235: Minimizing the Social Overhead of Managing Teams with Charlie Gilkey
Oct 24, 2023
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Charlie Gilkey, author of Team Habits: How Small Actions Lead to Extraordinary Results, talks about minimizing the social overhead of managing teams, scaling from maker to manager, and the challenges faced by introverted owners. He also discusses the concept of VUCA environments and the importance of finding a personal balance while building a sustainable business.
Embrace the challenges of operating in VUCA environments and use them as opportunities for growth and innovation.
Recognize and honor your own strengths and needs when scaling your teams and managing people.
Address and resolve hidden costs in your business to enhance efficiency, productivity, and overall work satisfaction.
Deep dives
The Unwanted Gifts of VUCA and COVID
The podcast episode discusses how the COVID pandemic has forced organizations to adapt to volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments. It highlights the importance of accepting the unwanted gifts of VUCA and embracing change as an opportunity for growth and innovation. The episode emphasizes that change can be led by individuals and that organizations need to reimagine how they work and challenge the status quo to stay resilient and thrive in these challenging times.
The Challenges of Scaling and Managing a Team
The episode delves into the challenges faced by business owners when it comes to scaling their teams and managing people. It explores the balance between wanting to work alone and recognizing the benefits of collaborating with others. The hosts discuss the pressure to build bigger teams and become people managers, even if it does not align with one's natural inclinations or preferences. They encourage listeners to embrace their own strengths and needs, and find a business model that allows them to thrive while avoiding the stress and pitfalls of managing people if it doesn't align with their desires.
The Impact of Hidden Costs in Business
The podcast episode highlights the concept of hidden costs in business and the importance of uncovering and addressing them. It discusses how seemingly minor frustrations and inefficiencies can have a significant impact on morale, enjoyment, and productivity at work. The hosts emphasize the need to identify and resolve these hidden costs, such as broken printers, inefficient team processes, or unclear communication channels. By addressing and streamlining these areas, businesses can enhance efficiency, reduce frustration, and create a more positive and productive work environment.
Choosing the Right Constraints for Your Business
The episode explores the idea of embracing constraints in business and how they can fuel creativity and peace of mind. It encourages business owners to define the constraints they are willing to accept, considering factors such as team size, workload, and personal preferences. The hosts suggest that by aligning the business model and team structure with one's needs and wants, business owners can build a sustainable and fulfilling business that allows them to do their best work without feeling overwhelmed or constrained by external expectations.
Centering Your Needs in Building a Business
The episode concludes by urging business owners to prioritize their own needs and desires when building their business and teams. It emphasizes the importance of creating a work environment that brings joy and fulfillment, rather than feeling obligated to conform to traditional business models or scale the business for the sake of growth. The hosts encourage listeners to give themselves permission to build a business that aligns with their unique contributions, strengths, and values, allowing them to show up as their best selves and find long-term satisfaction and success.
You can calm chaos at work, but it starts with a reality check from Charlie Gilkey, delivered with his signature wit and generosity: You might not have a team problem, you have a you problem.
It’s time to stop catering to air sandwiches, Crisco watermelons, broken printers, ghost plans, and other corrosive practices, and start implementing Charlie’s finely-tuned, road-tested systems instead.
Today we’re talking about his new book Team Habits: How Small Actions Lead to Extraordinary Results. We also talk about scaling from maker to manager (and sometimes back again), accounting for those who don’t want the added social overhead of that (often due to some combination of hoarding control, people-pleasing, introversion, and empathy).
More About Charlie: Charlie Gilkey has advised hundreds of teams, from Fortune 100 companies to tiny nonprofits, through Productive Flourishing, the coaching and training company he founded. Charlie is a former Army logistics officer and near-PhD in philosophy living in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done, and today we’re talking about his new book, Team Habits: How Small Actions Lead to Extraordinary Results.
🌟 4 Key Takeaways
VUCA: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. Operating in VUCA environments can be frustrating for free timers with a “thing for control.” At the same time, the status quo “broken printers” get thrown out too—it forces us to reimagine how we work.
Shrink the scope of your world enough so that you don’t have to fix everything, everywhere, all at once. What small team habit can you examine and improve this month? i.e. Leaving five minutes at the end of meetings to capture action items and next steps.
The $300,000 speed bump: If you’re stuck getting over this revenue hump, you may need to decide whether you want to scale or not. Bigger teams have social overhead and hidden costs at work that aren’t dollarized.
DRIP: Decision, recommendation, intention, and/or plan. Take off the Chief Question Answerer hat by asking team members to come back to you with a DRIP before punting a “thoughts?” question onto your plate.
📝 Permission
Center your needs and wants into how you build your business and your teams. Build so that you want to show up and do the work.
✅ Do (or Delegate) This Next
If you’re getting overwhelmed by uncertainty, pause and ask: What are the gifts of not knowing? What constraints are you willing to accept? What permission slip do you need to give yourself to build a business that meets your needs in a sustainable way as the owner?
