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The Secret to a High Performing Team

29m 5s

The Secret to a High Performing Team

The podcast emphasizes that most business owners overestimate their team relationships because they lack consistent, structured conversations. Without regular check-ins, problems remain hidden, frustration builds, good employees leave unexpectedly, and performance declines without clear causes. To address this, the hosts advocate for the "20," a 20-minute weekly one-on-one meeting between each employee and their direct manager. They stress that weekly frequency is critical—less frequent meetings become longer and less effective, failing to build the trust and momentum needed for meaningful dialogue. The 20 is structured around five key areas: wins (to start positively and encourage reflection), challenges and focuses (for development and problem-solving), KPIs (to track performance and set expectations), weekly goals, and two-way feedback. This rhythm prevents surprises, aligns expectations, and fosters a culture of engagement and growth. The hosts argue that investing this small amount of time weekly is far less costly than dealing with the fallout from poor communication, such as resignations, conflicts, and disengagement. Ultimately, the 20 transforms leadership from reactive firefighting to proactive coaching, helping teams feel heard, valued, and motivated, which is essential for scaling a successful business.

Transcription

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Welcome to the profitable trading podcast Tony Fraser Jones your host here with my good mate other host Phil Smith He doing sir. Yeah good good other host coming in ready well Mr. Smith What are we into today Mr. Smith? We're talking about how most business owners think they've got a really good relationship Would their team but they're not actually having consistent and structured conversations and you know Few things can go wrong there like problems stay hidden frustration builds quietly good stuff leave unexpectedly and Performance drops and no one really knows why and so that's the you know stopping the bad Stuff the real juices you actually never get the best out of your team You never really get them engaged and motivated and understand you know what makes them tick So you know guessing instead of leading and I think that's a really dangerous place to be And what we've seen is if you don't have your finger on the pulse then you you can let see you said get blindsided by issues That have been building for months and you're like wow, I never saw that happening It's like the guy who's wife Lee's I mean I never knew that was you know, I'd never saw it coming. It's like bro It's been happening for years. Yeah, it's been happening for years. You like being telling you that's right You weren't really reading the signs and I think that happens in the employment our relationship as well Yeah, absolutely this kind of reminds me that blockbuster chat that you were having the other day Yeah, good old blockbuster. I mean in the early 2000s blockbuster was like the absolute king of movie rentals I think they had 9000 stores billions of revenue. They were absolutely dominant No one could actually see a world in which they weren't you know going to be the king Yeah, I remember there's a blockbuster on every corner. There was it's got something blockbuster Friday night Yeah, there's no blockbusters anymore Along came net that fix they had posting DVDs to people's homes and it sort of kicked off We know where netflix went now netflix actually approached blockbuster and offered to partner or even sell to them for about 50 million in blockbuster Just laughed them out of the room Well, you know because they weren't actually understanding what was going on They didn't have the perspective. You know all their stores were busy everything seemed okay, but underneath People were frustrated there were late fees the inconvenience of going to stores the limited availability of titles And netflix actually sold all of that stuff. So you know blockbusters didn't say it coming They didn't do anything about it and obviously we know what happened it blew up netflix, you know dominates and The worlds are very different place and this similar thing can happen with your team you think it's all good You don't understand what their real issues are because you're not actually looking and spending the time to understand the situation And things can go wrong real bad real quick. Yeah, well let's talk about some of the things that can go wrong Well, I think you get blindsided by resignations. This is this is tough as a business only you you think things are good and you you have that Oh, so I just need to catch up with you this afternoon. You know what it is you got that sick feeling in your stomach It's like this can't be good. Yeah, well whenever you get a text message it says can we talk? Yeah, like I don't care what relationship But it's can we talk is not a good idea is this this something's gonna be bad? So by the way, bro, can we talk we can here? I'm quite excited. I'm quite excited about that. Yeah, there's a bad news You know and if you don't do this well small issues turn into big conflicts team members disengage You assume everything's fine when it's not productivity drops and You get frustrated too because you people aren't performing so they're frustrated. You're frustrated It's kind of like you're flying blind. You don't really know what's going on in the relationship, which is guesswork Yeah, makes things tough man Whereas on the other hand, you know if we can actually do this right and and start to do things a bit differently check And with the you know the team a bit more and do it in a structured way a lot of upside You catch issues early before they cost your money your team feels heard valued and motivated And I think that's very important. They're more engaged you build real trust You know, I'll just surface like oh yeah, we kind of have a beer and a pizza It's like you actually get to know them as people they feel heard and understood. I think that's important as a leader Performance improves you can set