April 15, 2025 • 42 mins
Feel like you're wearing every hat in your business — and drowning in decisions? This episode is your lifeline.
Join Nikisha and guest expert Lindsay White, founder of High Voltage Leadership, a sought-after executive coach, people and culture strategist, and podcast host who believes that every business deserves three things: great leadership, an impactful people strategy, and an inspiring culture.
Lindsay utilizes her 15 years in strategic talent management to guide these incredible leaders in creating inclusive cultures and people strategies that are missing from their business plans.
Whether you're thinking about hiring your first virtual assistant or you're ready to build a full team, this episode will shift your mindset and give you tools to do it right.
Why this episode will transform your business journey:
You’ll stop seeing hiring as a headache and start seeing it as the most strategic move in your business. Lindsay doesn’t just drop advice — she gives you a system, a strategy, and the mindset shift you need to step fully into leadership.
3 Takeaways You’ll Love:
- Clarity comes before hiring. Learn what to do before you post that job description — from identifying your values to defining the right role.
- Culture is built, not inherited. Discover how to create a team culture where people feel seen, aligned, and motivated to grow with you.
- You don’t need to hire perfect — you need to hire right. Get the exact steps to build a recruitment system that helps you find and develop the best-fit team members, even if you've failed before.
Lindsay's Gift:
Download Lindsay's People Strategy Playbook, which is designed to accelerate your 2025 business growth planning by aligning your talent directly to your most important goals and accountabilities!
Want to attract aligned clients with less hustle and more heart?
Follow @nkbizguru on Instagram and get access to Nikisha’s 5-Star SCALE™ Framework at her More Profit, Less Chaos masterclass.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Leading Her Way with your host and
business guru, Nakesha King.
This podcast is the ultimatedestination for women, creative
entrepreneurs, who want to breakfree from burnout.
If you are overwhelmed byclient demands and feel like
you're doing this all alone, you, my friend, are in the right
(00:23):
place alone.
You, my friend, are in theright place Now.
Let's dive in for steps to takeback your time and simplify
your workflow.
All right, Nikisha, take itaway.
Nikisha (00:42):
Hello, gorgeous Welcome to Leading Her Way podcast, and
, of course, this is the MakeMoney series, and today we have
an amazing guest with us andit's Lindsay White, who will be
telling us a little bit aboutpeople, strategy systems and our
leadership, and I'm all for it.
So, first and foremost, welcomeLindsay, and please share a
(01:05):
little bit about how you got tothis point of your business Like
, how did you even get in thisindustry?
And tell us, before you do that, what is it that you do?
Lindsay White (01:16):
Yeah, first of all, thanks for having me so
glad to be here, a discussionthat I am absolutely obsessed
with.
So I started my journey intohuman resources and people
strategy almost 20 years ago.
I had a leader at the time.
That was very encouraging andit was something that I deeply
(01:41):
enjoyed.
I am a connector at heart and Ithink that that's really key If
you're going to work deeplywith people.
So I've spent so many yearsdeveloping the skill set working
in a corporate environment.
I was lucky.
I got to do so many thingsrecruitment, organizational
(02:02):
design, leadership development,strategic work with the C-suite
and then, about seven years ago,I actually ended up working for
a very toxic boss.
I quit my corporate job in themiddle of a meeting.
I literally closed my laptopand walked out because I thought
this is insanity.
(02:23):
I'm not doing this anymore.
And at the time I already knewthat I wanted to strengthen my
coaching skill and I hadcommitted to a professional
coaching program and I justjumped right into that, like my
job in August, right into myfirst coaching certification in
September, right into my firstcoaching certification in
(02:45):
September, spent a year and ahalf just really back in school
almost right, deeply immersed indeveloping my coaching skill,
and it was actually my own peersthat challenged me to start my
own practice.
I am an accidental entrepreneur.
I never intended, neverintended to start a business,
(03:07):
but here we are.
I celebrated my fifthanniversary just just a few
months ago and, you know, justlooking looking forward, getting
stronger and stronger.
And so what I do now is Icombine.
Now is I combine all of thatstrategic level, as you put it,
(03:31):
systems around people and talent, as well as my deep passion for
helping leaders in theirbusiness lead effectively.
And that's what I do.
I do both together helpingbusiness owners and
entrepreneurs be effectiveleaders, build high-performing
teams and create cultures intheir business where people feel
like they belong and they canachieve.
(03:53):
And when you bring those threethings together, magic happens.
Nikisha (03:57):
It does, it creates a beautiful synergy 100%.
And that's where the culture isdeveloped, in this energy of
the people and the positiveenergy and just the showing up
and the action taking.
Yeah, that's so good.
I love the part where you saidI'm an accidental entrepreneur.
I am very aware of that.
I am too.
I've never seen it.
(04:18):
I mean I know it, but I'venever said it in that form.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
When.
Nikisha (04:21):
I started it was no, I'm going to do this and I know
it's coming.
It was just like I needsomething different.
I need something a little bitmore for me and that works with
me, and I don't have to go intoplaces that are toxic, cause I
was also in a toxic environment,and toxic just means that it
didn't go with you when againstyou every way, every how, people
(04:43):
were just like fighting for noreason, and it was just like
it's not.
It doesn't make sense.
So I thank you for sharing that.
Now I want to make sure thatwe're on the same page about
leadership, because leadershipis a word that is also
subjective.
What leaders are right Cause itcould be looked at as leaders
are people you follow and youfollow, no matter what they do.
(05:04):
Because it could be looked atas leaders are people you follow
and you follow, no matter whatthey do.
They're leaders.
I laugh because I feel likewe're in that era of time.
Well just a little bit, yeah.
And then there's leaders thatthey lead by empowering you to
take a position of decision,understanding, clarity.
So I want you to tell us alittle bit more of when you say
(05:27):
leadership.
What is that to you?
Lindsay White (05:30):
Yeah, that's such a great question, and I think
actually it's an importantquestion that we all ask
ourselves, because we are allleaders, and that that's the one
of the foundationalphilosophies of my coaching is
that we all lead, and we lead inthe way that we conduct
ourselves in the world.
