Not enough good people

Great people and teams seem to be as rare as hen’s teeth

Everywhere people talk a lot about the “lack of good people” in the workplace.

Sadly, it’s true there are not enough good people.

What is also true is that you get the team you deserve.

You cannot hire good teams, you have to craft them. I don’t think that’s controversial. I’m sure most of you are nodding along so far, but this is where it might get a little uncomfortable!

Well, if you don’t have enough good people or built good teams, that’s down to you and...

What have you done about it?

Not hire. Build.

Because if you’re talking about not having good people and teams, you’ve not done enough – clearly. That’s A to B to C logic

Because hiring is just the start. What happens next is the crafting and building…that’s hard graft. It involves skills that you probably don’t excel in, because they aren’t the ones that got you to your current lofty leadership position. They are - Coaching. Mentoring. Guiding. Advising. Investing. Caring. Yes. Those ones.

Do you do them? Regularly? Consistently? Fabulously Well?

If not, then the problem isn’t the people or the Team. It’s you.

And even if you do all that coaching, mentoring, and investing stuff, here’s the hard truth:

It still might not be enough.

If you don’t do it as well the chances of having a learning culture in the business is slim. It’s words and deeds, your learning deeds, yours not theirs.

Do you visibly show how important learning and develop is?

Do you talk about articles or books you’ve read?

Do you shared posts like this with your peers?

If you’re unhappy with your team, it’s time to look deeper. Not outward to them. Inward to you.

You cannot expect people to value or devote time to improving their technical skills, their management abilities, their leadership potential and their personal growth if you don’t!

 Where are you on the happy with my team ladder?

If you’re not and you’re stuck, ask the 5 Whys. Get to the root.

Why am I unhappy with my team?

→ Because they don’t take ownership. Why don’t they take ownership?

→ Because they don’t feel empowered. Why don’t they feel empowered?

→ Because they don’t trust the system. Why don’t they trust the system?

→ Because they don’t trust leadership. Why don’t they trust leadership?

→ Because leadership hasn’t earned it.

And there it is. Square and simple.

It comes back to you…and trust me which ever route down the 5 whys you take it always comes back to you!

Don’t blame the school system. Don’t blame Gen Z.  Don’t blame remote work. Don’t blame attention spans.

You have no control over those. What you do have control over is your leadership.

Leadership isn’t a title. It’s a practice. A responsibility. A mirror.

If you want better people, be a better leader.

If you want more ownership, give more trust.

If you want more initiative, create more safety.

If you want more performance, build more clarity.

If you want more growth, model it and be it.

Be the change you want to see.

Not once. Not when it’s convenient. But daily. Relentlessly. Visibly. Habitually.

Because the team you deserve isn’t built by chance. It’s built by choice.

Your choices.

So next time you feel let down by your people or your team, ask yourself:

Have I coached them? Have I mentored them? Have I guided them? Have I invested in them? Have I built trust? Have I created clarity? Have I earned their commitment?

If the answer is yes-ish, the inescapable truth can only be, you’ve not done it well enough….start there.

Own it. Act on it. Improve how you do it.

Because good people aren’t found, unless you’re really lucky. They’re forged, created, invested in…by you.

And the workplace really doesn’t need more complaints; we have enough of those already. It needs better leaders.

Better leaders and magically there will be less complaints…sure as night follows day.

If you do get to the end of the line and a parting of the ways is the only viable option. You will find it much easier knowing you did everything in your power to make it work.

Remember 50% of your time on your people, 30% on the business (process) and 20% on tasks. Not 80% on tasks. You’ll never reach for the stars if you are constantly being dragged down doing the tasks that should be done by others.

💥CTA – Do the work what you need to do. Clue – that’s not working harder on tasks.

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