Great Managers Delegate. But what happens if you delegate to the wrong people? Project Management skills are essential to growing a successful, scalable business.

The more you know about something, the better you’re likely to be at doing it. So, you could say that there is an inverse relationship between Knowledge and Effort when it comes to getting things done. More knowledge makes for less effort, while less knowledge on a topic means you’re apt to spend more effort (time, energy, stress, money, etc) to get it done.

The “it” that I’m referring to here is whatever project you may have going. In business, especially in small business, and most especially in startup small business, there are always projects to do, and things to get done.

Delegating to your team, contractors, or sub-contractors is a great way to get things done. This strategy allows you the time and freedom to stay focused on the things that you do best.

Beware, however, of the fact that being a Project Manager is a skill set unto itself, and if you don’t have a great understanding of what it means to be a project manager, you may find yourself in just about the same place on the Knowledge/Effort curve that’s discussed in the video above.
In future posts and videos, we’ll go into the basics, and the details, of project management so that you can start to leverage, delegate, and generally get lots of things done without having to do everything yourself.

If 20 Percent of your work gets 80 Percent of the Results, can we blow off the other 80 Percent?

How much more is there to running a business? How hard can it be, right? The list of things to do can be daunting and unexpected when you get into it.

Gone are the days of the quickie, wham-bam Always Be Closing sale. Nowadays, to survive in business, you need a lot more. Learn how to bring a sober, thoughtful, information-rich purchasing experience to your prospects. Remember: There is very little you can tell the customer about your product or service that they can’t learn from an iPhone. What matters, then, are things like reliability, integrity, and a straightforward approach to selling. Check out this short training video to see a new look at the sales process, where the message is front and center, not the messenger.

Wouldn’t it be absolutely great if there was a universal language that would give you the power to truly connect with people and let them understand not just your reasons for something, but also their own reasons? Wouldn’t it be great if you could know how someone really feels about what you’re saying? If that was possible, would you find some value in that? If so, then I’ve got some wonderful news for you: There is a universal language that every man, woman and child speaks fluently. Each of us uses it for more than 90% of everything we communicate. That’s right. No matter who you’re dealing with, whether you’re aware of it or not, you already understand more than 90% of what someone is saying to you, and they understand just about everything you’re saying to them.

There are three main components of communication. In this case, I use the term “communication,” to describe a face to face conversation between two or more people. Imagine yourself in a room. Maybe it’s your office or your living room, and you’re speaking to a business associate. Or, maybe it’s your spouse, your partner, a brother or sister, or your kid. Pick a conversation that you’ve had in the last week or so, and picture it. Picture the room you were in. Was it light or dark? Were there any distractions like television or music? Was the room warm or cold? Were you standing up or sitting down? Were you alert or tired? Was this conversation about something exciting and wonderful, or was it serious or even sad. How did you feel? How did you feel about yourself, and about the other person? Really recreate the sensation of that conversation, and feel it just as strongly now as you did then. … Got it? Great!

When you spoke, did you move? Did you move even one muscle? Of course you did. We all gesture to help get our point across. When the other person spoke, did you move? Where were your eyes focused when the other person was speaking? Where were their eyes focused when you spoke? What about arms? Were your arms crossed, on your lap, or at your sides? What about theirs? If you were seated, were your legs crossed? Were you sitting back in your seat, or were you sitting up. Were your shoulders up or down? What was your posture like? Were you slumped in your chair, or were you sitting up straight. How was your breathing? Were you taking deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth, or were you breathing shallowly, mostly through your nose. Was there anything in your hands? Were you fidgeting at all?

Now you’ve probably figured out by now that what I’m talking about is Body Language. Body language accounts for 50% of what gets communicated between two people in a face to face conversation. Now, if you had a choice between a word-for-word transcript of a conversation, or the answers to the questions above, which would you choose? Which information would tell you the most. If I were to say to you, “That sounds great, and I really want to do things exactly the way you suggest,” would you understand that? What if I said it while I was rolling my eyes, crossing my arms, turning around and walking away from you? Would that be different than if I said it while I was smiling, looking you in the eye while sitting on the edge of my seat, leaning towards you with my hands on my knees? My body language can completely change the meaning of my words.

