Hello. Hello. Welcome back to the podcast. Today we're talking about something a little bit different, more along the lines of strategic leadership. And it comes from a recent conversation that I was having with one of my liberated leaders on our weekly hot seat call. And we have been working with her team on some strategy work, talking to them about, who they serve, who our ideal client was and really starting to view themselves as a service function.
And she came to the call this week and she said. My team doesn't see themselves as a service function. It was a shock to them that I said that. In fact, even their partner team, so they have a team in that does the same sort of function, but for a different side of the business. They don't see themselves as a service function either.
And it absolutely blew her mind. But this did not surprise me at all because most of the times when I'm working with teams on strategy work. It is so wild that when we have this conversation around who do we serve who are, who is our ideal customer, and how do we serve them? There's often disagreement amongst the team.
You would think it would be so obvious, but just in having the conversation that's not the case. And if we don't even have alignment on who we exist to serve and how we serve them, then of course our team's not gonna be able to step up and be self-managed and be empowered because they don't even know what we're trying to do here.
We're not even in alignment with the things that we're doing on a day-to-day basis. But to what end? But to why? We're not even aligned there at that basic fundamental level. So of course they can't step up and own it because they don't even know what we're trying to own, or there's not alignment on it.
So that's exactly what we're going to dig in deeper today. And so let's talk a little bit about her team, so her team. Is a controllership function. And when we dug in deeper to, okay, if your team doesn't think they're a service function, what do they see themselves as? And this is what I see most teams thinking of themselves as.
And that is, we just exist to exist. We it, we are in her case, an enforcer. We are in a lot of other people's case. We're just this, thing that you have to use. You have to go through us as the finance department. You have to use us as the learning team. You have to use us as the HR partner.
We operate from this place of we exist. And therefore we deserve to be utilized. We make an impact or add value simply by being our function, simply by showing up and running our processes day in and day out. And the problem with viewing your function. In this way as simply a function that exists to exist is that one, it's freaking uninspiring for your team because what is the work that they are doing day in and day out, adding up?
To what end? Are they doing this work if we aren't doing it in service of someone or something? Then we're just telling them they need to show up each day. Work hard to essentially run on a hamster wheel. We're not moving closer to anything. We're not trying to make an impact on anyone. Nothing will be different because of the work that we're doing.
You just gotta do the work. How freaking uninspiring is that? Like I don't wanna be on a team like that. I wouldn't feel excited to get out of bed and head into an office just to keep on doing, the same old thing day in and day out. And it not having any measurable impact on anyone or anything.
We as humans crave purpose. We crave the ability to make a difference. And so if the work that we're doing day in and day out, our function just exists to exist, then that doesn't give us a sense of purpose. And that is why. And it's interesting because this is one of the things that we talked about with her team is she had a lot of tenured folks, and this is why we see these teams with more tenured folks checked out.
Because, usually they come in excited, we're gonna do something different, we're gonna make it better, blah, blah, blah. And then they get into you year 2, 3, 4, 5, and it's just we're doing the same old shit. Here we are, see different years, same thing. Nothing's really changing.
We don't really get see any impact or anything like that from it. It's just we show up, we do the work, we leave. And they fall into this pattern, not because of them as individuals and their lack of motivation, but it's because they've been running on the hamster wheel for the past five years, and we haven't given them any inspiring vision, any inspiring purpose to work towards.
So if you have a team that's in this place of they're lacking motivation, they're lacking inspiration, they're just going through the motions, stop looking at them and start looking at you and the vision that you're casting for them. Have we given them a purpose? Have we given them a reason?
Have we given them something that the work that they're doing day in and day out is driving towards? Have we given them a purpose behind our function, a reason for it existing? Or have we simply said we show up and we do this because that's what we've been told to do. That's what our function was created to do.
So we just gotta do it. 'cause I sure as hell don't wanna follow that. That's not inspiring to me. So number one issue with just viewing your function as simply a function is that it's uninspiring for your team. The second issue that I see with operating this way is that we get lazy. I'm just gonna use the word lazy.
