When you see "it" - move. Quickly.
An example of spotting a little something extra and how to release the reins to help fuel organizational growth (which also means bottom-line growth).
It was during an all-hands meeting that our team had. KnowCap ATL's Director of Ops (soon to be KnowCap Detroit's President) had come up with this idea for an all-hands...instead of me talking about where we are going. How about we let some of the people, most bought into our mission, lead an hour-long Q&A session.
You would think this is where it stops, right? I saw "it" in Erin and then we moved to promote her. Well yes and no. I saw "it" in her a year ago.
I had received an offer to be a key employee at one of the hottest e-commerce startups in the country. It forced me to supplant my work ethic from KnowCap to Elliot. After I came back into the fold two months later, I realized that not every ball had dropped. Someone had kept it all together - it was Erin. I had to make sure she was here for as long as I could keep her.
That's a digression, but not one without meaning. That's the first person at KnowCap where I did exactly what this title represents, I saw "it" and then I moved...quickly.
Back to the story.
When you see "it"
At this quarterly event that, Erin had come up with, a team member revealed that another had been meeting with all new team members and just talking to them. We have struggled to build a consistent culture to the fact our current fundraising constraints have forced a transient team. This stood out to me and I began furiously taking notes on the experience and feelings about this team member. A key point I underlined was that they felt like they "belonged."
The team member who had made this overture of companionship had recently been brought on and was only operating as they thought best. Little did they know. No one else was doing this. This struck me. Was this "it?"
On its own...no. However, we used to use a check-in app that allowed us to perform asynchronous standups. During this team member's second week they reached out, publicly, and asked if anyone else had issues with the software. Two people responded affirmatively. Then I stepped in and asked everyone to respond. Turns out that the software had been messed up for over three weeks. I noted it then as an "it" moment.
Combined with what we heard at the all-hands, this team member had made two unprompted moves that ended up improving our operations. We have since implemented org-level changes based on this new team member's willingness to be wrong, yet wanting to help. It even inspired an internal engagement program called KnowCap Flightpaths.
move.
So I checked in with my Directors to make sure I was seeing things properly. Then I made a plan. It was loose, but it was basically to see if that team member wanted to be CEO of one of our internal products.
There would of course be milestones. Targets to hit. Training to be done. But I wanted to make sure that they would be interested in sticking around long-term - for when capital isn't making us fight with an arm tied behind our backs.
Quickly.
We had a great conversation today and it made me realize that this was 100% the right decision. In actuality, I believe they may be a better leader than I am when it's said and done.
Now it's time to move and continue striking while the iron is hot. We need to get them on a growth pathway so that the next time I see "it", I'm not so focused on getting them set up that I miss an opportunity to "move. Quickly."