Tone of voice is the second most important communication tool we use. Tone accounts for about 40% of our communication. This concept is so amazingly simple that it doesn’t take very many words at all to express it. A happy, upbeat tone of voice communicates happiness. A slow, low tone communicates something else entirely. As human beings of any age or culture, we are capable of as many different tones of voice as we have different feelings. In other words, we couldn’t list them all on paper if we wanted to! Tone of voice is an unlimited communication tool that we all have in common.

No matter what you are saying to me, if can see your body language and hear your tone, I have the opportunity to understand more than 90% of what you mean. Your words, believe it or not, fill in the last 10%. Some say it’s only 7%. That’s right, seven percent!

This concept is not obvious. It runs contrary to much of our culture. For example, if I did actually, “Take you at your word,” as the saying goes, there would only be a fraction of a chance that I would really and truly connect with you and get what you were saying. When we say things, we say them not just with our words, but with our body language and our tone of voice. This is one of the reasons contract law is such an extremely lucrative field for lawyers. It is all about purely written communication. There is no room for body language or tone of voice in a contract. That’s why contracts and legal documents require so many words.

By its very nature, language is subject to interpretation. That is what makes the written word so beautiful. Shakespeare “reads” differently for everyone. For me, it reads differently each time I read it. That’s the fun of it! Shakespeare’s goal in writing, however, was to set your creativity free and let you interpret his work as you like it! More often than not, however, we need to communicate as accurately as possible with those around us. We need to understand and to be understood as clearly as possible.

Communication is one really great reason for learning about Behavioral Style. A person’s behavioral style determines the way they communicate. The words they use, the concepts they are comfortable with, the kind of information they are likely to share, the kind they’re likely to withhold, and so on. Leaning to read the other 90% of someone’s communication, their words accounting for just 10%, definitely seems worth the effort.

Communication isn’t the only reason I’ve become so fascinated with Behavioral Style. As it happens, another Great Reason for understanding the Behavioral Style of yourself and those around you, is that your behavioral style also determines to a huge extent the kinds of things you’re likely to be good at – or enjoy – and the kinds of things you probably wont be very good at, and wouldn’t enjoy. Said differently, if you know the things you are behaviorally suited to, you can concentrate on those things, and maybe figure out ways to leverage the rest!

Learn about your behavioral style, and that of your team and co-workers,

because this is the single most powerful tool you can bring to any business environment, team or social situation.

Each of us has a particular, identifiable, and somewhat predictable way of dealing with situations, opportunities, information and people. And depending on what your behavioral style is, you will respond more favorably to certain words or situations and less favorably to others. It’s important to understand how this works, because by understanding these principles, you open the door to better manage your emotions, your time, your communication with others, and to be able to predict and make sense of why you’re so good at some things, and perhaps not so good at others.

There are 4 basic behavioral styles from the standpoint of communication and from the standpoint of Finding Your Pace. Now it’s relateively easy for you to know what your Behavioral Style is because with the purchase of this program, you got a free DISC Analysis. Even so, we’ll do a quick review of which traits are most prevailent for each style:

IF you’re a HIGH D – D is for Dominant – You are results oriented, you like to make decisions fast, you can be argumentative, you have a tendency to overpower people, you like to win, you don’t focus on details, and you like to handle several things at once.

IF you’re a HIGH I – I is for influence – You are a social person, you’re people-oriented, you also don’t get too deep into the details, you may tend to over-promise, you can be talkative, you are enthusiastic and you most often speak from the heart or in a non-logical way.

If you’re a HIGH S – S is for Stability or Steadiness – You are personable, dependable, great at follow up, you sometimes lack confidence and can be easily discouraged, you don’t get overly excited, and you love to have all the facts.

IF you’re a HIGH C – C is for compliance – You like data, you can over-evaluate, you tend to stifle your enthusiasm, you may have trouble influencing others or getting your ideas across, you are well organized and you like to analyze the data.

In the next post, we’ll get further into how these behavioral style types can determine the roles we’re best suited to, and allow us to predict what we’re likely to be great at, and what we’re likely to fall short on.

