Hey Agency Owner — are you mentoring for growth?
Agency owners are really good at a lot of things. Unfortunately, mentoring employees for growth is often not one of them. I get it -- you want self starters. You don't have time to micromanage people. You want someone who can think/behave like an owner. You know how you get employees like that? You create them. You hire smart people and then you teach them how to drive your agency's growth, your client's confidence and your AGI. None of that happens by accident. It's why you should be spending 20% of your time actively mentoring your team. So what does that look like? Everyone on your staff should have a weekly (yes weekly) one on one meeting with their supervisor. So as an agency owner -- you'd meet with your direct reports weekly. Here's what mentoring employees should look like: The employee owns the meeting. They schedule it and re-schedule it if necessary. If you're traveling -- do it by phone or Skype. The employee is expected to come to the meeting prepared. Use a form that outlines how the conversation should go -- and they should have it completed in advance and bring you a copy and one for themselves. (Email me if you want to see a sample) The meeting is 20-30 minutes long and focuses on quarterly goals and big picture progress -- not a traffic meeting. This is their opportunity to pick your brain, run ideas past you, and get your feedback. It's your opportunity to coach, ask tough questions and encourage them. This aligned beautifully with the EOS process or any system where you as an agency, department or individual are working on quarterly goals. This is your chance to hold [...]