And when we do that, when welead in a way that's aligned
(05:57):
with what we value, what we careabout most, what is key to who
we are, when we lead with ourpurpose, we get to then lead in
a very authentic and veryintentional way, and so
leadership is going to bedefined a little bit differently
for everyone, because we allbelieve in slightly different
things, but for me, it is aboutshowing up in the world in a way
(06:18):
that is high integrity, that itis high authenticity that we
can encourage and grow others.
Our number one job as a leaderis to grow other leaders, and it
is, to your point, a placewhere we empower other people to
really leverage their skills,their experience, their
brilliance to their best ability.
(06:40):
That's what leadership is, andwe can do that in a variety of
ways.
We can lead from the front.
We see that Our corporate worldrecognizes the person who is
the loudest and the most presentas a leader.
That's not necessarily true.
We also need to be able toleave them behind.
So create and hold space forother people to be engaged and
(07:02):
explore, for other people to beengaged and explore, to take
that front of the room position.
We need to be able to lead witheach other.
There's lots of spaces where weco-lead in our lives, and then,
of course, we need to be ableto lead in a more universal way.
So what is the change we wantto see?
How do we want to set anexample in our local community
(07:24):
and across the universe really?
Nikisha (07:28):
Right Question For my team.
You're going to cut this outyour mic.
Where is it?
Lindsay White (07:35):
It's right here in front of me.
Nikisha (07:37):
It's open out.
It sounds like muddled.
Lindsay White (07:39):
Okay, do I not have it, is that better?
I'm trying Wait let me see.
Nikisha (07:46):
Yeah, just speak, you can sit up and speak.
Let me see if it happens.
Lindsay White (07:52):
Can you hear me any better now?
Nikisha (07:54):
Yes, let's try this and see.
Lindsay White (07:56):
Maybe I didn't have it plugged in very well,
I'm sorry.
Nikisha (08:00):
No, don't be sorry, you're fine.
Lindsay White (08:02):
I wonder if I just didn't have it plugged
right in firmly in the back.
Nikisha (08:06):
It's fine.
I want to make sure that itcatches up to you, because it
was a little delay.
So when you finish, say a fullsentence of anything you desire.
Lindsay White (08:15):
Is the mic working now?
Nikisha (08:17):
Yes, it is Good.
Lindsay White (08:18):
Okay, that's good .
Oh my gosh.
Nikisha (08:22):
All right, we're back, and that's such a great way of
looking at leadership, wherewe're all leaders and even in
leadership I don't how can I saythis I still had to work to be
a better leader.
When I was younger.
It was one of the values my momput into me, and it wasn't from
(08:42):
a I want you to take over theworld position.
It was like I just don't wantyou to follow people into
something that you're notsupposed to be in.
So she always would tell me bea leader, not a follower.
And the one thing that did forme is it allowed me to not worry
about what people thought aboutme as much.
In sixth grade, I did have thatscenario where, as a lot of
(09:06):
middle schoolers may say,there's bullying, and for me,
what bullying looked like wasn'tphysical, but always trying to
talk about how I look.
And sometimes, when you see thator the intelligence I had,
because I was in a special classand not special in education,
but special in high achievers.
I was in a class like that, sothey would always find things to
(09:26):
say about me.
But it wasn't about me, it wasjust about what I was doing and
I didn't recognize that at thatmoment because of how ahead I
was, and that's something a lotof.
It's interesting because inmiddle school people don't like
to see you ahead.
They want you with them, likeif you're not with them, you're
against them.
So leadership was alwayssomething for me.
But as I became an entrepreneur, as I became a business owner,
(09:50):
as I started to grow my team,the one thing I didn't desire
were employees in the state orin the way that they are waiting
for their command to do the job.
I wanted to have a team.
I wanted to build a culturewhere my team understands the
brand, the voice, theunderstanding of what we do and
(10:11):
how we do it, and then they getto take that and fold that into
their values and skills.
And now they go out into theworld.
And that's the thing I'velearned recently with my VA.
I got a VA three weeks ago, thefirst week onboarding was one
hour a day we would spend.
She would do work and I wouldshow her how I would have done
it or what I would update Nothow I would do it, but what I
(10:33):
would update.
And while we were updatingthings, there are certain things
in my graphics that I likespacing between the words or the
letters, the line spacing, andwe'll set a number and then
she'll use that number going onwhen she creates content, which
is the whole point of developinga system.
Right, it gives people a way ofknowing what to do, so that
(10:54):
it's consistent throughout.
And today there was momentswhere we're not meeting today
and I said here she asked mewell, we're working on a
batching content and she waslike which one you want me to do
next?
I said how about this?
You decide what you want to donext, tell me what you need or
what you have, and then you letme know.
(11:15):
That's all.
I asked of her Communication.
Now is our next step.
So, when you do something,communicate your understanding
of why you're choosing that.
And for me, this is everything,because now she starts to be,
she starts to gain ownershipover the task that she's doing
for me.
She's no longer waiting for me,she's no longer bottlenecked by
(11:35):
me.
Yes, I still owe her stuff, butshe knows that if I owe her
stuff, she has other options.
She can go to and take care ofit, and that's what I desire in
my team Not someone who's likewell, I don't have this, I can't
do anything, but someone who'sempowered to be like if I don't
have this, that's fine, let mejust keep going, and I'll add it
in when she sends it to me orshe does it.
(11:56):
And I love the part where yousaid leadership is about helping
people grow.
Lindsay White (12:04):
Yeah.
Nikisha (12:05):
Right when I got into business.
I did not.
I don't know if I did.
I think it was recently that II understand that I don't want
to do this by myself.
And to be a business ownermeans I have a business so other
people can grow through thisbusiness, through their value,
their skills and their economics, their financials Right, that's
(12:25):
why I'm in business.
This is not a me game.
I don't want it to be a me game.
It's not about me.
It's never about us as businessowners.
It's about the service weprovide for our clients and the
opportunities we provide for ourteam members.
Lindsay White (12:41):
Yeah, yeah, I think that's so, I think that's
so true.