I know that's gonna be triggering for people. I'm just gonna use it. We get lazy. We just get used to the status quo about the way things have always been, and we're okay with them being that way because guess what? We're the function, we're the one you have to go to. We, it's like essentially when we have these internal functions, I don't care if it's a service function or a product function, and we'll talk about the difference between those two here in a minute.
If we're the only one who does it, we have a monopoly within the company because we are the learning department. And so we get to operate whatever way we want. We don't have to push ourselves, we don't have to, stretch ourselves. We don't have to innovate, we don't have to push ourselves to do things better, faster, easier, whatever for our clients.
We just do. And what happens is we get lazy. We don't push ourselves to innovate. We don't push ourselves to grow. We are okay with the status quo. We're okay with continuing to do things the exact way we've done because we have a monopoly. We don't have any competition. They have to use us. We're the internal department they have to go to.
So because we don't have any competition, because we see ourselves as a necessity just by existing. We lack that drive, that push to do things differently, to do things better, to do things, easier for those we serve. There's no incentive to challenge the status quo. Why would we change if what we're doing is getting the, like bare minimum results of why our function exists, why change?
'cause we own the monopoly. And it isn't until people start to create shadow functions or stop using you or start trying to get funding for external consultants, do we suddenly go oh my gosh, how dare they? They have to use us. And it's so interesting to me how suddenly we get so offended. And we've gotta shut down those shadow functions.
Like they can't do that. We've got to mandate that they use us and I'm like, bullshit. No. Coming from someone whose entire background is an org design and who understands why, or shadow functions are so horrible for an organization, but on many levels, no. Because they're creating a function because they're not getting what they need from you, and that's not a them problem.
That's an US problem. Yeah, we're getting spicy. We're gonna trigger some people here. And I'm saying this because this I know you and your team is capable of more, and I know you wanna be seen as that strategic leader, that influencer, that team that's making such a freaking impact that everyone is like dying to have your team in their meetings on their projects.
I know that's what you want and so this is what you need to hear. If people are creating shadow functions or working around your team or suddenly not inviting your team into things, that's not a them problem. That's a you problem, and we need to look inwards to our team and say, what about how we're serving them needs to be improved?
How can we do it better, faster, easier? Because they don't have to use us. We like to think that we are the only one they can go to, but they have other options and we can't get lazy. And then the third issue that comes with viewing our functions as simply a function versus providing a service or a product, is that it's incredibly hard to show value.
I. We saw, particularly in the past couple of years, a lot of companies coming out with layoffs. And I specifically think and often refer to the Spotify example about where they came out and they said, we have a lot of functions. That are dedicated to supporting work or even doing work around the work rather than contributing to driving real impact.
And that is exactly what happens when we view ourselves as a function that just gets to exist. Is it's very easy to get caught up in doing busy work. In doing work that's not value. Add the low value work because we just exist to exist. So everything seems important, so everything needs our attention.
And we get distracted instead of hyper fixating on how does our one function add unique value? Who do we exist to serve? How can we solve their biggest problem? How can we make an impact on them? And focusing on that, on impact versus just what are the, we have to run these processes because we've always done them.
We have to create this deliverable 'cause we've always done it. We have to hold these meetings because we've always had 'em. We get used to just operating the way we always have and just simply, it's like we're running a machine. Just show up each day and run the machine, and if the machine starts to break down, just slap some duct tape on it and keep going.
Don't question it. Just keep going. I don't care what you know, the value, I don't care the impact. Our only job is to keep this machine running and we never stop to question. Is the machine producing what we really need it to is the machine creating the impact That's really driving a change in the business that's really adding value to someone.
We just show up and keep pouring into that machine day in and day out. If you can't tell me what will be different at the end of this year because your team existed and know it's not something like super fluffy. Like everyone, every department will have a budget. Cool. That's table stakes. I, as the leader of my department, can develop my own budget.
I don't really need you. So truly, how will you add unique value and how will this business, your customer be different because your team existed this year. What impact will you make? What will have changed? What metric will change because your team existed this year? What value are you providing? If you can't answer that question, if it's just, we're gonna show up this year, we're gonna do our best to keep on doing what we've been doing.
