Shannon Waller's Team Success

By: Shannon Waller
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  • Summary

  • Shannon Waller, author of The Team Success Handbook, has been the entrepreneurial team expert at Strategic Coach® since 1995. Shannon Waller’s Team Success podcasts are a series of insights around teamwork and success that she’s gained from working with entrepreneurs.
    TM & © 2024. All rights reserved.
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Economics Leadership Management
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Episodes
  • Why “Busy” Is A Useless Word

    Why “Busy” Is A Useless Word
    Nov 21 2024
    Have you ever noticed that the word “busy” is often used as an excuse and stops further action and progress? In this episode, Shannon Waller tackles this word that’s all too common in our vocabularies, yet is significantly unproductive. Join Shannon on this productive rant to discover why we should eliminate this word from our conversations and how we can communicate more effectively about our time and priorities. Download Episode Transcript Show Notes: The Problem With “Busy” Busy is a stop sign in conversations, offering no real information or specificity. What “Busy” Really Means When we say we’re busy, we’re often saying something isn’t a priority for us. “Busy” As A Statement Of Overwhelm Recognize busy for what it often is—a statement of feeling overwhelmed. What is truly overwhelming us? Let’s address those specific issues. The Cultural Implication Of “Busy” Society often pressures us to appear busy as a badge of honor. But being busy doesn’t equate to being productive or profitable. “A tightly scheduled entrepreneur cannot transform.” Dan Sullivan “Busy” As An Excuse Using busy as an excuse can lead to missed opportunities. Saying we’re busy may be a less-than-transparent way of avoiding things we don’t want to do. Strive for honesty and clarity in your commitments and desires. Taking Action 1. Productive, Useful Relationships When someone labels you as busy, engage in a curious and open conversation to explore why they perceive you that way. This can uncover assumptions and lead to a healthier relationship by understanding each other’s time and priorities. 2. Self-Coaching Through “Busy” Feeling busy? Coach yourself through what’s really going on and what’s overwhelming you. Then, reprioritize your commitments to align with your true values, goals, or three crucial results. 3. Communicate Transparently “That’s not a priority for me right now” is more authentic and constructive than “I’m busy.” 4. Build In Space To Connect Even if you have an “energetic,” lily pad calendar with back-to-back meetings, you can also build in buffer time to reflect, decompress, offload, and check in with people. We want to hear from you! Has this conversation about busy struck a chord with you? Do you have strategies for communicating more effectively about your time and priorities? Share your thoughts and experiences with us at questions@strategiccoach.com.
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    9 mins
  • How To Transform Your Organization’s Success With The Unique Ability® Model

    How To Transform Your Organization’s Success With The Unique Ability® Model
    Nov 7 2024
    Are you leveraging your entrepreneurial company's unique advantage? In this episode, Shannon Waller reveals how, by getting your team to focus on activities where they have both superior skill and passion, you can ensure your business is always growing, always innovating, and always multiplying its success—and eliminate boredom and stagnation for good. Download Episode Transcript Show Notes: Entrepreneurial companies have a distinct advantage over bureaucratic organizations because of their flexibility, innovative spirit, and capacity to cultivate a culture that prioritizes individual strengths and passions over conformity and rigid ways of thinking. This culture is founded on the Unique Ability® model, which consists of four levels: incompetent, competent, excellent, and unique capabilities, with unique being the most impactful. Here’s what they mean: Incompetent: These tasks are areas where team members struggle to achieve results, often leading to negative impacts. Entrepreneurial companies can minimize time spent on these activities, allowing them to concentrate on more productive endeavors. Competent: While team members may perform adequately in these areas, they often only meet minimum standards. In bureaucratic settings, employees may feel compelled to remain in this zone due to comfort and familiarity, but this does not foster growth or innovation. Excellent: At this level, team members demonstrate superior skills, leading to effective teamwork and often financial rewards. However, remaining in this zone for too long can result in stagnation, as people may become bored and less engaged. Unique: This is where the true potential lies. Areas of Unique Ability combine superior skill with passion, resulting in high energy, motivation, and creativity. Entrepreneurial companies have the opportunity to help their teams focus on these abilities, which can lead to significant competitive advantages If you want to maximize your company’s potential for success and innovation, strive to have at least 50% of your team's time spent in their Unique Ability and the other 50% on excellent abilities. It’s also important to eliminate tasks that fall under the "incompetent" category, as these activities cost your company money and limit productivity. Procrastination on certain tasks is a sign of incompetence in that area, even if the person technically has the capability to do it. To prevent team members from boredom and stagnation, move them away from merely competent tasks as quickly as possible. Be aware of the "Excellence Trap," where team members become too comfortable in their superior skills and resist moving toward their Unique Ability. It’s essential for entrepreneurs to foster a company culture that encourages and rewards Unique Ability® Teamwork, as this is where the 10x multiplier effect occurs in terms of productivity and innovation. To help shift your team members toward working in their areas of Unique Ability, it’s important to regularly engage in conversations with them about what they excel at and love doing. Even minor incompetent tasks can consume significant mental energy. Freeing team members from these tasks is essential for maximizing productivity and creativity. It’s important to create flexible systems and job descriptions that allow team members to focus on their excellent and unique capabilities, even if it means creating unconventional role structures. Resources: Unique Ability® Book: Unique Ability® 2.0: Discovery by Catherine Nomura, Julia Waller, and Shannon Waller
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    14 mins
  • Superpowered: Dismantling The Myths Of Hiring Assistants, with Steven Neuner and Ryan Cassin