And when?
When we can really as the CEOin our business, when we can be
firmly grounded in things likewhat is our vision, what's the
mission, what are we looking tochange in the world, what are
the values that we we bring, howdo we translate those?
(13:03):
And then, what are thebehaviors, what are the way we
do things?
When we're clear on that, wecan be clear with someone else.
Nikisha (13:14):
Exactly, exactly.
Lindsay White (13:16):
Right and then they can give us their best
performance.
And that's what culture reallyis.
Culture at its heart is how weget work done together.
We, as a leader in our business, we have to set the tone for
that.
And then we also have torecognize that other people are
(13:36):
going to do things slightlydifferently.
We have to be open to that, wehave to be curious about that,
we have to encourage that.
We have to recognize thatsometimes they're going to do it
better than we are and we haveto pay with that.
And that can be reallydifficult because we have
bootstrapped these business Likewe poured our heart and soul
(13:57):
and sometimes our life savingsinto these things and it is
challenging to actually let goRight.
And it is challenging toactually let go right.
But when we can do that, we arereally leading effectively.
We are enabling other people tofind their brilliance and to
find their leadership.
Nikisha (14:25):
Let me ask you, in your experience, what's the biggest
mistake small business ownersmake when it comes to hiring
talent to support the growth oftheir business that they do not
pause to get real clarity around.
Lindsay White (14:45):
Who do they need, why do they need them, what
exactly do they need them to doand even to some degree, as
you've articulated, how theymight want that person to
perform that.
But also, who is that person,how do the values Um and when?
(15:10):
We can get really clear aboutthose things.
First, we can find someone wholooks at our job description,
reads our ad and says this isthe perfect job for me.
This is exactly what I've beenwaiting for.
In fact, if you're doing itright, you should have three or
four of those people.
You should have a difficultdecision, and then we need to
(15:32):
have a system to help usdelineate who is the right
candidate.
If we do not have a recruitmentprocess, then we are not going
to have success.
Going to Google and asking itwhat are the best interview
questions that's not going toget us what we want.
We need to design a systemthat's going to get us to the
(15:55):
result we're looking for, and ifwe have clarity around that, we
can do that.
Nikisha (15:59):
You know I'm intrigued what this system looks like.
Right, tell me some more andtell everyone listening, because
they all got their ears perkedup and it was like I hope
Nikisha is going to ask what isthis system?
Lindsay White (16:11):
I knew I used the magic word.
So a recruitment system orprogram is a very clear outline
of what you want to do, thetools and the templates that go
inside of that and then howyou're going to execute.
So it really does start withspending that time to actually
think very clearly about whatyou require in the job.
(16:33):
And also, is that reallyrealistic?
Like I get a lot of businessowners and they're looking for a
unicorn right, you're laughingbecause you know exactly what
I'm talking about.
They are not going to be abookkeeper, a graphic designer
and a customer service expertall in one.
Like, if they're promising youthat they're either
(16:56):
overestimating their ability orthey're outright lying and you
truly are setting people up forfailure.
Like, those things don't allexist.
Those are different skill sets.
So, again, being really clearabout what you're looking for,
why you need them and who theyare, how they're going to fit
your organization, that's first.
(17:16):
Then designing a job descriptionthat is really compelling.
It actually just like in ourmarketing, it doesn't start by
talking about who you are andwhat you do.
It talks about who they are andwhat they bring to the table.
We know that that's whatattracts people to us for our
services, but also for ouremployment.
(17:37):
Then we make sure that we areadvertising that in the places
those people hang out.
This probably sounds familiar.
These are marketing techniques.
To be clear, you are marketingyour business, but you're
marketing to a different, like adifferent, audience.
Okay, so where do they go?
Where do these people hang out,how?
(17:59):
How are you going to attracttheir attention?
We need to be very clear aboutwhat our salary or our hourly
rate, what benefits we offer,because I think that's fair to
people, right?
We've got to tell them.
We've got to be clear about howit fits in our budget, right,
or we're putting ourselves at adisadvantage.
Then we need to design tools toconduct the interview process
(18:23):
that are all geared toward whatwe have in our job description.
So are we going to start withsome kind of you know, virtual
or digital interview process?
So maybe we have them fill outa questionnaire.
I actually like to have peopledo a few questions and then I
like to get on the phone withthem.
I want to talk to them.
What are the questions I'mgoing to ask?
(18:44):
What are the first few things Ineed to know?
And then I want to invite onlythe top people back to do a very
clear, very in-depth behavioralinterview.
Tell me about a time that youhave done this thing.
What did that look like?
What issues did you encounter?
How did you fix them?
What was the result?
(19:04):
And all of that is geared rightback to your really great job
description and, of course, whatare you looking for them to
produce in your business?
When you have all of thatreally well articulated and you
have that system well organizedand you have great onboarding so
you talked about you spend anhour with your person every week
(19:26):
you need to think reallyclearly about how do you want to
get this person up to speed.
What do you, as the businessowner, need to do?
You can't just set them loosewith a job description and a
to-do list and expect them toperform.
That is not how it works.
Nikisha (19:42):
I tried that.
It didn't work.
Lindsay White (19:43):
It didn't work and listen.
Sometimes you hire the wrongperson.
Nobody bats a thousand.
I've been doing this for 20years.
Even I sometimes make mistakesright, but if you don't set them
up for success, that is on you,not on them.
You have not allowed them toperform for you, you've tied
their hands.
(20:04):
It's all about a greatrecruitment system and when you
do it right you get greatresults.
It works.
It works every time if you doit the right way.
Nikisha (20:16):
So true, and you know what it's so interesting, as
much as you clearly see thatsystem, people won't put that in
play.
They won't put it in play untilthey've done it a couple times
and the pain starts to come in,and then they're like you know
what?
Let me listen to Lindsay, letme get this done this way, and I
wanted to also say something,cause you're saying have a clear
(20:38):
process.
Lindsay White (20:39):
Yes.
Nikisha (20:39):
And I want to make sure I don't put my clients or the
people listening into perfectionmode.
