Event Recap: Next Level Who Not How: Finding and Keeping Great People

In the latest quarterly Who Not How event, Kate Norton of VisionSpark moderated a conversation between Emily Morgan of Delegate Solutions, Shannon Waller of Strategic Coach, and Alec Broadfoot of VisionSpark. The trio came together once again to discuss how businesses can both find and maintain great people. 

The panel-style webinar took place on May 26, 2022. If you missed the event, you can read the recap below!

Who Not How as a Mindset

Shannon started the conversation by discussing “Who Not How” as a mindset. Entrepreneurs often need a reminder to focus on the “who” of their organization rather than the “how.” 

Shifting focus can be exciting to business owners, but it’s not always easy to implement. While you can dream up a better way to do things, if you can’t execute, you may end up putting it off. 

To attain your new, better idea, focus on the “who” rather than the “how.” Trying to figure out how to reach an ambitious goal can seem daunting. Instead, use your resources to decide who is the best person to reach out to, to help you get to the how.

“Let it Go!”

Emily spoke next about using delegation as a retention strategy. In her new book, “Let It Go!” she covers the topic of execution as a true retention strategy. Emily says business owners should start by identifying their most impactful contributions. By using delegation, your energy is preserved, allowing your impact to be limitless. On a larger scale, a culture of delegation can lead to innovation, exploration, creativity, and more. 

To execute a culture of delegation, Emily suggests following these steps:

1. Start at the top
2. Continue to cascade
3. Use outsourced resources
4. Think whole-person
5. Create ghost seats on the Accountability Chart

Emily created a tool called the Elevated Week Worksheet, which helps team members think through the conversation of delegation; how they are spending their time, how it makes them feel, how they’d rather be spending their time, what impact they could make with the time they’ve freed up, etc. These answers help spur an effective conversation with their boss.  

How to Find the Right “Who”

Alec spoke next about why delegation is the key to scaling and growing your business. The right “who” (the right people in the right seats) means the sky’s the limit. Alec focused on how to attract and hire top candidates with the following suggestions:

1. A well-written position profile
2. Market your job posting on job boards, networking events, emails, and more
3. Compensation has to be commensurate with qualifications
4. Cultivate a strong company culture with leaders who value people

Culture has a direct impact on employee retention. A great brand with a bad culture will lead to high turnover. An easy way to increase the applicant pool is to spend a portion of your budget on your brand. 

Another way to attract applicants is to have a process. He shared VisionSpark’s proven process:

Step 1: Create a position profile

Step 2: Advertise position profile, screen candidates

Step 3: Evaluate culture fit of the top candidates

Step 4: Evaluate mental aptitudes and personality with an assessment

Step 5: Final interview & offer

Alec says that creating and following a process will make you much more successful. 

Do you have questions about finding the right “who” for the open seat in your company? Contact us!