Then of course. We're going to struggle to communicate the impact of our team. Of course, we're not gonna be getting the headcount, the budgeting, the resourcing that we're requesting because we're not showing that we're worth the investment. Imagine sh watching an episode of Shark Tank and somebody walking up and being like, I want you to give me X amount of dollars.
Because I'm sitting here doing, producing this deliverable for everyone every, week. Cool. But what value does it provide? What's different because of it? What does it unlock for those people? What impact does it make? How does it drive the business forward? I'm not just gonna give you head count and resourcing because you're like, we're really busy.
Everyone's really busy. Spoiler alert. Literally ask five people how you're doing today in the office or on Slack. I guarantee you they're gonna say something like, just busy. Feeling real busy. Good but busy, like everyone's busy just because your team is busy. Just because your team has too much on work on their plate.
Just because they're drowning doesn't mean that you deserve headcount or resourcing or that new tool. Everyone's busy. Yeah, but if the busyness isn't creating an impact, if the busyness isn't adding value, if the busyness isn't solving a problem, if the business or the busyness isn't driving the business forward, then of course you don't have a case for your function to be invested in.
Just because you're busy does not mean you deserve the resourcing. Oh, y'all. We are going, we're getting in. We're getting spicy today. We're getting spicy today. So if you want your function to be invested in, we have to go beyond just operating as a function. If you want your team to be inspired by the work they do, we have to go beyond operating simply as a function, and instead we need to be operating as a business.
Every single function within your company is a small business. That's what I want you to be thinking of you as the, marketing department. I want you to view yourself as a full service marketing agency. You, as the ops team, I want you to view yourself as maybe like an independent logistics company.
You as the finance team, I want you to view yourself as a strategic advisory firm. There is no more, we are just the finance department. We are now this small business within this broader company that exists to provide a service or a product to someone. And you as the leader are no, no longer just this leader who's, managing people or work you are a CEO.
You are a strategist. Your goal is to amplify the value your team provides. Gosh, if just leaders made that one shift, if we just started thinking of ourselves as business owners, as many CEOs, and just got out of the bullshit of over micromanaging people and work like the difference that would happen within businesses would be insane.
I could literally go on a rant about this. We have watered down leadership significantly. We have made leaders just really well paid managers. They, 'cause they do not know how to get results without being in the work. And therefore, we, they do not have time for strategy, for innovation, for influencing because they have to be in the work to push it forward.
And so all of that gets watered down or it gets outsourced. We water down strategy to setting smart goals once a year. Or we just create some, one strategy function. Some person who's like a strategy, PMO, whatever, and we outsource it to them. Leaders don't even do that anymore. Leaders have, we've watered down that role so significantly.
Okay. I'm gonna stop myself 'cause I will go on a whole nother podcast episode of that. I want you to stop thinking of yourself as I just lead this function to, I am a business owner and as a business owner, your business will not survive unless you provide value. You can't just go in front of your consumer and say, Hey, we're working really hard.
Pay us. They'd be like, no, what? What's in it for me? I. And that's what you are doing right now. If you are not seeing yourself as a provider of a service or a product and know there might not be exchanging monetary value, but you are asking for their time, their focus, when ask them to complete that budget, you are distracting them.
You are taking up their time that they could be committing to their own work. So there is an exchange happening. I. We have to make it worth it. So in starting to think about your company or your company, woo, your function as a business, the first thing that we have to get clear on is who do we serve? Who does our work support?
Who at the end of the day, if everyone on our team won the lottery tomorrow and walked out the door, who would feel the impact the most? And of course, we are not doing this brainstorming this alone by ourselves as leaders, we're gonna be bringing our team into this. So in your, team meeting this week or if you want to, hold like a separate little 45 minute.
Workshop on this and the following questions I'm about to go over, that's great too. But we're doing this with our team because by simply defining this and then pushing it on our team immediately is going to feel disconnect from this. They can't own what they didn't help create. So we're having this conversation with our team.
