The 4 Layers of Your Lean Dream Team

If you ever feel like you don't have autonomy in your business...

Or maybe you just want time back in your day and the ability to step away, knowing that things will continue to run smoothly without you there...

The key component is having the right team in place.

Having the right team in place is a critical component of leading a self-run and self-scaling company where everything is no longer dependent on you.

But you don’t want just any team, you want a Lean Dream Team. In today's episode of the Lean Out Your Business Podcast, I walk you through the art and science to building a high-performing lean dream team who can take your big bold vision and help make it a reality while providing a solid ROI instead of feeling like another expense in your business.

We're kicking off our 4-part series on simple sustainable scaling, starting with part 1 - looking at the four layers of your lean dream team.

Let's dive into building out your Lean Dream Team, what the 4 layers of team consist of, and how you understand who to hire next.

 With your lean dream team in place, your work week will look like this:

• Your calendar is filled with things you LOVE to do and are aligned to your zone of genius
•  You start the week inspired and can't wait to get to work
• You have enough space in your schedule for innovation
• You can log off and not have to check in until your next work day
• You're able to head out on a one month vacation and sabbatical from your business & you can be fully present and confident that nothing is going to fall apart without you
• Looking ahead to the next 90-days, you are completely certain that all tasks will get done without you having to be involved every step of the way

Tune into Episode 85 of the Lean Out Your Business Podcast or keep reading below.

Wondering How to Make This Your Reality? 

If you're team isn't giving you the freedom you hoped for when you originally hired them, it's time to re-evaluate and ask yourself the following questions:

• Did you put people in the right roles that align with their zone of genius? 
• Are you inspiring ownership and leadership within each of the individuals on your team?
• Are you promoting a company culture that you're excited to be a part of, and that your team will also be excited to be a part of? 

The "lean"  in lean dream team means hiring strategically and intentionally.

As you start to build out that team, aligning people to their strengths is key to setting them up for success. 

Hiring for the Right Role at the Right Time

When building out your lean dream team, keep in mind that you need to be hiring people for the right roles at the right time. 

The last thing you want your team to feel like is an expense. 

We spend a lot of time diving into this in our Simplify to Scale Program. This program teaches you exactly how to:

• Build out your lean dream team
• Develop your strategic hiring plan
• Create job descriptions that attract the right people who will fit in seamlessly into your company culture
• Interview like a pro so that you can choose a team that's not just right for today, but are also a good match for the future of your business 
• Tackle the task of onboarding new employees so that they're set up for success
• How to lead and manage your team to ensure that they are high-performing

Interested in joining our special 12-week cohort that kicks off September 13th? Secure your spot here!

The Four Layers of Team

1. Vision:
   • You own the vision of your business and you're responsible for aligning your team around that vision 
     
     
2. Strategy: 
   • Of all of the options that are available, what can I do to achieve my vision and make it a reality?
   • You shouldn't be crafting your strategy alone.This is the stage where you should be finding support from programs, coaches, etc.
   • Avoid cookie-cutter strategies, your strategy needs to be unique and customized to you! 
     
     
3. Strategic Execution:
   • Blending the strategy and execution and finding one person who can do both simultaneously. You'll typically be paying more of a premium for these employees because they are able to bridge the gap between vision, strategy, and execution. 
   • Types of roles: Social Media Strategists, Financial Advisors, Accountants, Marketing Strategists
     
     
4. Execution:
   • People who are rolling up your sleeves and get things done! This level still requires strategic guidance and oversight from you or someone else. Typically these roles pay the least. 
     
     

What you don't want your team to look like: a lot of people doing a little  

You don't want to be managing many individuals who are responsible for a few tasks. You want employees who are focused on doing more things within more time. 

Reflect on these questions as you're thinking about making your next strategic hire: 

• What roles are needed to help the company achieve its vision and goals? 
• Which roles are the most critical to bring in next?
•  What soft skills are important for your employees to possess?
• Is your current team performing as well as you'd like?
• What is it going to take for your employees to perform their role well and stay on top of their game?
  
  

In this episode, I dive into:

• What your business could look like with your lean dream team in place 
• Mistakes entrepreneurs make when building their team
• What a Lean Dream Team is and isn’t
• The 4 critical layers of a team
• Knowing when to hire for which roles
• Sneak peek into S2S Ops Academy 9/13