Why You Need to Develop Go-To People

In my new book, The Go-To Person’s Guide to Success , I discuss in detail the importance of a leader not being the only “go-to person” in their organization. I stress that one of a leader’s primary responsibilities is to develop other “go-to people” so the company and the team can continue to grow.Often, when I write about these people-strategy issues, the common question I hear is, “How and where do I start?”Related: Questions are the Key to Finding The Solution As I discuss in detail in the book, the starting point is with questions – specifically six of them – that you can use with your direct reports or any other level of management within your organization.

Assess each one of your direct reports, individually, against each of these 6 questions:

  • What is their #1 skill or strength; what is it that they do best?
  • Where else can they use this skill to contribute further?
  • What can I delegate to them?
  • What’s the #1 thing they could do better?
  • What action should they take to address this need?
  • What else can I teach them to help them grow?
  • I spend a good deal of time describing how to use these questions and how to evaluate and use the information collected from the answers.