This week at Superpowers, we had our third Quarterly Learning Event. We had an incredible time learning from Ryan Henry. Ryan is a certified EOS Implementor.
EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System, is “a complete set of simple concepts and practical tools that has helped thousands of entrepreneurs around the world get what they want from their businesses.”
One of our favorite takeaways from Ryan’s talk was a list of the Top Ten Don’t Do’s for Visionaries. Entrepreneurs are Visionaries at heart. This is the highest-value skill an entrepreneur brings to the table.
You can hire people who can complete tasks, crunch numbers, or manage teams, but an entrepreneur’s unique genius is in their ability to see new possibilities, build a vision around those possibilities, and get others excited about that vision.
To achieve the highest ROI for your time, you must fully engage with being the Visionary for your company. Here’s the 10 Don’t Do’s that will help you make that happen:
1. Don’t dictate.
Don’t dictate to your assistant and team what to do. Instead, open a conversation.
A Visionary needs an Implementor. An Implementor is someone who takes ideas, opportunities, and problems that you see and breaks them down into solutions that your team can address.
Instead of drive-by delegating and dumping underdeveloped tasks on your team, slow down, and create an issues list. This is something you can work through with your Implementor. Often your Implementor may be your Executive Assistant.
When you take time to break down the things in your head into actionable issues, you and your team can bounce ideas off of each other, ensuring complete understanding between all those involved.
With complete understanding and input from all parties, you can quickly go from giving an ambiguous “what if we” to an actionable plan.
2. Don’t do email.
As valuable as your inbox may seem, it’s not a high net-value activity for you. Trying to manage your inbox and work through all the emails will pull you away from the high-value vision-casting and networking you need to do.
Managing your inbox is an Executive Assistant’s expertise. They can monitor all incoming messages, filter out the unimportant emails, ensure each to-do gets delegated, and relay only the essential information you need to hear.
Something Ryan does when a client sends a long email: He has his assistant reply with, “Sounds like you want to talk to Ryan, let’s schedule an appointment…”
A quick phone call helps you get down to the root of the issue quickly and efficiently, no wasted time drafting emails back and forth.
3. Don’t do your schedule.
No more wasted time thinking through “what do we do next?” or “when do we do this?” Create your ideal weekly schedule with your assistant and stick with it. Design a schedule that creates predictability and eliminates questions.
Build the schedule to play into your unique weakness, strengths, and needs. Do you need time to be alone in the morning? Do you want a daily afternoon workout? Are you most efficient right before lunch? Put these into your schedule.
When it comes to week-by-week scheduling, your assistant will have a pre-determined context and understanding of your needs. They can schedule tasks in a way that optimizes your productivity and happiness.
4. Don’t do rocks.
As a Visionary, you need to focus your energy on working ON the company, not IN the company. If you spend your time working on these products, you lose valuable time you could be dedicating toward championing culture in your company and pushing the vision forward.
Let your Implementor and your assistant ensure these Rocks are effectively delegated and managed.
5. Don’t do weekly scorecard numbers.
Again, your place is working ON the company. Don’t get caught up with IN of your business. If you are worried about metrics and your performance in certain “in the company” tasks, you lose highly valuable time.
You also feel compelled to get these short-term, small-scope metrics right instead, losing focus on building for the future.
6. Don’t do to-do’s.
Stop offering to handle “this little thing” and “that little thing.” Let your assistant handle your schedule and to-do’s, and you can focus on creating your vision.
Your business is your baby, so it’s often hard to say no to tasks that come across your plate. Let your assistant be your task filter, ensuring you have freedom from tasks and distractions that get in your way.
7. Don’t do “in-the-business” work.
Don’t manage things. Allow your Integrator/your assistant to manage things. Do you have a COO/Chief of Staff/Executive Assistant? Let them step up and handle the day-to-day. If they need your help, they’ll ask for your help. Hire competent and trustworthy people to take the reigns.
8. Don’t be the Integrator.
When at all possible, get out of this seat. Integrator work is against your whole being as the Visionary. An Integrator has a unique set of skills that often clashes with the equally powerful skill set of a Visionary.
An Integrator is a detail-oriented person focused on the “how” of your vision. You focus on the deep work that is required in building a vision and championing it to your team and network.
9. Don’t be the assistant.
Don’t assist your assistant – they’ve got this. You’ve hired an assistant who is competent and organized. They are there to make your life easier.
If you spend your time trying to make their workload easier, you take away their ability to help you live free and do the things only you can do.
10. Don’t live in fear.
If we’re honest, most entrepreneurs would admit they have control issues. Most of us Visionaries took control of our lives and became entrepreneurs. That took a lot of courage and work.
Now, your company has grown, and you can’t control every aspect. That is great! But it’s not easy to let go.
To make the process easier, find people you can trust. Your leadership team, your Implementor, and your assistant – They need to be a good fit for you, your work style, your core values, and your vision for the future.
Compatability with your assistant is especially important. They work closer to you than anyone else on your team. If you have a new assistant, the way you find trust is to exhibit trust. Let them know that you trust them. And also, let them know, with 100% clarity and honesty, what your goals are and what obstacles you face in reaching them.
Interested in hearing more about finding your ideal assistant? Let’s discuss what you need to consider when finding the right assistant for you. Book a Discovery Call today!