clearer expectations You can coach people you know in real time You develop future leaders in your business as well, which is which is really cool You build a team in a culture where people want to stay they want to grow with you and they're really excited about the opportunity So you go from sort of firefighting to really proactive leadership Which is a key to growing and scaling a successful Contracting home services or trade business. Yeah, 100% and I think in this case You know we're talking about a session that we run with our team called the 20 But there's going to be a lot of people listening that they don't know what the 20 years so let's unpack that yeah So the 20 is really a structured 20 minute one-on-one conversation that you have with each team member on a regular basis and preferably weekly is best Yeah, you know because 20 minutes a week is not a lot to ask for a good employee and it's a it's a nice structured check-in that's scheduled Because it keeps communication consistent It allows you to surface those issues you can build trust over time and track performance and it's very proactive so that's really the What the 20 is it's a it's a structured one-on-one communication rhythm that's scheduled that happens consistently So you've got those communication channels that are open between you and your employees Yeah, one thing I want to touch on here man just before we we get into actually what you talk about is is actually that rhythm in that frequency So like we call this the 20 because it's 20 minutes like you said and like you mentioned there It's regular and weekly is best. I want to I want to really stress that weekly is is not just best It's it's actually what you have to do now We often have clients in our in our membership program that I ask can I do this you know every two weeks or can I Hopefully quarterly even and yeah, honestly don't don't it's a weekly It's a weekly meeting and the reason for that is because firstly if you do it any less than weekly It won't be 20 minutes. It's gonna be 40 minutes to an hour because you just have too much to catch up on over too too long a time So it's gonna blow out and at that point you'll resent having to do it so often because you're like well These aren't 20 minutes these take an hour and I've got all these people to do it with this you know This is impossible. Whereas if you do it weekly it'll be 20 minutes because you're not you don't have that much time Between sessions and so you don't have that much to catch up on so you can keep it snappy keep it to 20 minutes and get right to the juice of what's going on The other thing is if you do it less frequently it there's there's too much breaking down the barriers and you know Breaking the ice before you can actually get to anything of substance Whereas if you're doing this weekly the frequency is what actually makes it work So before we get into anything else if you're thinking to yourself Hey weekly sounds like a lot if you're not gonna do it weekly it won't work like the magic is in the frequency and the magic isn't the fact that it's weekly So just wanted to make that point real strong. Yeah, I just want to jump in there because I know if you're listening You're thinking flip a neck. I'm already too busy How am I going to find 20 minutes a week for each of my team members? You know, maybe you've got five or six people That's it feels like a lot of work. It's like well it is but you have a choice You can do the work of fixing up all the problems that come from poor communication the dissatisfaction the misunderstandings the people Resigning because they don't feel appreciated or you can up front the work and create a great team where people are on board They're motivated excited engaged and productive you have a choice and people who grow and scale of business They're proactive and they they understand that this is the highest value activity you can perform as a leader Is actually being a leader and demonstrating leadership which is actually kind of communicating with people So this is this massively important and if you've got 20 or 30 or 50 or 100 people in your team Well, clearly you're not going to do all of these. No, it's the it's the role of the employees Direct manager their line manager will do this job. So you see you only do the 20s with people that report directly to you And everybody else gets their 20 with whoever reports they report directly to and so on and so forth So like ideally one manager wouldn't have more than six seven max from eight Direct reports and so as a result like you know like it's never actually too much And like you said you can choose choose your heart. That's right It trust me. It is a lot less time to do 20 minutes with five or six people per week max Then to do all of the time and work and effort and stress of you know cleaning up all the problems from not doing this So again choose your heart up to you. Yeah, but doing this is easier trust me So you're a gun at the 20s. So how they structure? Well, you've got a few key areas So the main areas is like firstly you're going to go through wins Secondly, you're going to talk about focuses and challenges that they have for their week Thirdly, you're going to check in on their KPIs Fourthly, you set some goals for the week and then fifth You talk about any feedback and this goes both ways It's feedback from them about how they're going feedback from you about how you think they're going But just to you know before we break into each one of these the the overarching thing you need to remember is this is about them This is their time and so it's not about you pushing an agenda That's about them and you learning about them you working on them you helping them you supporting them you coaching them You getting them on track and getting them clear that's it's their session And so I think that's just a really important frame to go into this with because I think sometimes we can forget that right and and we can think Hey, this is about me. I've got stuff I want to talk to them about it is about them. So remember that So start with the wins The reason we start with ones is pretty simple is we want to kick off on a positive