely do that.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: We'll do that too.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_02: True.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_02: So someone wrote in and asked, what's one operations decision you made that felt small at the time, but turned out huge?
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: I think I have a pretty good one for this.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: So when I came on board, you and I brainstormed together, and we were trying to get everybody in their seat.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: And something that you and I talked about was a lot of people were generalist.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: And so we brainstormed, we whiteboarded, and we got people in the right seat.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: And at the time it felt small.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um I mean it was a pretty big transition.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sure the team felt it was a pretty big big transition.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_02: But I would say the impact turned out to be much larger than we expected.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: Would you agree?
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the smaller your offices maybe the smaller that choice may feel in the beginning to start to specialize in something because you don't necessarily have a bunch of team members to have to coordinate that with.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it can it can be a smaller step that can create a bigger difference when you're a smaller office, I would say for sure.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think it felt bigger for us because we had to organize so many different team members while we did it.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I would say, yeah, that for sure made a huge difference.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: I'd say there's some beauty in it, just like taking the team, being able to sit with you and really assess like what everyone's specialty was, what you know, where they brought the most value to the team.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but also where the team needed kind of the transition as well.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_02: You know, what departments did we build to have everybody specialized, um, what our clients needed, what RFP needed.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and it it really just helped the flow of everything.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: I think I saw um a lot of team members after they got over the evolution.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, this was a big thing.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_02: We had talked in previous episodes about change versus evolution and how change has a negative connotation to it.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: So we would To some people.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: To some people, but most people, I guess.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, most people.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: Not everybody can be an eight and enjoy it.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: I love some change.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: I love some eight, so you know don't you land it.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: It keeps my week.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: It keeps my day interesting.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but you know, there's just there's something beautiful to um once the team, you know, they they came to me and they came to us and they were uh they didn't understand it, and then they did.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, when it finally clicked, and I think that's when the big change oh, the big evolution came around.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_02: I can't believe it's a good one.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, you just said it.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: I said it.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, shame on me.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um but I hope the team hears this.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_02: Uh no, I don't.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_02: I'll owe something for the swear jar.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_02: Uh but when the uh when the team finally clicked and they finally understood the reason behind it and it made sense to them, that's when the big evolution, the big differences started happening.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it wasn't minute anymore, it wasn't um just minor.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_02: The the team started understanding, communicating better with uh one another.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: They started really owning their role, which is a core value of ours.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I think, you know, bringing that upon the team, and it was again a small change to us.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: I can't believe I'm using that word, but it was a small evolution to us um that really turned into a big one.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's important to have your teams buy-in.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, being patient, which I'm not great at being in general, um, but being patient with your team.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then I would also say, you know, if if you're wondering where to start with that, it would be really evaluate kind of what your business needs in the moment.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: So we evaluated kind of where our business was, what our maybe year-end goal was going to be business-wise, and what holes were here within our team currently that could be filled either by somebody on the team with a special skill or somebody that was interested in building a skill, or um, maybe we have to go higher for that specific hole, but then we can do, you know, some tweaking with the team to develop them underneath, you know, somebody else.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: So it just is figuring out, you know, your team skill, the business needs, and then um really bringing that all together and starting from there.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you bring up a great point.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, one thing that we didn't stop at is we didn't just talk about who we had and where we could put them.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um we talked about who we needed and not necessarily who, but what we needed.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_02: What positions were needed.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: And we talked about, you know, okay, after we figured out what positions were needed, where do we fill in with who we have now and who we might need?
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but then going a step further and saying, okay, well, what is the team's aspirations?
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_02: Where do they want to be?
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_02: Being able to fill those future spots with the current team that we have, yeah, and then backfill from there.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so that the entire process has just been a lot of fun.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_02: It's been very eye-opening too um to you know be able to backfill to help the team grow individually.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_02: That's something you and I love to do as leaders.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then, you know, it's helping the business flourish as well.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, just because the team is happy in the positions.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: Once they get, you know, something that they're passionate about and, you know, or want to learn something new, um, they step up, they do better.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_02: And so it it really wasn't about, okay, who do we have and where can we put them?
