In hiring and developing a high-performance work team, you need to understand the realms of accountability that employees fit into.

The first one is what we call the “supposed to” realm. These are employees who really want to know what their checklist is so that they can show up, do their checklist, go home, and feel confident that they’re going to have a job the next day.

The the next group is what we call the “should” realm. These are employees who they’re more interested in understanding the full dynamic of the work that they’re trying to do so that they can take into consideration all of the factors and use their good judgment so they don’t always have to be told what to do. They love producing results. It’s very exciting to them to be part of the solution.

Now the third realm is the “could” realm. These are employees who feel a sense of  obligation for the tasks like the “supposed to” folks, but they don’t feel an obligation for the outcomes like the “should” folks. What they do feel is a sense of responsibility for future possibilities. They’re naturally gonna think hard about your business and where you’re trying to take it and how they can help it get there sooner and more effectively.

Now, here’s the problem. In most organizations, you would like to  have employees who are more toward the “could” realm. But if you are the kind of manager who needs to supervise the “supposed to” people and you’re trying to manage “should” people or “could” people, you’re going to fail miserably. They’re going to hate their jobs and you’re going to think they’re totally unmanageable.

So instead of being a supervisor type, you need to learn how to be a mentor or a co-creator, somebody who can hire people who will produce tremendous value for your business, but who will also respond to your leadership style.

Now, that’s a challenge for small business owners because you don’t get to hire people very often, but it’s something you need to put a lot of thought into if you want to have your whole team pulling the sled forward instead of just, you.