Ask them those questions, give them all a pad of sticky notes and have them write down who they think you guys serve. Write their answer down on a sticky note and then app, the count of three. I'll reveal it, put 'em up on the wall and see the different groupings. So for some of you guys, you serve the end user, the end customer, you're an operations department and you are serving the, whoever's receiving that product.
Or maybe you're a digital team. I. And you are creating the product that end consumer is using. But for others, you guys are serving an internal customer. So you're serving other departments. You are serving the employee, you are serving, a member of the leadership team. Now can your work.
Impact multiple people. Yes, sure. But I want you to get clear on the number one ideal customer for your function. So let me give you an example. So in my corporate days, I was on the org effectiveness function. So our team was an internal consulting team. And we supported other departments in doing transformation efforts.
Org, design shifts, things like that. So we had the same conversation and there was a lot of disagreement around who we served. Did we serve the leader? Did we serve the teams, under the leader that we are helping transform. Or did we serve the HR business partner, who we often, that, that was the person who brought the project to us, and we often worked alongside, but when we pushed ourselves to say, truly at the end of the day who or we providing the service to.
And oftentimes it's really helpful to think about if you, if that person went external. Who would be the one bringing in this resource? For example, if, there was a team that was struggling, that wanted to go through a redesign process, who would be the person going out and searching for a solution to that?
Would it be the people on the team maybe, but they're not gonna be the one who's eventually like hiring the consultant. Would it be the HR business partner? Maybe. But again, it's not coming out of, their budget to support it. It's the leader's, the one who has the need, the leader's, the one who would go out and find and select and eventually hire the person to solve that problem.
And therefore, the leader is our ideal customer. Does our work impact the HR business partner? Yes. Does our work impact the employees on the team? Hell yes, but our ideal customer, the person that we serve is the leader. So that is our customer. That is our consumer. So step one is getting clear on who do you serve, and I want you to pick the one we're going to focus on the one.
And how we can best serve them. Because if we started talking about the needs and how we could serve the HR business partner and the employee, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, now we're spreading ourselves too thin. We're trying to be everyone to every, or we're trying to be everything to everyone. And when you end up in that place, the all star, the utility player, I'm gonna be honest, utility players are a dime a dozen.
I can get executors all day long. What's hard to get is people who are niche, who are really true experts, thought leaders add unique value that no one else can provide. That's what we wanna do. So we wanna get very clear on who we serve, and then the next thing we wanna do is we want to be so obsessed with them.
So this is where I think us who are in more service-based functions can take a play or a note. What is that phrase? A note out of the playbook of those who are more product-based organizations like, tech engineering teams or product teams or things like even operations teams.
They obsess over their customers. They obsess over customer satisfaction customer lifetime value. Are they loving the product? Are they not feedback? They're so obsessed about that, and it drives, what they do, how they shift their product, what features they offer, what they try to improve on.
In service our organizations historically, I see we don't obsess over our customers. Instead, we obsess over what we think is right, what's best for what, what we think needs to happen. But it doesn't matter if I sit there as the org effectiveness function, or I'm gonna give you a better example. I see a lot the project management function.
We obsess over, the PMP, which is like the project management process and certification, and you have to do it this way and buy this book and blah, blah, blah. Guess what? Your customers don't give a shit. They just don't like, it's helpful. Yes. But if it's not providing them value, if it's slowing them down, if it's frustrating them, they're not gonna use your function.
They're just gonna go around you. I. So we have to get better about obsessing over our customer. What do they need? What do they value? What is the gap that we're trying to help them solve? What is the number one problem that they have to that's preventing them from excelling in their own work? And how can we solve that function?
What do they need? So after you've talked to your team about who do we serve, I want you to again hand them those sticky notes and say, what does that customer need? What would allow them to get better at their job? Or in their team, what is their biggest problems, their biggest pain points, their biggest frustrations?
What keeps them up at night? What's that problem that no one has been able to figure out? And again, have them rapid fire off sticky notes of what they need. And then the third question we need to ask is we need to ask who else can support them in achieving these needs? Because while we don't think we have competitors when we're an internal function, we do, and again, this is a lot easier for us who are in product based organizations because we directly support the end consumer and we can see who are competition is much more easily.