Communication isn’t the only reason I’ve become so fascinated with Behavioral Style. As it happens, another Great Reason for understanding the Behavioral Style of yourself and those around you, is that your behavioral style also determines to a huge extent the kinds of things you’re likely to be good at – or enjoy – and the kinds of things you probably wont be very good at, and wouldn’t enjoy. Said differently, if you know the things you are behaviorally suited to, you can concentrate on those things, and maybe figure out ways to leverage the rest! I’m talking now about the different Roles that we might play in our work, our relationships, our community, our friendships, everywhere. We all have a role we fit best.

Generally speaking, there are 8 kinds of people, or eight basic Roles.

Conductor
Persuader
Promoter
Relater
Supporter
Coordinator
Analyzer
Implementer

As it happens, most entrepreneurs fall into the conductor/persuader role, while accountants are usually coordinators and analyzers, which we find on the opposite side of the wheel. As a born Conductor/Persuader, I am behaviorally unsuited to being a Coordinator/Analyzer. I don’t like going to that side of the wheel. I’m not comfortable over there. A human resources manager or psychologist will likely fall into the the Supporter/Relater category, and so forth. A Supporter/Coordinator, on the other hand, might make a great personal assistant or office manager. Some people – a very small percentage of people – have what’s called a “Pure Style,” which means that their style is pretty much all in one category. Less than 2% of the population have a “Pure Style”. My wife Liz is a Pure Supporter. She is behaviorally geared towards being helpful and empowering to the people around her. As a pure supporter, she hates the spotlight, but she loves to see me there. I, as you may have guessed, am considerably less shy about being noticed. Donald Trump is a Pure Conductor. An extremely dominant guy. You probably already know what I mean. The Donald likes to be in charge. He likes to give orders and he’s not particularly interested in your opinion once he’s made up his mind. He’s the Donald, after all. Pure Donald. Pure Conductor.

Most of us have 2 of these roles as our Primary Roles. This means that we end up being more productive and more fulfilled if we’re in a role that suits us. Our two primary roles are almost always right next to eachother on the list. I’ve mentioned that am a Conductor/Persuader. I am most comfortable when I’m directing an activity, or a company, or a group, that’s the conductor part, and when I’m able to communicate my vision or ideas to those around me such that they enroll in my beliefs, ideas or opinions. That’s the persuader part. Said differently, I am a born leader and a born communicator.

This means, by the way, that unlike the Donald, I want to direct things and lead people, but I also want them to subscribe to my belief systems. I like for people to feel like they’re doing something for good reasons. For their reasons. I like people to agree with me.

Examine Your Teams’ Strengths and Weaknesses

It’s important to key in on the skills that each of your employees bring to the table. Ask yourself (as well as your team) what are the things that only Joe or Sally can accomplish for your company? Often, it’s futile to have your employees work on a project that doesn’t have them fully utilizing their unique skill set, especially when you have other employees who may not have such in-depth training but could still complete the task at hand. Economically speaking, it makes more sense (and often times, more money) to have each person work at what they are most specialized in, rather than allowing them to take care of something else, just because they can. Does your team often find itself choosing between two different projects? Make sure you offer guidance that will help your team decide which projects are the most important, and which projects can go on the back-burner.

Empower Your Team to Speak Up

By keeping an open-door policy amongst your staff, as well as encouraging your team to regularly share their thoughts about their workload and to do lists, you’re certain to ease tensions and maintain a much happier staff. Invite your employees to let you know how they feel their work is impacting the business, as well as what ideas they might have to help boost productivity. Do your employees feel that they are making their mark on your business? Is there anything that they feel might help them do their job better? Your employees may not only have excellent ideas, but giving them the opportunity to be heard will help them to feel as though they are a valued and important part of your team- inspiring them to work even harder for you and creating a feeling of synergy within your organization. Be warned, however, that this can be a slippery slope. Asking your team members for their opinions and feedback is crucial. Just as crucial, however, is making sure that you’re not handing out permission slips for everybody do do whatever they please. Teams need leaders. Teams need goals and direction.

By encouraging communication amongst your staff, you’ll be sure to see a rise in productivity as well as job satisfaction. This happens because you’ll have your people doing the things they do best. Employees who are able to communicate their concerns, and let you know what they believe is the best use of their skill set and time, are more likely to perform as part of a more well-oiled machine. Put simply, do all you can to hire people who do what they do because they love it. Sometimes, work is work. But it shouldn’t be that way all the time.