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_02: It was, well, what do we need?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: Then it was about who we have, where we can put them.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: You know, that wasn't just the now, it was in the future too.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_02: And then that gave us the okay, well, who else do we need to bring on board?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, which is exciting because watching the firm grow is a huge part of why we're here.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I will say, I think I never want to stunt growth within our team.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but at the same time, you may see that your team needs more experience.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and maybe you don't have that on your team with whatever, you know, if you're looking for an advisory team member or somebody that has paraplanning skills and you don't have that on your team, sometimes it is helpful to bring in somebody that has maybe stronger skills in these areas that can, you know, on the surface, it feels like, okay, I'm giving opportunity to somebody outside of my firm, bringing them in, and I'm not giving that opportunity to somebody else on my team, but really you are.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: You're giving them, you know, the ability to learn from somebody that is specialized in those areas that can develop somebody underneath them.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, there's plenty of growth within our business models and our firms.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just, it's all about perspective and how you see that.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: But don't ever shy away from bringing in skills if that's what the business needs, because in turn it helps your team.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I will, you know, I'm I'm a big proponent of that when necessary.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it doesn't mean that you're, you know, stunting anybody on your team.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, sometimes those are the hard conversations that need to be had.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you know, I think eventually um after the hard conversations are had and you know, feelings die down, um people see, okay, hey, I'm getting ready to learn from somebody who is have years of experience, or I mean, maybe they have a CFP or something.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, you're really getting the opportunity to learn from that individual.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_02: And so, I mean, it's like you and I, anytime we talk to Michelle Short at SHP, we love to because she's had the years of experience and we know that we can learn so much from her.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you know, one another as well.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_02: And we came on board.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_02: So I think, you know, after the hard conversations are had, the feelings are settled, um, the team really can see the benefit of that.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, hopefully.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: And if if not, then other hard conversations are to be had.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely think if you build a culture of having lifelong learners, it's an easier thing to um approach with the team too, because you have more understanding there and more buy-in.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: I I always tell, you know, our team, like, I learn from every single person on our team.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: I learn from anyone from the front desk all the way to obviously I learn from advisors all the time because I'm, you know, that's the only position that I have not actually done in our industry.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's just, it's fun to learn and it's fun to bring people on that you feel like you can learn from and grow with.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I think if you breed that mentality from the inside out, it just makes for a stronger team over time.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, 100%.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: And it's funny because I think every conversation we have, we can always bring it back to culture.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, because it is truly the foundation of your business.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: If you bring those on who want to learn, who want to grow, then you're gonna bring on those thought leaders and those individuals who are gonna step back, look at the overall picture.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, how can I help reliance grow?
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, whether that's you know, leaving my ego at the door, allowing somebody with a CFP or another license come in and um learn under them.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_02: And that way, you know, as we continue to grow, there's gonna be more and more opportunities that are there.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and it'll just help flourish the business even.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: It definitely builds the foundation.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, I'm trying to think what was the question again?
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so like brain dead.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_02: So it says, uh, what's one operations decision you made that felt small at the time but turned out huge?
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_02: Is there anything that you would change about the process that we did?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: The process that you and I did?
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I mean, no.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think so.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: I I feel like it's so new though that I'm sure in hindsight, like six months down the line, we probably will find things where we're like, eh, we should have changed that or we should have thought of this.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um I mean, I feel like anything and everything can always be improved.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: But I think, you know, you made me slow down a bit.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: And you still make me slow down, which is as much as she loves.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Which is fun for me because I want everything right now.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, when we talk about a change, I'm like, okay, when are we doing that?
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Today?
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, no, not today.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_02: I always say room wasn't built in a day.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yes.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: He did use that line on me this morning.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: He said room wasn't built in a day, and I said, Well, it should have been.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: It really should have been.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: You should.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think it should have been.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Could have been.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if they had a bunch of eights.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, I don't think so yet.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure ask me in another six months, and I might have different perspective on that.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: But I was gonna say, it's funny.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like there's more, and maybe it's just because I am kind of a pessimist, but I feel like there's way more that I can think of that I would change now looking back versus, oh, this was a small change that we did that ended up like really great.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we've done a lot of really great things, but I feel like the biggest lessons come from things that we did that I would do differently in the future.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I think one of one of the things that comes to mind because we're talking about hiring is, you know, I was I was talking to somebody from another office a few weeks back, and they wanted some advice on, hey, how do I scale my team and how do I build my team out?