and help them to reflect on stuff that they have done Well or that they're getting momentum and I think reality is in life. We don't do this enough And it's one of the most pot like powerful things that we can do Um, you know, we told the story of the mountain climbers before You know two guys climbing a mountain it's been days it's gonna be days and days worth of a climb They get about halfway up three days in two guys one guy is distraught. He wants to go down He's over it. He's had enough the other guy is pumped He can't wait to get up in the morning and keep cracking on with this mountain And the differences which direction they're looking right so the guy who's distraught he's looking up the mountain All he sees is how far they have to go and you know He's thinking I'm already tired. I've already had enough and we still have so far to go the guy who's pumped is looking down the mountain He's thinking about how far they've come Everything never chiefs so far and and how it's all been worth it and he can't wait to keep going I think the reality is we don't look down that mountain enough And so you're going to help them to do this by reflecting on what's going well over the past week And this is not just things that have been a win like had a result. This is this can be momentum or progress And I think that is that something we want to focus on Now I think it could be as simple as like a job that they did well or a custom they dealt with or something they've learned or a new piece of equipment they've used could be anything. It could be anything that all something, yeah. And I think the reality with this is that at first people struggle because we don't do this naturally. And so I think that they might say, oh, I haven't really had many ones. Or they say, oh, I got that one good review. And you say, yeah, you're cool, that's fine. What else? And they'll say, well, nothing else. Which you're going to have to dig this out a little bit. We'll say, well, come on, what have you learned? You know, is there anything that you've tried that worked out very well? Is there anything you feel like you've got a little bit better at? And you might have to probe a bit to really get them to add to this. But what you'll find is over time, they're going to get better and better and better at coming up with a list of wins because they actually start to rewire their brain to look for these ones. And when they know they have to bring a list every week, that means that they're going to make more note of these throughout the week. They're going to think about their ones more often. And so they actually subconsciously start to experience those ones in real life and in real time. Which really helps them to stay motivated and excited and engaged with what they're doing. And so you're actually doing them a massive service by doing this as well and helping to rewire their brain to a more effective place. So you start with the wins and then we move on to challenges. Yeah. So basically, challenges is challenge and focuses. So with this, it's not a laundry list of everything that they're doing this week. And I think that can be a common misconception. It's not how I'm focused on this job, then this job, then this job, then this job. It's what are they working on right now in order to improve? So they might be a specific skill or behavior that you've been talking about or that they've been wanting to improve in. So they talk about that. They talk about where they're getting stuck. And they talk about any challenges that they've had. So hey, at the moment, I might be dealing with another guy in the team. Let's call him John. And let's say me and John are not getting on so well or we're button heads on site or maybe I'm having problems with one of the clients that we've had. Or maybe I had a complaint about me. Now I'm talking about how I can improve on that. Or maybe there's a skill deficiency I have and I'm struggling with it. And so this is where you will discuss what their challenges are, what they're stuck on where they need help. And then obviously you have an opportunity to talk about that unpack it and potentially coach them on how they could do things better. Give advice and really just help them move past any limiting beliefs there as well. So this is a very, very important part for their development. And for them to also reflect because I think a lot of the time, just like with Wins, we often don't actually, we know we should might struggle with something and then we just kind of put it out of our mind. And as a result, you never get better at that thing. Whereas if you're forced to bring this to a meeting and discuss it every week, then not only are your Wins front of mind, but your development as front of mind as well. And this is very powerful. Yeah, I think the key thing here is, as you said, it's not just about the jobs you're working on. It's almost like the meter skills or like your development as an employee. So skills, attitudes, the stuff that'll apply to all of your work, not just a particular job. And it does take a little bit of time to get people thinking that way because they've never really been exposed to it. And again, your first few 20s you do with someone might not get to the depth that you're actually looking for. They can be awkward as as well. And that's okay. That's okay because remember they are developing the skill of reflection here as well. And so this is again, where frequency comes back. If you're only doing this once a month, they're never actually going to get the momentum to get better at doing this. And then you'll think, well, this is not really worth it because we never really get to anything of substance. And it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Whereas if you just did it weekly, yeah, the first few are kind of awkward. They're getting used to it. But it really opens up and they start being really quite reflective and results focused, momentum focused, development focused, which is massive for them doing better at work. But it's also massive for their engagement. So they feel like they have a future here. And then you get better at this as well, which is you develop your