Lindsay White (20:45):
Yes.
Nikisha (20:45):
Clear doesn't mean perfect.
No you won't get it perfect thefirst time you do this.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
No.
Nikisha (20:51):
So what I want you to do is take Lindsay's information
and test it, and the first timeyou do it, trust me, it's not
going to go as flawless as shesays it.
What's going to happen isyou're going to learn something
new in it, because this is thejourney of learning, and then
you'll be able to implement thatthe next time, and that's how
this system becomes a powerhouse.
(21:13):
But you have to start it.
So when she says clear, don'tsit down and let perfection kick
in and be like I have to dothis right.
I have to like no, don't do iton your highest level, do it
where you are and build on that.
Clarity comes through action,intention, and that's what we're
talking about in thisconversation.
Lindsay White (21:36):
I really appreciate that you said that,
because I do think we can getreally locked in on it.
Has to be perfect or it's notgood.
Keep in mind, when we talkabout people systems whether
it's recruitment, performancemanagement I'm talking about
organizational development, howwe grow as a business.
Because there's people involved, it's always got a little bit
(22:00):
of flaw built in.
We're innately imperfect.
That's the way we're designedand so we do.
We have to recognize 80% is agreat result here, and the best
result in the recruitmentprocess is that you found
someone that fits.
They align, they get yourvision Like if you're doing it
right, they should see what yousee and be like holy smokes.
(22:21):
I want to be a part of that.
They should understand themission, what you're changing.
Their value should line up andthey should have some of the
skill sets and experience you'relooking for.
To be clear, they're likelynever going to come with all of
it.
Nikisha (22:37):
Right, they'll create, they'll, they'll build it on
your team.
Lindsay White (22:41):
That's where the leadership comes in.
How are you going to help themgrow?
How are you going to growtogether?
Cause they're going to comewith skills and experience the
likely you don't have.
So that is for you to pull outand to encourage and your word
empower as a leader.
So you're not going to get ahundred percent result.
You're not going to get.
You're not going to checkeverything off on your job
(23:02):
description, but if you can get80% and you can get alignment
and you can get someone that youfeel really good about working
with, that's the person you wantto hire Exactly.
Nikisha (23:13):
And that's the blessing in it.
Yeah, now let's speak to theamazing entrepreneurs who tried
it hired someone, been hiringemployees, w-2s taxes didn't
work out, didn't work out andnow they got to do it again and
they're so scared because itdidn't work out the first time.
They're like I don't want thisanymore.
I want to do collaborations andindependent contractors and
(23:36):
they think this is like a bettersystem and I have my opinion
about that which I will share.
But I want to hear yours firstabout what should they do?
How do they like process thefirst experience and not to let
that dictate their secondexperience?
Lindsay White (23:56):
Yeah, that's a great question.
So, first and foremost, I thinkwhat you need to do is again, I
think you need to pause, youneed to spend a moment and you
need to actually recognize andbe with whatever that emotion is
.
And for many of us it is thatsense of disappointment that we
(24:16):
have been a failure, that wehave not, you know, like we've
not executed, and we just needto be with that and recognize
that there are parts of it thatbelong to us.
And then there are other partsthat aren't.
Like my mother says, takes twoto tango Right More than enough
laying to go around, and that'sokay.
Parts that aren't Like mymother says takes two to tango
right More than enough lane togo around, and that's okay, it
didn't work.
But what part belongs to us?
(24:38):
And we really need to sit withthat just for a moment and be
okay with yeah, we didn't havethe right process, we weren't
really clear.
Okay, now those areopportunities for us to shift.
Okay, and we can do that.
We can implement a differentsystem, we can make changes.
(25:00):
Right, we are always evolvingand our processes and systems
can evolve with us.
But we got to acknowledge, youknow, what do we want to leave
behind?
Where do we need to find thegift or the opportunity that we
can move forward with?
If we do that first, then thatwill help us step out of that
space where we're really fearful, where we feel really anxious
(25:22):
about it.
It seems maybe even a littleoverwhelming to try and dip our
toe back into that space wherewe need an employee.
So that would be my opinion.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
So that would be my opinion.
Nikisha (25:33):
I'd love to hear your thoughts when I think about an
employee which is considered aW-2 in the United States of
America.
I'm going to be clear.
This is where we're recording.
We have independent contractors, considered 1099s.
They don't work on our schedule, they work on their own, but
they supply us with some form ofwhat we need done.
And then we have collaborations.
(25:54):
Collaborations is when twopeople come together with an
idea.
They bring it to life, they putit out in the world In some
form.
They have some type ofrelationship either.
To split it, it's a revenueshare.
It's so many differentopportunities there.
Here's the difference, in myopinion, with all three.
The independent contractor andcollaborator is not part of your
culture.
They're not part of yourstructure, your business.
(26:17):
They have no ties to it.
But that moment in time thatyou're asking them to do
something specifically for you.
Lindsay White (26:25):
Yes.
Nikisha (26:26):
An employee becomes part of your culture, they
become part of your team, theyunderstand the brand's voice,
tone and messaging and they haveskin in the game.
Because when you do good, theydo good right.
And as much as you think of anemployee as being a heavy burden
, the reason you think it's aheavy burden is because you
(26:49):
don't teach them how to feed thesystem.
You actually depend on them orthey depend on you.
That's what I mean.
They depend on you to feed them, but you're creating that
culture.
So there's a lot of companiesthat have independent
contractors work with them and Iusually would speak to the
(27:10):
owner and they would tell me ohman, it's so hard to be the
person responsible to have topay these people and feed them
and their families.
And I'm like I don't understand.
Why do you have that pressurewhen, if they're independent
contractors, how do you producean agreement where they bring in
opportunities?
If they're doing a gig, why arethey not promoting this
(27:32):
opportunity like it was theirown business?
And now people are coming in toyour business paying you so
they can hire them again forother opportunities.
Why are you not one teachingthat?
You teach that through findingeducational programs.
If you can't do it.
You find ways to help them grow, because when you invest in
them, they invest in you.
