How To Reduce The Risk of Reliance on Your Key Players
Every team has key players . They take us to new highs. Innovate constantly. Bring powerful personalities to the game every day (why do you think they called Gretzky “The Great One” huh?).
At some point, though, they become such a huge asset that they’re a liability. If you’re not careful, you put all your proverbial eggs in their basket. Without some deliberate planning, you’re going to end up with a big scrambled mess.
Why is reliance on these luminaries dangerous? Aren’t they the ones who got you there? Absolutely! However, over time their personality takes over the company or organization. The halo effect of that founder or “hi po” associate becomes a burning flame that, if and when it goes out, the whole organization could go dark.
This dynamic happens in both large and small companies. In large companies, these are the rising stars we come to depend on and build teams around. In smaller ventures, they’re typically the founders.
What happens though when these people quit, retire or move on to another organization? If you haven’t planned for this event, you’re in trouble. The good news is there are a few things you can do to avoid a calamity (That is such a cool word – I’m thrilled I got to use it today. Related: I’m a geek).
How can you reduce these risks? Here goes:
Build The Team Around Them
When you have an all-star founder or A-player in your organization, it’s easy to let them do everything. Why? Because they’re incredible at what they do. The problem is no one else ever gets a chance to learn and grow so they’re prepared to fill those gigantic shoes.
I hate football analogies but they’re easy. You have an all-star quarterback. If you let them take every snap and never give a backup player a single play, how is that backup going to build their skills and be ready for the big game? They’re not.
Give second and third string players a chance. Have the all-star mentor and coach them in those situations. Begin building bench strength early because you never know when a founder or A-player is going to vanish.
Plan for Their Departure
Stop right now and imagine your founder or all-star just quit. What would you do? Who’s calling your key customers? Who now reports to whom? Who takes over running those key projects? You haven’t thought about that, have you?
Create a list of major projects, customer relationships, reporting relationships, etc. and identify those that your founder or A-player is a critical part of. Then designate a “backup” for each one. Have that backup spend time regularly with your A-player. Have him or her go visit those key customers along with your key player.
Being prepared for a rapid departure of your all-star is critical. Having visibility into the major pieces of work as well as a transition plan in place at all times lessens the risk of the wheels coming off the bus when your founder or all-star leaves.
Manage Your Portfolio
These folks are superstars for a reason. They seem to have boundless energy and can manage every project, every customer, and still have time left over for tea and scones. You should be very concerned though if this individual has their fingers in everything.
Just like your 401k, you need to diversify your portfolio. Put “rules” in place that force you to rebalance key accounts every year (translation: the founder can’t be solely responsible for your top 10 client relationships). Spread projects around. Diversify diversify diversify.
Putting rules in place and looking at your business on a quarterly basis can help you ensure you don’t put too much in the hands of a single individual. This way, when they depart, the whole world doesn’t collapse when they walk out the door.
No one wants to envision a time without the founder or all-star. Reality dictates otherwise. The more deliberate you are about regularly reducing reliance on a single individual, the better off you are. Take a risk on people and build their skills (as we’ve discussed previously here). Plan for meaningful transitions. One day that A-player will indeed depart. Don’t be the one standing there holding a basket full of broken eggs.
Agreed on all counts. My Dad has always theorized that the Steeler dynasty of the 70's fell apart because they were left with Cliff Stoudt to play QB when Bradshaw finally gave out, and Stoudt had hardly ever played even in all those blowouts.
One key point, leaders need to find a way to diversify and spread tasks around while still letting their key players feel valued. Or else they might leave sooner or worse begin "underperforming." Might as well get all star value, while the all star is still around – yes?
@Jim – great point. One good way to keep them involved is assign them to be coaches, mentors, and teachers for that next generation of talent. That way, new players are getting in the game and the all-star is passing along their wisdom and feeling like they're making a big contribution to the organization's ongoing health. Plus, continue to pay them gobs of cash. That helps too…