The sudden retirement of I’ll Have Another, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, on the day before the running of the third jewel in the Triple Crown was a shocking reminder that sometimes life doesn’t go as planned. You can have everything lined up to make history and something as simple as slight swelling in a tendon can bring it all crashing down. Unlike horse racing, your success doesn’t (and shouldn’t) have to ride on a single performer. There are a few simple steps to making sure you don’t lose your stride when your “tendon swells”.
- Who are your top performers? This may seem pretty straightforward but it usually is not. There is always at least one person in the background who makes things happen. If you aren’t observant about how your team works you won’t even notice until he/she isn’t there. But at that point it is too late and you are just trying to keep the juggling balls from crashing to the ground.
- What do your top performers do? What makes them a key person? What knowledge do they have? How are they amazing? The answers to these questions will inform you as to what roles need to be picked up if that person is out or leaves.
- Who has the skills for each of those roles? Team roles aren’t like the jockey in a horse race. You don’t need one person with ALL of the skills to take over. You can have multiple people who pick up the slack. But you need to know who has the skills so they can step right into the void.
- Are the people who you expect to step up in the loop? Very often when a team is scrambling it is because the person who was expected to step in “just in case” doesn’t have the knowledge he/she needs to do so. That is like an understudy not knowing their lines because “I never go on anyway”. Sure it is annoying to keep someone up to date on a project or skills they don’t usually use. But trust me; good planning is the best way to avoid an emergency.
If you have those four things in place you are more ready for contingency than your competitors and sometimes winning means having the best plan ‘B’.
As a side note for the many high achievers out there who believe they are irreplaceable and success will never happen without them, remember this: When you’re gone your spouse, children, friends and dog will miss you. The office will just replace you.
Have a great week everybody!
Dr. Robyn Odegaard is the CEO/Owner of the speaking/consulting company Champion Performance Development, the founder of the Stop The Drama! Campaign and author of the book ‘Stop The Drama! The Ultimate Guide to Female Teams’. She specializes in showing individuals and teams how to be powerful to achieve the most from their potential. You can invite her to give one of her funny, influential, insightful presentations and inquire about her consulting services at www.ChampPerformance.com and order her book from www.StopTheDramaNow.com
Tags :Backup Plan, Belmont, business success, Champion Performance Development, Doc Robyn, I'll Have Another, Kentucky Derby, plan b, Preakness, Robyn Odegaard, Steps for Success, Team Success, Triple Crown
