In a recent Dan Sullivan podcast, Sullivan stated that many small entrepreneurs stay small because they take on every task for every aspect of their business. Essentially, they get stuck in the “How?” mindset. They have an excellent idea and then get bogged down with the implementation details.
Conversely, small entrepreneurs that break this mold to grow into successful large companies don’t get bogged down like this because they have a “Who?” mindset. When they have an excellent idea, they ask themselves, “Who would be the best person to implement this great idea?” They spend their time finding the best person to execute on the idea and they then enable that person to be successful!
Without a doubt there are times when every entrepreneur needs to get their hands dirty and do the work needed to become or to stay viable. Bill Gates coded, Steve Jobs designed and Michael Dell assembled. However, there came a point in time where these guys realized that to remain viable they would need to find people to take on these roles so they could step up and lead their organizations.
Essentially, they were able to make the change from a How person to a Who person.
So, how do you become a “Who” leader?