(27:53):
Why are you not creating anenvironment that, if you're
working with a team, theyunderstand when they show up,
when they do the work, when theyinvest, when they become owners
of the product that they'recreating?
Now, all of that positive,loving, good energy goes into
that art.
That art speaks volumes andgenerates more business.
(28:15):
The more business you make, themore you can pay them.
But you also have to rememberthat too, as leaders, we cannot
be greedy.
So, we're able to learn how tomeasure someone's production,
which is a fact, people, notyour feelings.
Don't put your feelings in yourbusiness.
Use your facts to interpret thestory and then how do you want
(28:40):
to respond?
That's what I love.
So what I mean by that?
Yes, there's a way to measuresomeone production.
When they produce one, how muchtime did you get back so you
can go do the visionary work?
To, when they produce, what'sthe KPI?
How many people are you getback so you can go do the
visionary work?
Two, when they produce, what'sthe KPI?
How many people are converting?
Do they help people convert?
And if all of these are yes,what's that percentage coming
(29:02):
from that person?
And then, how do you create aformula that says, well, if you
do this amount of work andyou're bringing in this revenue,
I can give you a certainpercentage of what you're
bringing in.
It could be a bonus, it couldbe a gift.
So many different ways to lookat how to do this 100%.
Lindsay White (29:23):
So many different ways to create a performance
management system that reallyrepresents how you want to
measure and reward performancein your business.
I would also add you need toreward the right behaviors,
because the right behaviors arewhat is likely to get you the
(29:44):
right performance right.
Nikisha (29:46):
Wait before you go on.
Determine or not determine.
Define what right means.
Lindsay White (29:53):
Yes, All the way back to your values.
So I'll give you an example.
Many businesses have a value ofintegrity.
That's a value we bring to ourbusiness.
Right?
You and I, we do the rightthing because it's the right
thing to do, even when no one'swatching.
That's one of the simplestdefinitions.
And in a business thattranslates into doing the right
thing for our clients, even whenit's not profitable, because
(30:16):
it's the right thing to do.
I want to find and bring intomy organization particularly
employees, but I would want acontractor to be on side with
that and so have that behavior.
I do the right thing becausethe right thing to do for the
client I can reward, I canmeasure that and I can reward
(30:36):
that.
Where did you go and do theright thing for the client?
And it didn't immediatelyresult in revenue, but what it
resulted in was a long-termbuild in the relationship, which
then brought in more business.
Nikisha (30:49):
Right Retient retention Yep.
Lindsay White (30:51):
Client retention.
So this is the thing when wemeasure the right things and we
get people moving forward intheir performance and being a
leader of those things, that'swhen we really get incredible
traction and performance frompeople.
Nikisha (31:09):
Yes, yes, so good.
I truly, truly hope that thepeople listening are able to
take away from this, because, inmy opinion, this is so
important.
Now, the last thing I want toask you about is how do they
start this process Other thanthe system?
(31:30):
There is someone right nowsitting down.
They are in high capacity value, they are by themselves.
They're really scared about theidea of hiring someone because
there's a story they're tellingthemselves this person's going
to steal my ideas, they're goingto steal the way I do stuff,
they're going to open up theirown company and then they're
(31:51):
going to make more money than me, because all of that is what it
takes to make a better businessand it doesn't.
It's a lot more, you know.
But they want to start byfiguring out how to get possibly
a virtual assistant, a VA, intheir business.
And right now, the VA feelslike the low hanging fruit,
where everyone is a VA, everyoneis an online business manager,
(32:15):
right, and they feel like, maybethey've tried it and it didn't
work the first time.
And someone might be like well,I'm scared because I've heard
so many horror stories, but Ineed help, and they're kind of
stuck because they're not makinga decision, they're an
indecision at this moment.
Do we have something verysimple for them to do, to even
(32:39):
start the process?
Lindsay White (32:40):
Yeah, I think one of the most effective things to
do when you're in that space issort of this idea of delegate
or die.
Right, what are all the thingsthat you do?
So, creating that master listof all the things that have to
get done in your business andreally analyzing it very
carefully.
What are the things first andforemost?
That analyzing it verycarefully, what are the things
first and foremost that I loveto do?
(33:01):
What are the things that Ireally would never want to give
up?
Right For me, that's that's myone-on-one coaching.
I love coaching businessleaders.
I don't ever want that to goaway.
I know they say in a lot ofplaces oh, you can only scale
through group I.
You know what if that keeps mefrom scaling my business, I'm
cool with that.
Scale through group I.
You know what if that keeps mefrom scaling my business, I'm
cool with that.
I'm keeping one-on-one coaching.
What are the things that Iactually have to do?
(33:22):
Right?
So there's for some of us,especially as we're scaling our
businesses, there are somethings that have to remain with
us, at least for a short periodof time.
What I had a client that waslike I pay the taxes right.
That has to come out of the bankaccount.
I want to make that transactionhappen.
Okay, if that feels like it'simportant for you to keep, keep
(33:43):
it.
And then we need to think aboutwhat are all the things that
potentially someone else coulddo right and and who would?
Who would do those things?
What skills would they have?
What experience would they have?
And likely it's actually morethan one.
And you can hire peoplefractionally.
You can hire people part-timeor hourly.
(34:05):
So, for example, one of thefirst things that usually
happens is bookkeeping right.
Finding someone who has higherskill and capability in that
than I do was key, right?
Maybe there's something aroundsome of your digital marketing.
If you're like me, that'sactually not my jam.
I'm the, I'm the thought leader.
(34:25):
I come up with all thebrilliant stuff.
I need someone else to help meexecute it.
The copy and the graphics, okay, that I can read.
So just really thinking aboutall the things and then thinking
carefully about is this, isthis something I really need to
be doing?
And if the answer is not animmediate yes, then it's no.
(34:45):
It needs to be delegated.
And how am I going to execute?
That's step number one.
Nikisha (34:51):
Good, got it and then once they curate that beautiful
list, yes.
What comes next?
Lindsay White (34:59):
Yeah, I think you can start to do some grouping
right, so you're curating oryou're analyzing, and then you
can start to group activitiestogether, right, so what makes
sense in terms of skill sets orcapabilities?