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the biggest things that I told her was don't just hire people to hire them.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: Don't just look at, you know, maybe our business model or the way that we structure our business and then try to just go recreate it.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it just does not work that way.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, you look at all these offices, or you know, maybe if you're in a different industry and you're listening, you're looking at your competition or, you know, associates, and you see the success that they have and you think, okay, well, if I can just go duplicate it, um, it's gonna work for me.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: And that's really not how it works.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you can emulate and you can take ideas from each other, but I think you have to really be careful to not just to not be authentic to who you are and to who your team and, you know, frankly, the clientele that you have, who they are.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think a big thing, a big mistake that we made in the past was hiring and trying to build out the structure before we really knew what we were even doing or building out, just because we were trying to emulate these other offices or these other businesses that were doing it, you know, successfully.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's just very important to analyze your specific situation, your specific business, the people that you have on your team currently, the clientele that you want to have or develop, um, and really just start brainstorming there and just, you know, feel free to ask for advice and pull in ideas, but you have to be true to kind of what you need and what your business needs.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, definitely.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_02: I I think uh I forget his name, but he says uh hire slow and fire fast.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um so you know, really know who you're bringing on board, uh, who you have on the team, and once you bring somebody on board and they're not fitting of the culture or uh, you know, fitting of the job description, then you get rid of them and move on to the next.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: Because the longer they're here, the harder it is.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: So for sure.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: But not to say that, you know, you can't work with people, but at the same time, if they're showing up and not showing out, then if you have a gut feeling about somebody, you have to listen to it.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: And your gut feeling might change.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's happened to me before, where I love somebody during the interview process, and you know, I feel like I vetted them, and then they come in and you know, they're not at all what I had expected.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and chances are vice versa, right?
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like we, if I'm feeling that way, they're probably feeling that way too.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's like, okay, this isn't you can't force something to work.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's different if it's different if they're acclimating and getting, you know, but you you know, I feel like.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Or you you know with time, like oh, as you progress and get better at your job, you also learn, you know, how to read people.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: Another thought that came to mind you were talking about, you know, trying to emulate and just copy another business is uh when they're really successful.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_02: And if you're not at the point that they are, you can really feel like you failed.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and that's a you know, not being able to understand that can be really bad, especially for the operator, because you're like, okay, I've done everything this other team did, you know, why is this not working out?
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, we're all in different stages of our business.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_02: We all have different clientele.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, we all have different teammates.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_02: So it's so important to remember, yes, you can have a model.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but you know, as you said, be authentic to yourself.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_02: Know your clientele, know your team, um, know your strong suits.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, what specialties do your does your team bring?
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and what do you need to go find?
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then also, you know, we all started at different business models.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so what works for one isn't always gonna work for another.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: You have to pick up from your business model that you have and the geography that you're in, um, and really understand that and adopt your operations, your sales model, your marketing, um, all to that geographic re uh region, clientele, team members.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um and again, not to say that you can't have a model to, you know, follow and bounce ideas off of.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: So Yeah.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: I think um, yeah, I I definitely think just being genuine and authentic to who you are as a team and as a business um really needs to lead that.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of the time when you're looking at offices that are successful, there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that people don't tell you about or, you know, don't want to acknowledge or don't admit to.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so there's all of the unknown too and the unseen, which is why you're listening to our podcast, because we will tell you anything and everything.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: You just have to continue to submit questions.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we definitely uh well, I'll say I definitely have my shortcomings and uh places where I've messed up.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: So Oh, me too.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_02: But the beauty of it operations you learn, you live, and hopefully you adopt.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: So we love it.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: Perfect.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: Well, thank you so much for submitting your question.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_02: Uh please keep them coming.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: And if you haven't yet, um subscribe, like.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_02: We're on every social media that I can think of except X, and who knows, we might get that up and rolling.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_02: But oh my gosh, I don't yeah.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well over I don't know what the heck that is anymore.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: I well, yes, I do.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: I know what X is now, but I I know it as Twitter from you know way back in the day.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, speaking of which, we uh had some sad news come across social media today.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, Landon.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so sorry.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_02: My girl.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh for the listeners that don't know, uh Dolly Parton is my icon, my idol.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: May she rest in peace.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_02: So today we found out that she did unfortunately pass away.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_02: And so we want to take a moment and um shout out her and all the amazing work that you know with her business and the operators at Dollywood and the Imagination Library and Yeah.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_02: Shoot every other business that she has the last few years.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: I love her cakes.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yes.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_02: She's partnered with shout out to her cake box mixes.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_02: But she definitely will be missed and uh definitely a sad day to grieve the loss of an American icon, a worldly icon.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_02: She was known around the world.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Her and her boobs.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_02: Dolly will uh well, she did say she had a great ass too.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, she does.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: Or did.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_02: But Dolly, we will always love you.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_02: So thanks for listening to the operator seat, and we'll catch you next time.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_02: Bye.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_02: Bye.