We can see as the operations function, if they go with us, who the different competitors are and are they providing that service better, faster, easier. Same with product development or tech or whatever it may be. But for our service organizations, again, we think we're the only option. We're the internal marketing department.
They have to come to us. Do they? Or could they hire an external consultant or could they build a shadow function or could they just do it themselves and go around you? Could they use automation or Chad, GPT? These are your competitors, whether you like to admit it or not. They exist and they're an alternative option for meeting their needs.
And just like I gave with that project management example. Sure I can go to you, but if it's faster for me to just go ahead and assign somebody on my team to manage that project and we'll get, a result and maybe it's not as perfect or as structured as you would've done it, but we still get the same result 10 times faster, then heck yeah, I'm probably gonna go with that option.
So get clear about where else can they go to solve these needs. Who are your competitors and what do they offer? So if there's an external, consultant that could provide these needs, what do they offer? If there's, a shadow function, what could that shadow function offer? Because there's benefits to using a shadow function.
They don't have to get on a wait list. They don't have to share. That resource with, 12 other departments, there are benefits and you need to be aware of what those benefits are. So go ahead and next, have your team say, where else can they get these needs solved? And what is the benefit of using those alternative resources?
And then the final question I want you to ask your team is, what can only you do? What is the value that they get with work for working with you that they can't get anywhere else? What is your differentiator? What is your niche? That right there is what makes or breaks businesses is the people who have this unique hold on the market.
We have this, if we talk about weight loss companies, if somebody can allow you to lose weight faster with less effort, then yeah, people are likely gonna be drawn to that business, to that opportunity. Because they offer you unique value. You get to do it faster with less effort. So they beat out the competition.
For my product-based organizations. Again, this one's a little bit easier for you guys if there's a product that is similar to the product that you offer, but it's easier to use, it's cheaper than, okay, they're gonna go with that. Why would they choose you? I was just having this conversation with one of my leaders and liberated leader the other day.
I. So without getting specific into exactly the industry he's in, he is a, his function, his company sells a product and his function within that company is he does the parts, so replacement parts and also servicing these products. And we were talking about in today's economy and everything going on, people can get that product from say, an Amazon faster and cheaper than what they can get from their company. So what is the differentiator for them and specifically the differentiator that his team can provide? And we talked about how. When I purchase from Amazon, I expect fast and I expect cheap. What I don't expect is, stellar service or people to go above and beyond to if I have a problem or anything like that.
That's not what we know. Purchasing things off of Amazon. A lot of the times when I get things off of Amazon, I'm like, Ooh, is it gonna be what it says it's gonna be or not? It's a little bit of a gamble. I'm just looking for fast and cheap. The differentiator for him and particularly for his function, is, yes, you might pay a little bit more.
Yes, it might be a little bit slower, you are getting personalized service that you can't get anywhere else. You know that when you pick up the phone and you're having a product or a an issue with the product, we're gonna be on the other end of the line. We know you we care for you. We deeply care about your service and your experience.
So you're paying and you're taking a little bit of a slower delivery rate, but you are doing it for that customer service and for a purchase that is a hefty price tag, which is what they offer, then heck yeah, I'm going to choose that option. That's their differentiator. And so he and his team, we built his strategy about how can we, push that brand, that identity, that differentiator, and imagine the value he's going to bring to his company and the impact he's going to be able to show.
That's strategy, that's strategic leadership. That's thinking through the lens of being a business within a company. The same thing, pro the same thing happens for our service provider teams. What's your differentiator? I don't care if you're the HR business partner team, it. I don't have to use you. Why should I use you?
Why should I give you a seat at the table? Why should I come consult you about this HR issue I'm having? Why can't I just do it myself? I don't care that you're the finance partner. Why should I use you? Why? What value are you giving me that I can't have? So many times leaders come to me and say, we're not getting invited to the table.