Well, again, I think whatyou're likely to see is it
doesn't all live on one list.
There's likely two or threesubgroups, and then I can start
(35:24):
to really think about okay, Ireally need someone who actually
can do this bookkeeping pieces,because I'm not doing them
effectively, I'm not doing themefficiently, and so what would
that look like?
Right, so I could outsourcethat, potentially.
I don't need a full-timebookkeeper.
That's something where someonewho was on contract and does a
(35:44):
fractional piece for hours amonth, that works.
If it's something that I'mreally compelled about and I
really feel like that needs tobe an employment relationship,
okay, what kind of time doesthat look like?
What would happen if that waspart-time or full-time?
Where would that add value inmy business?
(36:06):
Now I can really start to getgranular with it.
Nikisha (36:07):
Does that make sense?
Yeah, yeah, makes sense.
And I'm just going to add athird part to that.
Once you finish grouping it,you need to use a recording
screen system so you can recordhow you're doing it and then
just store that in your drive,wherever drive you use, so that
now, when you start yourinterview process and onboarding
(36:31):
, these are tools you alreadyhave, because sometimes I work
and I get in a zone and I'm notrecording my screen so I can
teach the person I'm workingwith how they can do it, so they
can take it off my plate.
But I think when you get clearabout the things you don't want
to do, it gets easier when youdo that and you just show them
and you kind of talk throughthem.
And there's so many I love Loom.
(36:53):
Loom is my number one where youcan literally record and it
creates an SOP.
It does so much for you in asecond.
And I think once you startputting that in play, is it
going to be perfect?
No, because perfection is notthe goal.
I love reminding people becausemy people are like me, they're
like perfectionism and when Iwork with my clients I'm like
(37:15):
throw that away, just brain dump, for now we can clean it up as
we go.
Lindsay White (37:20):
Yeah, iterate, we can iterate.
Nikisha (37:23):
Yeah.
Lindsay White (37:23):
And as your business grows, you're going to
have to iterate anyways.
Right I mean that is the partabout growing and scaling a
beautiful business is thatyou're not going to do it the
same six months from now becauseyour business is going to have
a different complexion to it andyour team so that's one of the
attributes you want to hire foris someone who can understand
(37:47):
maybe even better than you doabout iteration is imperative
that they are comfortable in thecontinual recreation cycle,
especially if you're not, youknow I think that's the other
thing is hire for attributesthat you know you don't
necessarily have.
Right, you need to have peoplearound you that aren't all the
(38:09):
same.
If you have a whole bunch ofperfectionists in the room, what
happens?
Nothing.
Nothing happens because it'snever perfect.
That's what happens.
You need people that areconfident and comfortable with
change, they're comfortable withiterating, they're actually
comfortable pushing back andsaying you know, lindsay, that
was great, but actually I thinkwe could do it this way Like,
(38:31):
think about who you need toround out the skills, experience
and the culture in yourbusiness.
That's what's going to help yougrow.
Nikisha (38:41):
So true, so true.
Lindsay.
You have been an add value toso many iconic women CEOs who
are listening to this right now,and this is what I love about
my podcast Leading Her Way.
It's all about adding value topeople who are hungry to grow
and there are moments thatthey're just not sure how, or
(39:03):
they don't know how to makesense of it all.
But when they get to come hereand listen to you and other
guests that I have, there's anopportunity for them to actually
take action and we were able togive them those small, little,
bite-sized steps so that theycan move forward.
Now, in other words, I will addyour, of course, Instagram,
(39:25):
whatever links to the show notes.
So if you're looking forLindsay you love what she said
I'm going to tell you to gofollow Lindsay on Instagram.
Where are you, Lindsay?
Where's your favorite space tobe?
Lindsay White (39:34):
Yeah, so I'm on Instagram and it's high vault
leadership, and I also spend alot of time on LinkedIn, so you
find me there, okay.
Nikisha (39:42):
Perfect, so those will be in the show notes so you
could go follow her, please, andlet her give you so much tips
and tricks on how to do this.
Of course, I would love you togo to our resource page and sign
up for our workshops, becauseI'm going to create some value
from this.
I already have some ideasforming my beautiful mind and I
(40:03):
want you guys to know.
This is not a journey where youhave to be alone.
Growing your business is not aalone journey.
It's not a me journey, it's aus.
And community is everything,and you want a community that
supports you but still drivesaction right.
I am a action lover.
My clients, they're so freakingphenomenal with action.
(40:26):
Sometimes I'm like wait for me,let me catch up.
And action for me is everything.
I am a believer in my energy.
I believe in, I don't know,manifestation is good, but
manifestation comes throughaction.
There's opportunities and Itake action, but it all boils
down to one thing decision.
When I make a decision,everything happens from that
(40:49):
point.
If I am indecisive in decision,nothing really occurs.
So all I'm trying to tell youwho's listening today is this is
your time, this is your moment.
Don't let your past dictateyour present.
You are more than capable.
So, lindsay, thank you.
(41:09):
Thank you for contributing yourtime, investing in this
beautiful community and sharingall the value, and more, that
you have to give.
I appreciate you.
Lindsay White (41:21):
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
Thank you for joining us today on Leading Her Way.
We loved having you with us.
Remember each action you take,no matter how small, adds up to
big results.
If today's episode fired you up, hit subscribe for more
insights and visit our resourcehub, which is linked to the show
notes.
There you'll find tools tostreamline, organize and grow
(41:47):
your business.
Keep moving forward and we'llbe right here to cheer you on
next week.
Welcome to Leading Her Way with your host and
business guru, Nakesha King.
This podcast is the ultimatedestination for women, creative
entrepreneurs, who want to breakfree from burnout.
If you are overwhelmed byclient demands and feel like
you're doing this all alone, you, my friend, are in the right
(00:23):
place alone.
You, my friend, are in theright place Now.
Let's dive in for steps to takeback your time and simplify
your workflow.
All right, Nikisha, take itaway.
