Yaaaaay.
Say hello to #LeadWithE’ series
Super excited that I get to finally launch this here on the blog. So every other Friday, if not sooner, I would share on leadership. By virtue of the amazing church I attend, Daystar, I had been learning so much on leadership and then earlier this year, I got REALLY intentional.
My whole life has changed as a result. First, I am more self-aware, and then I submit better to leadership and finally I lead better.
So in the #LeadWithE series, I would share in really practical and vulnerable ways my lessons, pitfalls, mistakes, eye openers and more. This should really help if God has placed you in leadership capacities and you are still kinda coasting.
The goal is to make us all better leaders (some of yawl need to bookmark this), especially we the people of faith. I am doing this in obedience to my Jesus really and I truly cannot wait to see where He takes all of this.
If there is one lesson I have learned in recent times about our Father, it is that He never tells you everything. He shows you a bit, you say YES and one day you wake up and see that He was building A WHOLE EDIFICE on your simple YES. As I am here today, my biggest commitment is to always say YES
Ok, enough intro, let us jump right in.
Last week, a friend of mine visited with me and as we spoke, I told her that I had made some really poor hiring decisions recently. She was first of all shocked that I could make any bad decision lol, but hey, it is what it is.
So I run a business, and by God’s grace, we keep growing… in vision and reality.
CoachE’s FIT Empire (formerly CoachE’Squad but I am yet to make the change official)
Here, we help women get strong and fit enough to go after their God-given assignments and bring healthy back.
As a result of all that growth, I had to change my staffing from proxy/part time to full time. However, I wish that what I know now, I knew then before I even put out a flier.
I recall one of the first things I used to look out for were those who had just finished school and were either serving or yet to serve. Proximity was another factor. Based on that, when CVs came in and I would see anywhere far, I would sieve it away. I mean why inconvenience them with traffic? Lol
If I saw someone who had years of experience, even if a few, I would let it go.
If Masters? Ah, lailai. Lol. Professional degree nko? Nah nah nah. I just had such a small mind and small vision per staff. I recall being at BECOMING as a panelist and one of them had mentioned that she hires people smarter than her, and I thought oh that is good for her, but one thing I do know is that God wants me hiring people that I can also mentor, so automatically, I have to be better than you.
Then I mentioned to my mentor DDK as I was experiencing a tension that came from ‘but I need people on my team who don’t just do what I say BUT actually bring in new ideas’. In other words, I needed thinkers too, people who bring a different perspective to it, yet I also need to be able to mentor and grow them, and DDK says Nope, you can have someone BETTER than you on a specific skill yet still be a mentor figure to her, and she gave me a very practical example on someone from her team.
Phew. I really started to pray about it. Aside from having a day I pray for CoachE’Squad, I also pray for her at the 12pm prayer watch. Then clarity started to come. Plus I was also reading Nehemiah and getting all the leadership lessons from there. It dawned on me the poorness of my hiring decisions SO FAR.
Wow.
Even though I had my vision cast, I hadn’t thought to hire into that vision too.
The realization was humbling especially as my last two hires again were PRE-NYSC and one of them had to leave for NYSC just after she had gotten better and I started to trust her. Gosh, what a rude shocking lesson that taught me. The other person on the team was also pre-NYSC and in a couple months, most likely just when she gets better after all my investment, bam she has to leave,
And then another very poor decision was emotionally filling in the now vacant role with someone who was going to work part time. A full time role filled by part time staff? DISASTER!!! Again, another poor hire. And every leader KNOWS that a vacant position is way better than having incompetence fill a role.
Thankfully I not only knew the right thing to do, I had the courage to do it.
I decided to stop BOTH of them and go at my work alone. It was a hard decision especially as I was introducing the Intermittent fasting solution, a new one for the business, and at the same time, my domestic help had stopped so both on the home front and the work front, I was alone.
But I also knew that it paid me to do it alone. Plus competence was another thing. I am not sure how people don’t feel funny when less and less responsibilities are being demanded of you, or the corrections are less even if your mistakes are more. I mean, I will have to take a whole blog to discuss competence but today, let me focus on me and my poor hiring decision.