We're not, being consulted on issues. We're being brought in too late. Okay. Then look, inwards show the value that they can't get anywhere else by including you. Show why you deserve to be at the table. Not 'cause you're just gonna sit there, but because you offer unique advisement, you offer the ability to spot gaps and barriers that they could have never done on themselves.
You add value, you don't just get a seat at the table because your function exists. You have to earn it. You have to add value, you have to add thought leadership. You have to be a strategic advisor who we're preaching. Just because your function exists does not mean you deserve the seat at the table.
Does not mean you deserve to be utilized by others. You have to add value. You're asking them to exchange their time, their energy, their focus for you to provide them a service or a product, and that exchange has to add value or they're going to go around you, or they're no longer going to see the impact of your function and why it exists, or they're not going to give you the budget, the resourcing that you are requesting.
Broad executors are a dime a dozen. The people who get shit done dime a dozen, the people who add unique value that no one else can now that I'm gonna pay attention to now, that I'm gonna want at my table, now that I'm going to be giving budgeting headcount resourcing too, because I see the value they're adding.
So get clear. On what you do that they can't get anywhere else? Do you connect dots that they can't get anywhere else? Do you have, sure you can go out to an external finance or do it yourself financing. But guess what? I understand what's coming down the pipeline finance wise. I know when there's a hiring freeze coming, I know when there's gonna be a budget cut coming and I know how different departments are handling it.
I know how you can leverage, a purchase that another department just made for the needs you have. That's something they can't get anywhere else. That's unique value. And that's what we need to be obsessing about. Too often we try to be everything to everyone. If I was that finance department and my unique value was that right there, that strategic advisory that's really niche and specific to the company that we operate in, why the hell am I obsessing over, data cutting 17,000 dashboards for you?
That's not the unique value I provide. Sure it's a bonus, but that's, you could get that on your own. You could get that from an automated tool. You can get that other places. It doesn't mean that I shouldn't provide that. Sure. But should that be my number one focus? Should that be the thing that I'm investing in?
Should that be, me pouring a ton of resources in at the expense of me developing that strategic advisory skills? No. Hone in on your unique value, and that's where you focus. Strengthening that, becoming known for that. Having people, every single time they talk about your team, that's the thing that comes out of their mouth.
And all of that other stuff. That's just a nice to have and once you hone your craft, sure. Then that's when we talk about expanding our business, just like we would in a small business, to offering a second product, a second service. But only until we become known and we gain value and recognition for the one thing, we're already over time.
And I could go into a whole nother episode about that. So if you guys are interested in continuing the conversation about the strategic thinking and how to truly, think about your function as a business and operating a as such, either one jump inside liberated leader 'cause we're having these conversations every single day.
And how to get your team into that place, or DM me and let's chat about it in the dms and we can let me know you want more podcast episodes like this and I can definitely do that. Okay, as we're wrapping up, one more thing that I wanted to share with you guys, if you haven't seen it on my stories, is I just dropped an insanely helpful free resource for you, and that is going to be the self-managed team audit and guide.
It's 1000% free. So all you've got to do is I'm gonna drop the link below. And this is for you. If you are like, I need to get outta the weeds. I want to be having conversations like this to thinking about things like this, but I am so ingrained in the day to day, I just don't have the time or mental capacity.
You need to go grab this audit. What it does is it ranks your team against the four core elements of a self-managed, empowered team that. Is able to execute from strategy through to execution without you being in the weeds. So it tells you exactly where your biggest gap is, that you need to focus on improving, to building that self-managed team that operates without you in the weeds.
And then I give you a guide based off of your biggest gap. Of exactly the next step you need to take to actually implement a shift in your team. So I'm going to help you take one step in improving that in your team this week, and I give you step by step. For some, it's here's a workshop and a facilitation guide that you're going to go take your team through.
For some, it's a tool or a template. Depending on what your biggest gap is, but you will be able to go from, I've got a clear understanding of where my gap is that's keeping me in the weeds, and I took the first step in improving that this week. So I'm gonna drop that audit and the link to the guide below.
Go take it, DM me. If you have any questions, comments, or you just wanna talk through how it went, I'd love to hear from you. Let's go do some work.