Nikisha (00:42):
Hello, gorgeous Welcome to Leading Her Way podcast, and
, of course, this is the MakeMoney series, and today we have
an amazing guest with us andit's Lindsay White, who will be
telling us a little bit aboutpeople, strategy systems and our
leadership, and I'm all for it.
So, first and foremost, welcomeLindsay, and please share a
(01:05):
little bit about how you got tothis point of your business Like
, how did you even get in thisindustry?
And tell us, before you do that, what is it that you do?
Lindsay White (01:16):
Yeah, first of all, thanks for having me so
glad to be here, a discussionthat I am absolutely obsessed
with.
So I started my journey intohuman resources and people
strategy almost 20 years ago.
I had a leader at the time.
That was very encouraging andit was something that I deeply
(01:41):
enjoyed.
I am a connector at heart and Ithink that that's really key If
you're going to work deeplywith people.
So I've spent so many yearsdeveloping the skill set working
in a corporate environment.
I was lucky.
I got to do so many thingsrecruitment, organizational
(02:02):
design, leadership development,strategic work with the C-suite
and then, about seven years ago,I actually ended up working for
a very toxic boss.
I quit my corporate job in themiddle of a meeting.
I literally closed my laptopand walked out because I thought
this is insanity.
(02:23):
I'm not doing this anymore.
And at the time I already knewthat I wanted to strengthen my
coaching skill and I hadcommitted to a professional
coaching program and I justjumped right into that, like my
job in August, right into myfirst coaching certification in
September, right into my firstcoaching certification in
(02:45):
September, spent a year and ahalf just really back in school
almost right, deeply immersed indeveloping my coaching skill,
and it was actually my own peersthat challenged me to start my
own practice.
I am an accidental entrepreneur.
I never intended, neverintended to start a business,
(03:07):
but here we are.
I celebrated my fifthanniversary just just a few
months ago and, you know, justlooking looking forward, getting
stronger and stronger.
And so what I do now is Icombine.
Now is I combine all of thatstrategic level, as you put it,
(03:31):
systems around people and talent, as well as my deep passion for
helping leaders in theirbusiness lead effectively.
And that's what I do.
I do both together helpingbusiness owners and
entrepreneurs be effectiveleaders, build high-performing
teams and create cultures intheir business where people feel
like they belong and they canachieve.
(03:53):
And when you bring those threethings together, magic happens.
Nikisha (03:57):
It does, it creates a beautiful synergy 100%.
And that's where the culture isdeveloped, in this energy of
the people and the positiveenergy and just the showing up
and the action taking.
Yeah, that's so good.
I love the part where you saidI'm an accidental entrepreneur.
I am very aware of that.
I am too.
I've never seen it.
(04:18):
I mean I know it, but I'venever said it in that form.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
When.
Nikisha (04:21):
I started it was no, I'm going to do this and I know
it's coming.
It was just like I needsomething different.
I need something a little bitmore for me and that works with
me, and I don't have to go intoplaces that are toxic, cause I
was also in a toxic environment,and toxic just means that it
didn't go with you when againstyou every way, every how, people
(04:43):
were just like fighting for noreason, and it was just like
it's not.
It doesn't make sense.
So I thank you for sharing that.
Now I want to make sure thatwe're on the same page about
leadership, because leadershipis a word that is also
subjective.
What leaders are right Cause itcould be looked at as leaders
are people you follow and youfollow, no matter what they do.
(05:04):
Because it could be looked atas leaders are people you follow
and you follow, no matter whatthey do.
They're leaders.
I laugh because I feel likewe're in that era of time.
Well just a little bit, yeah.
And then there's leaders thatthey lead by empowering you to
take a position of decision,understanding, clarity.
So I want you to tell us alittle bit more of when you say
(05:27):
leadership.
What is that to you?
Lindsay White (05:30):
Yeah, that's such a great question, and I think
actually it's an importantquestion that we all ask
ourselves, because we are allleaders, and that that's the one
of the foundationalphilosophies of my coaching is
that we all lead, and we lead inthe way that we conduct
ourselves in the world.
And when we do that, when welead in a way that's aligned
(05:57):
with what we value, what we careabout most, what is key to who
we are, when we lead with ourpurpose, we get to then lead in
a very authentic and veryintentional way, and so
leadership is going to bedefined a little bit differently
for everyone, because we allbelieve in slightly different
things, but for me, it is aboutshowing up in the world in a way
(06:18):
that is high integrity, that itis high authenticity that we
can encourage and grow others.
Our number one job as a leaderis to grow other leaders, and it
is, to your point, a placewhere we empower other people to
really leverage their skills,their experience, their
brilliance to their best ability.
(06:40):
That's what leadership is, andwe can do that in a variety of
ways.
We can lead from the front.
We see that Our corporate worldrecognizes the person who is
the loudest and the most presentas a leader.
That's not necessarily true.
We also need to be able toleave them behind.
So create and hold space forother people to be engaged and
(07:02):
explore, for other people to beengaged and explore, to take
that front of the room position.
We need to be able to lead witheach other.
There's lots of spaces where weco-lead in our lives, and then,
of course, we need to be ableto lead in a more universal way.
So what is the change we wantto see?
How do we want to set anexample in our local community
(07:24):
and across the universe really?
Nikisha (07:28):
Right Question For my team.
You're going to cut this outyour mic.
Where is it?
Lindsay White (07:35):
It's right here in front of me.
Nikisha (07:37):
It's open out.
It sounds like muddled.
Lindsay White (07:39):
Okay, do I not have it, is that better?
I'm trying Wait let me see.
Nikisha (07:46):
Yeah, just speak, you can sit up and speak.
Let me see if it happens.
Lindsay White (07:52):
Can you hear me any better now?
Nikisha (07:54):
Yes, let's try this and see.
Lindsay White (07:56):
Maybe I didn't have it plugged in very well,
I'm sorry.
Nikisha (08:00):
No, don't be sorry, you're fine.
Lindsay White (08:02):
I wonder if I just didn't have it plugged
right in firmly in the back.
Nikisha (08:06):
It's fine.