leadership skills as you do this more, which is important. Absolutely, which brings us to section three, which is KPIs. So hopefully you've got KPIs and KPIs for your team. If you don't, we've done separate episodes on that, you can review it. But essentially this is where they have some key results or deliverables that they are responsible for. Obviously, would this you would have tracked those? And you'll have their results say, how have they stacked up versus what they were trying to achieve? And you'll just review these. And again, like, it's not a beating tool. This is not an opportunity for you to say, you failed here, here and here. It's an opportunity to see how they've been performing and talk about where they could do better and how they could do better. It's a constructive conversation that's based around just making sure that they are on track, that they understand the expectations you have of them and that they are meeting or exceeding those expectations. And if not, why not and how can we fix it? That way you keep them performing, you keep them engaged because they know they're learning and you don't have any kind of like weird conversations that come up where you say to them one day off the cuff, hey, you haven't been performing for months and they go, really? I thought I was. Or they come to you and say, hey, I feel like I'm not getting any better. And you say, oh, really? I had no idea. Because you're checking on this weekly and talking about their performance weekly, it means there are no surprises. There's no out of the blue conversations about them underperforming, overperforming, more money or wanting a different job or you wanting to get rid of them. None of this is a surprise because you're talking about it weekly. And so I think it's a very, very powerful thing just to make sure that your employee relations are strong but their performance is strong. Yeah, the thing that breaks down relationships, any sort of relationship and particularly employment relationships is unmedi-expectations. And if you're not communicating, then people's expectations are different employee to employer and they think they're doing a good job, you think they're not. So if you communicate regularly, you're always checking in with the expectations and resetting those expectations, which is where the real power with this comes. Yeah. And again, you need that opportunity to set those expectations. And I think, you know, too often we think, well, I said expectations at the start, you know, I thought if they changed, I'll let you know. But that reminds me of a guy that we both know. I remember he once said that, you know, his wife told him, hey, you don't tell me you love me anymore. And he said, well, I told you when we got married, I thought I just let you know if that changed. Look, that wouldn't fly, would it? Bad move. No, bad move. Now it is the same with your team and expectations. It's the same with anyone in expectations. They need to be constantly, you know, reinforced, reset and reminded. And if you don't have a forum to do that, you just won't. And if you don't, then people will meet. They will fail to meet those expectations from time to time. If that goes on too long, it becomes you hold contempt for them and the minute contempt comes into this or resentment, it's over. Yeah. Like there's no coming back from there. And so this is very, very crucial. I think just to jump in, the thing about leadership is that it requires time and that requires schedule. Yeah. And the 20 is a way you schedule your leadership to make sure it happens. Yeah. Well we always say like, tell me the problems in your business and I'll show where they sit in your calendar. That's right. And so the reality is, if you're not scheduling time in your calendar to be a good leader, you're not going to be a good leader. It's really that simple, you know, like it's so up to you. Number four is goals. Now this is just getting really pointed with what you want to achieve between this 20 and next week's 20. So usually I would get one of my team members to set three goals for the week, just three. Sometimes they'll only have two and there might be two really impactful goals, but I won't let them get away with just one. If they come and they have five or six, I'll be like, no, but bring it down to three. But it's setting three really intentional goals that they want to have achieved between now and the next time we meet, which will be next week. What that does is it means that next week when we meet, I can just check in really quick. So when we go through the goals section, I'll say, hey, last week you said you're going to do this, this and this. Did you get them done? Obviously if they did, we celebrate high fives, bombslaps, if they didn't, then we're like, hey, what went wrong? You know, how can we make sure that we get these done this week or have your priorities shifted? And we can talk about that. Then what they'll do is they'll set three goals for this week and we'll check in them next week. And obviously I might push them a bit. Hey, is that goal realistic? Do you think you could actually get that done? Do you think you're shooting too high? Do you think you're shooting too low? Make sure that this is something they can achieve in the idea. This is that if they can achieve three powerful things every week, man, think about where they're going to be in a year. Like, this is very, very impactful because you know, progress in momentum and incremental. And so we're just keeping track and accountability of that incremental improvement. And that's really what it's all about. And then we count on my favorite bit, which is feedback. And like I said, this goes both ways. Now, this could be about anything we often call this the golden 10. And the reason for that is because you're often going to take about 10 minutes of the 20, so about half to get up to this point, which leaves you with about 10 minutes left. And this is where you have an open forum to give each other feedback and to learn about each other, ask about how things are going. And so obviously this is giving feedback about business and how they're actually performing. This is giving