    Superpowered: Dismantling The Myths Of Hiring Assistants, with Steven Neuner and Ryan Cassin
    Oct 24 2024
    Are you overwhelmed by the daily grind, in a state of “suck,” with an overflowing inbox, double bookings, and a constant feeling of putting out fires? Ever thought about hiring an assistant but not convinced it’s worth the money, time, and effort to bring one on board? In this episode of Team Success, host Shannon Waller sits down with Steven Neuner and Ryan Cassin, her co-authors of Superpowered: The Secret That Helps Every Entrepreneur Eliminate the Suck, 10x Their Impact, and Have More Fun in Work and Life. Shannon, Steven, and Ryan will shift your mindset about hiring an assistant so you can step out of the chaos and settle on nothing less than 10x growth and freedom. Download Episode Transcript Resources: Buy Superpowered: The Secret That Helps Every Entrepreneur Eliminate the Suck, 10x Their Impact, and Have More Fun in Work and Life by Shannon Waller, Steven Neuner, Ryan Cassin Sign up for the free Superpowered resources Visit Ryan and Steven at superpowershq.com Strategic Coach Show Notes: Constant State Of Suck Many entrepreneurs can end up in a “constant state of fire drill” before they decide to hire an assistant. The setup for failure: “Most entrepreneurs show up in the worst possible, least collaborative, lowest energy state to go make one of the most important, most influential, most meaningful hires they’re going to make in their business.” —Steven Neuner Mindset Shifts Required Before Hiring Steven coaches desperate entrepreneurs to shift their mindset to see hiring as an investment of time rather than an investment of money. Investing time to grow the relationship with a new assistant pays exponentially higher dividends down the road in both your business and personal life. Another important mindset shift is being courageous and vulnerable enough to let someone else see the backstage of your business. Entrepreneurial Executive Assistant This role requires the assistant to delegate and manage up, rather than the other way around. The assistant’s Unique Ability® frees you to stay in your own Unique Ability lane. Entrepreneurs must think of their assistant as a partner on their growth journey, one in which the assistant will also be growing professionally and personally. Entrepreneurial assistants, like entrepreneurs, don’t like getting bored; they will want to lead, take initiative, and be creative in areas outside of your Unique Ability. The Secret Many people think of an assistant as someone to whom they can delegate stuff they don’t want to do. The “secret” is that your assistant can be your all-around support partner who can give you superpowers and help you expand what you think is possible. The Superpowered Scale Resignation Desperation Frustration Delegation Superpowered Impact On Entrepreneur Support Partners Leveraged support partners find opportunities to respond to challenges, grow, and achieve fulfillment in parallel with their entrepreneur. Many support partners grow into new responsibilities, new roles, and new connections in the organization. With so much core institutional knowledge, they can also become coaches and trainers for new hires. Onboarding Process For Support Partners First 30 Days: Know You Second 30 Days: Understand You Third 30 Days: Anticipate You Don’t Settle For Faux Freedom Becoming Superpowered means going beyond the standard level of support to exploring a whole other dimension where 10x growth and freedom are possible. Read Superpowered: The Secret That Helps Every Entrepreneur Eliminate the Suck, 10x Their Impact, and Have More Fun in Work and Life for practical strategies on leveraging all the capabilities of an entrepreneurial executive assistant so you can expand your own freedoms.
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    1 hr and 4 mins

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