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Why Cloning Yourself Is Bad For Business


When we first think about hiring someone for our small business, we tend to be looking to increase capacity. We're looking for somebody to take the tasks off of our plate.

So it makes sense that if we were good at doing those tasks in the way that we like those tasks done, finding somebody similar to us is a good fit.

For your first VA, that's probably not a bad start because you’ve probably needed them for a while so them being able to step in and hit the ground running is what you need most.

However, when you start to think about building a team with a more long-term strategy, you need to think differently.

If that first hire is about freeing up your capacity, wouldn’t it make sense for your team to have the maximum capacity as well?

MAXIMIZING CAPACITY

When you are in your superpower and you're in flow, you naturally increase your capacity because you don't need that same amount of downtime, prep time, or recovery time.

And if you're handing things off to this person often, it's because it's the stuff that you don't like doing, you're not great at doing or you find the most draining. So if you're hiring another you, they are probably going to be in a similar position.

It's not going to be the most exciting thing for them. They won’t be in flow either if it’s not their superpower. And they will be drained more quickly meaning more recovery and less capacity.

So instead of trying to clone yourself,  what if instead, you found the person who has that superpower, the person who is truly lit up and excited and in flow, doing those activities.

LONG TERM THINKING

As you grow the level of support that you and the business need is also going to grow and change. And instead of just thinking about expanding capacity, you also need to think about everything it takes to run your business.

If you think through a business cycle:

  • You have an idea
  • You figure out who's going to do it
  • You find all the resources you need
  • You work out how to do it

And repeat

So when you consider your team, ideally you want somebody in the team who is in their flow, in their superpower in each of those phases. And most importantly, in those spaces where your superpower is maybe at its lowest.

You want people who are going to balance you so the team is well-rounded and able to support the business more holistically.

For example:

  • If managing people is not your superpower,  bringing on a chief of staff who specializes in that may be your best long-term hire.
  • If you naturally get caught up in the moment and overpromised to your clients, you need to bring on somebody who can keep track of what capacity and resources are available to deliver so that you know what you can and can't offer.

Chances are you specialize in one part of the cycle (ideas, people, resource management, or systems), maybe two. That means there are at least another two that you need some help in.

If you keep hiring yourself, chances are you're going to land up with all the ideas that never get finished or beautiful systems, but no clients to serve or vice versa.

TRY THIS INSTEAD

So before you hire or hire again, consider these tweaks to the process:

  1. Describe the person, as much as the task list that you're looking for.
  2. When you interview ask how they would tackle situations in the areas that you're handing over. Look for the answers that don't necessarily match what you would have done, but to still work or work even better. If that space is their superpower chances are their response is going to be better than yours.
  3. Ask at least a few of the same questions of everyone and you'll soon be able to tell who's just highly skilled and who's excited about those activities.

Of course, all of this only works if you know what your superpower is and what your gaps are.

If you are so burnt out, you can't even remember what flow feels like or you're so exhausted you don't have time to figure out how to get into it and what you might need or you just want a simple shortcut, click the button below to take the Superpower Decoder assessment.

It will tell you all about your strengths and weaknesses, but also exactly who you should be planning to hire long-term for your team to get that well-rounded holistic approach to business.

Note:

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Disclaimer:

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this podcast episode and article are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article or episode. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article. Diane Mayor disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article.