Hiring
As a manager, we need to constantly be looking at people from the perspective of finding our next hire. In order for us to be effective at this, we need to know our current team composition really well. We understand what key skills or the kind of person or perspective that is missing or can add significant value to the impact we create.
Once we know that, we can then always be looking for such a talent in every interactions we have, both within the company and outside (partners, customers and even in our personal interactions). Even when we don’t have a headcount to hire for. We identify the talent and follow their careers. This way, when we can hire someone, we already have a prospective people to hire from.
Wiring
As managers, we are responsible for ensuring that the wiring within the team is switched on. This comes down to cultivating the right culture within the team, that creates the right environment for the people on our team to perform to their best abilities.
Sometimes, this is about conflict management, sometimes about setting the right targets and creating the best micro teams and most of the times, removing obstacles that stop them from bringing their absolute best performance.
Retiring
As managers, we are responsible for deciding what or whom we retire. This could be people who were bad hires or bad influence on the team culture. Nothing breeds bad performance more than allowing a bad hire to continue to work on the team, no matter how good their individual performance be. If they are not working for the team, they are not supposed to be on the team.
This could be processes and systems that create bureaucratic hurdles for the team to perform to their best. This could be deep rooted mindsets or perceptions or perspectives that are stopping the team from delivering top performance.