feedback about how they're fitting in culturally. This is them giving you feedback about your leadership. And it's you asking them how they're going in their life and learning about them. And this is where you can, you know, this really accumulates as well. Yeah. And it's important, isn't it, because you might find it, hey, they're having a lot of these young, young guys having relationship problems or money problems. And this stuff can come up. And, you know, if you've got a little bit more experience in life, you can often just help them, even if it's just for them to have a space to talk about it, or maybe offer a few suggestions. And when you start getting to that level with people, you're really, that's where the magic starts to happen, because you're seeing them as a real person. They feel hurt is a real person. They know that you've got their back and that you're on their side. And the trust level is really high. Yeah, the emotional safety is massive. It's massive. Some people might hear the word emotional safety and think, oh, that's a bit fluffy. It's not, it's really not. Basically, the reality is, if you work full time, you spend more time at work with your colleagues than anyone else in your waking hours. And so you need to be able to trust the people that you're with and feel that sense of belonging and feel this is the place for me. And part of that is being able to share the good times and share the bad times too. And, you know, you can show genuine care here as well. I would really recommend taking notes, you know, like so if I was doing a 20-year journey with you, Tony, and you told me, I'm having problems at home for X-Wazard Reason. I'd make a note of that. And next week, I'm going to make sure I. I bring it up, I check in how you're going with that now. You know, hey, is your dad out of hospital? Hey, how's he doing now? Hey, what's the next step? Like, is there any way I can help? Is there anything I can do to support you? You know, that kind of stuff. It really, it shows you care. And it shows that you really want the best for them, which, it means they'll give it back to you. People are very strong with reciprocity. So if I'm willing to check in on you, if I care about you, you're gonna care about me and we're both gonna have a better relationship and better performance as a duo. So I think this is really, really important. Not to mention, it's also a time when a lot of the time we're talking about performance, you know, we're talking about actions and skills. But one massive part of being a strong company is culture. And so sometimes someone might not be quite living your values the way that you want. And this is an opportunity to talk about that. Hey Tony, I saw the way that you dealt with this last week. This, you know, generally you're really cool, but this was not world class and that's one of our values. Like, what do you think you could do better to make sure world class comes through and everything you do? Like, we can talk about that. Now, and I can also check in on your long term goals. You know, how are you tracking towards that? How's you wanna buy? How are you tracking towards that? You know, those investments you wanna make. How are you tracking towards that marriage you wanna have? Whatever it might be. But we can talk about your long-term goals in development. And finally, we can talk about just how you're feeling, which seems really open, but I can ask very specific questions such as, Tony, what are you tolerating right now? Like, if you could change one thing about this business, what would it be? Tony, you know, if there was one of your colleagues that you wish was better at something, who would that be and what would you wish they were better at? And we can talk about this. And it really helps to make that glue between the entire team. And for them to feel valued, you know, respected, wanted, and like you care about their performance in development, which is so huge for employee engagement. And an engaged team member is always gonna crush it. Yeah, and so like you said, you can use the 22 to give feedback about cultural, the values of your business. The cool thing about the 20th, in and of itself, it is a cultural statement. And it shows that values are important. Because almost every business will have values of honesty and integrity, or something around that. And doing a 20 is a way of demonstrating that, you know, you're able to have open and honest communication with people and feedback. So it's so powerful for not only talking about the cultural values, but it's actually a mechanism by which you build the culture in your business, because let's face it, most businesses and business owners and leaders feel are too busy to do this. And as a result, they have poor teams, poor cultures, poor productivity, you know, more employee turnover, and things are tough. Those people who do this, that's the opposite. Yeah, well, let's talk about, 'cause I mean, I think it's easy to make mistakes with this. Yeah, let's talk about some of the biggest mistakes to avoid. Yeah, the big mistakes are making it a performance interrogation, which is like, it's a dumping ground for you to express your frustration with them. Now, that's very toxic, and you have to avoid that at all costs. Doesn't mean you don't talk about things that are a challenge, but don't, you know, use the first three sessions to dump on them, which is a terrible idea. It's not a performance review. No, it's an opportunity to have a discussion. So the next one that says, absolutely critical, and this is the biggest mistake people make, is canceling or skipping the sessions, which is basically breaking the commitment you've made to your employees, where you've told them they're important enough to have some time with you. Now, if you think about, you know, if they're ready and in the morning, it's like, "Hey, I'm too busy this day, we can't do it." How are they gonna feel? Yeah, push it to tomorrow, or honestly, even reschedule to later today. It's not all right. And the way I think about this is, it's like with your kids. Like, if I told one of my kids, "Hey, we're gonna have a daddy date today, and I'm gonna pick you up from school, and we're gonna go and do exercise, and it's gonna be awesome. 