3 Key Words for Leadership: Do, Develop, and Check

Most of my clients and restoration industry friends started their business just like I did.

They did it all themselves.

They were the technician, the salesperson, the bookkeeper, the email marketing person, the estimator. They did it all. And one of the things that comes along with doing it all is feeling like you're the only person who can do it.

This is something I work with clients on all the time.

I want to share three words with you: Do, Develop, and Check. Keep these in the back of your mind as you go through your day and question yourself on the topic of leadership. Leadership is a big word – a big topic. There are so many great books on leadership. This short article isn't intended to replace those leadership development classics.

But these three words will help you think about how you're going about your day.

So here they are: Do, Develop, and Check. These are three disciplines for strong leaders that are top of mind for people I know in the restoration industry and other industries, and with my most successful clients.

Do

Strong leaders shouldn't be the ones doing the tasks; they should be creating the team, leading the team, and holding the team accountable to do the tasks. But if you absolutely must do a task, always bring someone with you. This leads into the second word — DEVELOP.

Develop

Always be developing your team.

This doesn't mean that you have to do it alone. There are many resources out there for developing your restoration team, including the obvious IICRC water, fire, and mold certification courses.

Books, videos, podcasts, courses, coaches, and consultants. There are so many ways to develop yourself and your team—soft skills, technical skills, financial management skills, sales skills, management skills, leadership skills, and coaching skills. This way, your team members can develop themselves and the people who report to them, multiplying the leadership effect in your business.

Check

So often, I see people who train others or get them trained and then stop checking. A good example of this is when businesses grow, they bring in higher-level financial folks and stop looking at things themselves. This is dangerous. Or they were the ones doing all the estimating, and now they're not. They train somebody else and never look at estimates again. Are they leaving money on the table? Are they charging too much? They don't know if their method—what made them successful—is being followed.

Part of checking is accountability. A nice, simple, and elegant way to do this is to use a scorecard. Lots of authors have written on the topic of scorecards, but what I found easiest to implement and most resonant with me and my team was in "Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business" by Gino Wickman. Wickman lays out a very simple method of creating a scorecard. It’s a great way to check and hold accountable.

Recap

So, to recap: Do, Develop, and Check.

If you're going to do, make sure you bring someone along so you can develop them. Always check to ensure things are being done right and hold people accountable.

If you have any questions about any of this, don't hesitate to reach out to me.

Just keep in mind: Do, Develop, and Check. And if you're going to do, make sure you bring somebody else along.