Right Person + Right Seat = Win:Win

When we have the right person in the right seat within our organization, it is a win:win; for both, the employer and the employee! It sounds so simple, yet often businesses struggle to achieve this. What would it look and feel like within your business if your team achieved this? Striving to have all the right people in the right seats is mindset and is what I find it to be one of the core elements to building high performing successful teams. There are many teams on your farm, from maternity to cropping, feeding to milking, accounting to social marketing.

In fact, the focus to have the right people in the right seats in your business starts when you are recruiting and interviewing candidates. Why, might you ask? Onboarding and training take time, cost money, and if the person is not a fit can lead to turnover early on in their employment with you. Take the time during your recruiting and interview to evaluate the elements of head, heart, and capacity.

• Head – (skills, talent, knowledge, experience) What are skills and talents that the person needs to successfully complete their job? Do they have the technical knowledge and practical experience that you are seeking? Are they willing to learn and grow plus evolve and adapt to changes?
• Heart – (passion, drive, desire) Does this person have the passion for the role they are in? Is the role that they are applying for something they want (not need) to do? Will this person bring new and innovative ideas? Do you believe that this person will be “all in” and willing to do what it takes because this is what they love to do?
• Capacity – (time) Does the person have the time to do the tasks that are being asked? Can they meet the expectations of the role description? Keep in mind, this element is one that the employer needs to closely evaluate the role description, responsibilities and tasks required. Is it possible for someone to do all that you are asking of them in the allotted time?

As an example, you may be looking to increase your social media presence for your business. To date, either you and/or another member of the team have created posts sporadically. Both of you have other primary roles so it is not top priority, and it gets done…when there is time. The desire though, is to increase your overall social media presence so that your business can amplify telling your story, share content to educate, and increase your overall public relations. To fulfill on this goal, it requires focus and a plan. As leaders, it is important to pause and ask ourselves, do we have the right person in the right seat? If not, what is missing of the three elements? In this example, time is the main limiting factor. The role should be filled with someone who has the skills and talent (head), desire and passion (heart), and time (capacity) to do this if you truly want to meet your business goals. Having the right person in the right seat, creates a win:win for you and for the person on your team.