101, your time." And so they're like, "Wow, my time, this is gonna be awesome. This is gonna be so good." You've got multiple kids, you know, one in one data. It's a big deal for them. And then, you know, the time comes, and then I'm not there to pick them up. Mom turns up and says, "Oh, hey, dad's had to, you know, work late, and he's not gonna be there, but he might be able to do later on tonight." They'll be devastated. I mean, even though it's still gonna happen later, they'll be devastated. Or, "Hey, dad can't do tonight. It's gonna be tomorrow now." They'll be devastated. Because what you've just subconsciously told them is something else more important than you has come up. And the thing is, we think that our team are adults and that they'll get it. But they're not. We're all kids at heart. And I think the reality is, is we all still feel that way. And I always say, if you take any parenting book and replace the word child with employee, it still makes perfect sense. And it's the best management book you'll ever read. I think the reality with this is that every time you reschedule or you push a 20 or you skip it even worse, you've just told that employee that other things are way more important than you. And even though I said this is your time, it's not, it's actually my time. That you are privileged with, which is gonna absolutely destroy trust. And the thing about this is, people feel important and special if you are willing to put your time into them. And so that makes them feel good and that's important. So that's a big, big mistake. Third one is talking more than you listen. Like that's a big mistake. And often where your leaders talk more than we listen. Sometimes it's gonna be difficult because the people where we're leading aren't particularly chatty, because you gotta give them time. And just be comfortable with that. Next thing is not acting on what's shared. Like if there's something you need to do or some commitment you've given, you need to stick to that because commitments made is trust built. Commitments broken is trust destroyed. Definitely. So that's critical. And the last thing is treating it as a tick, the box exercise. Now we do see this sometimes. And you know, I've done these and sometimes you feel like that it's like I've got all this stuff to do. Let's tick the box on this. And so you do a very surface level job. It's very important before you go into this session, this leader's obsession to take a deep breath, get yourself present and really focus your time and attention on that because they are valuable. And they are, you know, your employees are the means through which you create leverage in your business that you grow a great business for you and for them. So this is critical. So I think you know, being consistent and being focused and present is unbelievably important. Otherwise, this will have the reverse effect of what you intended it to do. Yeah. And I think again, with that presence, let's say think about it like as if you were taking one of your kids on a solo date. Yeah. So I'm actually, I'm taking my daughter for one on Friday and you know, the reality is is that when I do that, I'm gonna leave my phone at home and the reason is because if my phone rings, I'm not gonna sit on the phone while I'm out with her. It's yeah, yeah, they'd be terrible for her. And it's the same. Remember like this is their time. And it's not about you taking phone calls or being distracted. Killer distractions, be present, be there for them, respect their time. 'Cause that's what it's about. There's actually one other mistake, which I neglected to mention is lack of preparation. And so you really want your team members to prepare for this beforehand. And fill in like we have a template that we give our members to do this with. It's called the 20 as we said. So you get the team member to fill it in and actually send it to you beforehand. Now because that means that you're teaching them to take it seriously. And then you do a bit of preparation because preparation makes us so much better. And so if they can't prepare, you can look at it before hand and be prepared as well. So I think that helps massively. - Now it's massive. I'm glad you remembered that because that is a critical point. So I think to round it out, why does this work so well? - Well I think it solves a core problem is that you don't know what you don't know. And in the growing business, that's what hurts you. So you've got to have a real simple, repeatable structured way to actually stay connected with your team, to keep them engaged, to build the culture. And this is unbelievably important as you scale. And so if you've got a smaller business, you'll do this. But as you grow, you delegate it to your managers. Your operations manager, your foreman, your office team, your office manager will do this for your office team. And if you've got a really big business, your GM might do it for his or her direct report. So and you teach them how to do it well. You teach them how to be leaders. And then that allows you to keep control of the whole business. Not only identifying the issues there, but actually driving a productive culture, 'cause it's two things, it's the prevention of issues, but actually maximizing the potential of your employees as well. - Yeah, absolutely. - Well I think we made some good points. Should we land this plane? - Let's do it. So if you want to bet a team, don't wait for the problems to show up. Build a system that brings them to the surface early. Now the 20 might only take 20 minutes, but it will literally save you years of frustration and pain. Thanks, he's for listening. We'll catch you all again next time. See you later. - Congratulations on being part of a select group of savvy business owners who are taking their businesses to the next level. And to help you on your journey, don't forget to check out our show notes for a copy of our free book, The Profitable Trading and Other Valuable Resources. Thanks for being a part of this special group and we'll see you in the next episode of The Profitable Trading Podcast.

