Identifying what’s keeping you stuck.

If you missed Part 2, check out last week’s email.

Today, we’re talking only about The Skill Gap.

The Skill Gap

When you don’t know how to execute the knowledge you need to accomplish your goal.

For example, I might know that YouTube ads will get me the quality and quantity of leads I need to hit my goals.

The problem is, I’ve never run a YouTube ad. I lack the skill to execute.

For example, I might know I need to hire a sales team since I do all the sales myself.

The problem is that I’ve never recruited, hired, or managed a sales team before.

For example, I know I must remove myself from running marketing to scale the business to the next stage.

The problem is, I’ve never replaced myself with someone competent that I trust.

Going through these examples, I want you to see a pattern:

Knowing what needs to happen vs. How it will be executed.

If you’re more of an executing founder, your temptation will be to do it all, but it’s a trap.

Here are the two ways to get the skills that you need.

Way 1. Learn it

Learning a skill is great, but recognize this is one of the reasons you get overwhelmed.

Because you’re scaling, you have many things you need to learn. One of the GREATEST things YOU CAN LEARN is how to replace yourself via “buying skills.” Way 2. Buy it

 

Warning: the risk when your business has money is throwing money at a problem. I did this and would change it if I could return.

If you’re “buying” the skill, you need to have obvious criteria:

1. What targeted outcome do you want?
2. Is that outcome attached to your organizational vision, goals, and mission?
3. Have you clearly defined “success” (objectives and numbers), i.e., measurable?
   

When buying skills, if you don’t have a clear vision of success and failure, you can waste a lot of time and money.

I’m sure you’ve experienced this, where you repeatedly buy skills. Ugh.

The lack of clarity is probably why.

1. Lack of clarity on what you want
2. Lack of clarity of what it looks like and if the person you are rehiring can execute
   

Buying the right skill at the right time was a significant factor in my exponential scale.

 

Filling the Skill Gap

 

Let me give you some important questions about how to fill your skill gap.

1. When do I need this skill executed?

Urgency.

This is crucial when filling the skill gap. Do I need outcome and execution now or in 6 months? Does it need to be bought? Or can it be learned?

2. What outcome do I need to execute?

For example, I need an accurate CEO dashboard with weekly reports from my departments. Ideally, I have that in the next 30 to 60 days.

 

3. Can this be done internally, or do I need an external resource?

Knowing the timing and skill level needed is vital in deciding if this can be learned (internally) or if it needs to be bought. My mistake was overloading my team with doing AND learning new skills. Also, I expect them to do it lightning-fast. Silly.

When you have a great team, hiring a skill as a bolt-on is often great. For example, you might have the manpower to implement a great tech stack and data analysis. Still, your team doesn’t know how to put together the dashboard most effectively or efficiently. Hiring this bolt-on to guide the team can be a great win. And it’s part of your job as the CEO… that is… removing barriers.

4. Who do I know?

Do you know someone who has already successfully hired out this skill OR has this skill?

Hiring the wrong person can be very costly. That’s why investing time, energy, and money into your network can help you to bring in the RIGHT skill at the RIGHT time. This is part of why I am building The Collective, a network of trusted people who are highly skilled.

5. Is this a project or process I need?

Knowing if the skill you need is project-based vs. process-based is vital in deciding if you’re buying or learning the necessary talent.

Project-based is the installment of a widget or system. Process-based is an ongoing thing that must be managed and maintained. This also can end up being both.

When I started my business, I was great at marketing. I didn’t need to buy that skill. I already learned it. As I built the team, I wasn’t skilled at leadership. I couldn’t outsource that. It was a pillar-to-scale. To scale, that would be an ongoing process that I needed to learn.

In this case, you might look at buying and learning. If I were smart, I would have hired a leadership expert (CEO coach) to help me leapfrog the gaps and traps of leading people (the wrong way). That WOULD HAVE been an intelligent thing to do. Yeah, I had coaches, but not specifically for that, nor were they good at it, lol. And if you’re scaling a biz, it’s a REALLY important skill to develop.

 

This is part of what I’m doing right now. Coaching owners and CEOs on all these things in The Collective – my growth community for founders. If you’re interested in chatting about this, let’s connect.

Application:

• Learn how to replace yourself via “buying skills.” Have clear criteria when buying skills:
• What targeted outcome do you want?
• Is that outcome attached to your organizational vision, goals, and mission?
• Have you clearly defined “success” (objectives and numbers)?
• Determine urgency when filling the skill gap
• Define the outcome you need to execute
• Determine if the skill can be done internally or if an external resource is needed.
• Consider hiring a bolt-on skill to guide the team.
• Invest time, energy, and money into your network to bring in the right skill at the right time.
• Determine if the skill needed is project-based or process-based.

Thanks for reading!

To the Overflow,

Chris

p.s. If you have any topics you want me to write about, reply and let me know your biggest challenge, and I’ll see if I can help you (and everybody else) via the newsletter.