Once I stopped both, I had PEACE. Yes infinitely more work for me and I even broke down but cognitively and otherwise, I had braced up for the work so it wasn’t half as tasking and I fought through.
It also gave me an opportunity to look into all the processes, see where to simplify, cut the slack and maximize efficiency before bringing anyone else to join the team.
And then I was learning so much from Nehemiah that I was happy to be the only one to test run those lessons on before hiring.
Then I sat down and determined the CORE and VERY SPECIFIC qualities I will be looking for in my next hires. At this point, I am VERY CLEAR.
Thankfully, my business is super low on overhead so aside data, devices, salary and tax, I don’t spend much and can afford to hire those the business deserves to grow.
In fact I recall the last time I hired for roles, I had plans to pay times two of what I ended up paying and thankfully, hubby who was a part of the process was like ‘Nope, for fresh hires, you should not pay that much’ and I am SO GLAD that I didn’t cos I recall paying someone and thinking gosh she didn’t even work for half of this. Lol.
So now, as I am hiring, I am RUTHLESS in my selection. In fact the first CV that came in, I saw Masters in view, and I am like YOU BETTER. I didn’t even care how far or close you lived, the heavier the CV, the better. I didn’t come to play.
So far you can deliver with your head, heart and hands, then I CAN AFFORD YOU. I cannot afford anything less at this point. In fact I am so excited to begin interviews next week. I am so clear on what I want like I know my name, and this has come from such vision clarity I have enjoyed from God.
I discus the Craig Groeschel Leadership podcast with my friend Ezinne of SheCan Nigeria every week and this week, I purposely chose the topic HIRE HIRING and even watching it made me so angry at all my poor choices hitherto but I was happy that even before I watched it, I had already put in place what Craig was saying.
In fact Ezinne kept laughing at me cos I was hissing all through haha, and she was like babe easy na. Lol. I was so mad at me but happy to see me learn, apply and grow.
The funny thing is that I ask my friends who run businesses what they pay their staff and these ones actually come daily ooo, even from far. Yet me I will be paying almost same thing, plus transport allowance and yet be employing those with very short term prospects.
Of course, I cannot hire a pre-NYSC person anymore. That one is not even negotiable.
Like we discussed this week, even if it looks like someone is more expensive than you would love to pay, it pays to look at how the person can bring in ideas that would grow the business and revenue so the person is earning their keep and more.
I am truly ready for that. I need thinkers and people better than me who can truly make the work environment at CoachE’s FIT Empire very challenging and engaging. Not that every time I am bringing ALL THE IDEAS and all I hear is ‘Yes ma’ yet you have to follow up and even do their jobs at some point,
In fact, I recall spending like over 45mins discussing the vision and more from my newly built handbook only for one of them when I asked for questions and contributions to say please she wants to take permission to go to school for clearance soon. She had not yet lasted 2weeks but that clause of ‘leave and days off’ was all she was interested in. I was shocked.
I have heard all sorts ooo and some from incompetent people too
I had to go to the market
I had menstrual pain
I had to do housework,
People watching YouTube or reading other stuff online on company data and time
And all sorts
Anyways, I learned ooo and I take all the blame. Which is why in this new flier, I wrote we are HIRING UP. Plus we are moving houses and part of what we are considering is an extra room or BQ space for my home office. No more working from a place where we keep getting interrupted. Kai and the one house we saw that fit perfectly for my office too had security and flood issues. It pained me sha. Lol
I have moved from that small thinking level that attracted the wrong people for my vision. Now I am ready for the people the business deserves. I am ready for a true TEAM BANAH, staff like Nehemiah’s builders who said ‘Let’s get to work…’ after they hear the vision. (Nehemiah 2 v 18)
So help me God!!!
Is there anything you would love for me to talk about in these series?
Do let me know and I will see if I have something personal to share from it.
Until next time, keep leading well. In the words of Craig Groeschel, everyone wins when the leader gets better.
To your success
Eziaha