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Many business owners mistakenly believe they have good team relationships without having consistent, structured conversations.
  2. Lack of regular check-ins leads to hidden problems, quiet frustration, unexpected resignations, and performance drops.
  3. Weekly 20-minute one-on-one meetings (the "20") are essential for proactive leadership, not less frequent sessions.
  4. The 20-minute structure covers
  5. Starting with wins helps employees reflect on progress and builds motivation, while discussing challenges fosters development.
  6. Regular KPI reviews prevent surprises and align expectations between employer and employee.
  7. The frequency of weekly meetings builds trust, improves communication, and develops both leadership and employee skills over time.

Summary:

The podcast emphasizes that most business owners overestimate their team relationships because they lack consistent, structured conversations. Without regular check-ins, problems remain hidden, frustration builds, good employees leave unexpectedly, and performance declines without clear causes. To address this, the hosts advocate for the "20," a 20-minute weekly one-on-one meeting between each employee and their direct manager.

They stress that weekly frequency is critical—less frequent meetings become longer and less effective, failing to build the trust and momentum needed for meaningful dialogue. The 20 is structured around five key areas: wins (to start positively and encourage reflection), challenges and focuses (for development and problem-solving), KPIs (to track performance and set expectations), weekly goals, and two-way feedback. This rhythm prevents surprises, aligns expectations, and fosters a culture of engagement and growth.

The hosts argue that investing this small amount of time weekly is far less costly than dealing with the fallout from poor communication, such as resignations, conflicts, and disengagement. Ultimately, the 20 transforms leadership from reactive firefighting to proactive coaching, helping teams feel heard, valued, and motivated, which is essential for scaling a successful business.

FAQs

The '20' is a structured 20-minute one-on-one conversation held weekly with each team member. It’s designed to keep communication consistent, surface issues, build trust, and track performance.

Weekly meetings keep sessions to 20 minutes because there’s less to catch up on, and the frequency builds momentum and trust. Less frequent meetings become longer and awkward, reducing effectiveness.

The sections are: wins, focuses and challenges, KPIs, weekly goals, and feedback (both ways). This structure keeps the conversation positive and development-focused.

Start by asking about wins or progress from the past week to kick off on a positive note. Help team members reflect on achievements, as this rewires their brain to notice successes and boosts motivation.

Discussing challenges helps team members identify skills to improve, obstacles they’re facing, or issues with others. It allows you to coach them and move past limiting beliefs, fostering development.

Review KPIs constructively, not as a beating tool, to assess performance against expectations. Use it to identify areas for improvement and ensure no surprises about performance levels.

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