I want to make sure that itcatches up to you, because it
was a little delay.
So when you finish, say a fullsentence of anything you desire.
Lindsay White (08:15):
Is the mic working now?
Nikisha (08:17):
Yes, it is Good.
Lindsay White (08:18):
Okay, that's good .
Oh my gosh.
Nikisha (08:22):
All right, we're back, and that's such a great way of
looking at leadership, wherewe're all leaders and even in
leadership I don't how can I saythis I still had to work to be
a better leader.
When I was younger.
It was one of the values my momput into me, and it wasn't from
(08:42):
a I want you to take over theworld position.
It was like I just don't wantyou to follow people into
something that you're notsupposed to be in.
So she always would tell me bea leader, not a follower.
And the one thing that did forme is it allowed me to not worry
about what people thought aboutme as much.
In sixth grade, I did have thatscenario where, as a lot of
(09:06):
middle schoolers may say,there's bullying, and for me,
what bullying looked like wasn'tphysical, but always trying to
talk about how I look.
And sometimes, when you see thator the intelligence I had,
because I was in a special classand not special in education,
but special in high achievers.
I was in a class like that, sothey would always find things to
(09:26):
say about me.
But it wasn't about me, it wasjust about what I was doing and
I didn't recognize that at thatmoment because of how ahead I
was, and that's something a lotof.
It's interesting because inmiddle school people don't like
to see you ahead.
They want you with them, likeif you're not with them, you're
against them.
So leadership was alwayssomething for me.
But as I became an entrepreneur, as I became a business owner,
(09:50):
as I started to grow my team,the one thing I didn't desire
were employees in the state orin the way that they are waiting
for their command to do the job.
I wanted to have a team.
I wanted to build a culturewhere my team understands the
brand, the voice, theunderstanding of what we do and
(10:11):
how we do it, and then they getto take that and fold that into
their values and skills.
And now they go out into theworld.
And that's the thing I'velearned recently with my VA.
I got a VA three weeks ago, thefirst week onboarding was one
hour a day we would spend.
She would do work and I wouldshow her how I would have done
it or what I would update Nothow I would do it, but what I
(10:33):
would update.
And while we were updatingthings, there are certain things
in my graphics that I likespacing between the words or the
letters, the line spacing, andwe'll set a number and then
she'll use that number going onwhen she creates content, which
is the whole point of developinga system.
Right, it gives people a way ofknowing what to do, so that
(10:54):
it's consistent throughout.
And today there was momentswhere we're not meeting today
and I said here she asked mewell, we're working on a
batching content and she waslike which one you want me to do
next?
I said how about this?
You decide what you want to donext, tell me what you need or
what you have, and then you letme know.
(11:15):
That's all.
I asked of her Communication.
Now is our next step.
So, when you do something,communicate your understanding
of why you're choosing that.
And for me, this is everything,because now she starts to be,
she starts to gain ownershipover the task that she's doing
for me.
She's no longer waiting for me,she's no longer bottlenecked by
(11:35):
me.
Yes, I still owe her stuff, butshe knows that if I owe her
stuff, she has other options.
She can go to and take care ofit, and that's what I desire in
my team Not someone who's likewell, I don't have this, I can't
do anything, but someone who'sempowered to be like if I don't
have this, that's fine, let mejust keep going, and I'll add it
in when she sends it to me orshe does it.
(11:56):
And I love the part where yousaid leadership is about helping
people grow.
Lindsay White (12:04):
Yeah.
Nikisha (12:05):
Right when I got into business.
I did not.
I don't know if I did.
I think it was recently that II understand that I don't want
to do this by myself.
And to be a business ownermeans I have a business so other
people can grow through thisbusiness, through their value,
their skills and their economics, their financials Right, that's
(12:25):
why I'm in business.
This is not a me game.
I don't want it to be a me game.
It's not about me.
It's never about us as businessowners.
It's about the service weprovide for our clients and the
opportunities we provide for ourteam members.
Lindsay White (12:41):
Yeah, yeah, I think that's so, I think that's
so true.
And when?
When we can really as the CEOin our business, when we can be
firmly grounded in things likewhat is our vision, what's the
mission, what are we looking tochange in the world, what are
the values that we we bring, howdo we translate those?
(13:03):
And then, what are thebehaviors, what are the way we
do things?
When we're clear on that, wecan be clear with someone else.
Nikisha (13:14):
Exactly, exactly.
Lindsay White (13:16):
Right and then they can give us their best
performance.
And that's what culture reallyis.
Culture at its heart is how weget work done together.
We, as a leader in our business, we have to set the tone for
that.
And then we also have torecognize that other people are
(13:36):
going to do things slightlydifferently.
We have to be open to that, wehave to be curious about that,
we have to encourage that.
We have to recognize thatsometimes they're going to do it
better than we are and we haveto pay with that.
And that can be reallydifficult because we have
bootstrapped these business Likewe poured our heart and soul
(13:57):
and sometimes our life savingsinto these things and it is
challenging to actually let goRight.
And it is challenging toactually let go right.
But when we can do that, we arereally leading effectively.
We are enabling other people tofind their brilliance and to
find their leadership.
Nikisha (14:25):
Let me ask you, in your experience, what's the biggest
mistake small business ownersmake when it comes to hiring
talent to support the growth oftheir business that they do not
pause to get real clarity around.
Lindsay White (14:45):
Who do they need, why do they need them, what
exactly do they need them to doand even to some degree, as
you've articulated, how theymight want that person to
perform that.
But also, who is that person,how do the values Um and when?
(15:10):
We can get really clear aboutthose things.
First, we can find someone wholooks at our job description,
reads our ad and says this isthe perfect job for me.
This is exactly what I've beenwaiting for.
In fact, if you're doing itright, you should have three or
four of those people.
You should have a difficultdecision, and then we need to
(15:32):
have a system to help usdelineate who is the right
candidate.
If we do not have a recruitmentprocess, then we are not going
to have success.
Going to Google and asking itwhat are the best interview
questions that's not going toget us what we want.
We need to design a systemthat's going to get us to the
(15:55):
result we're looking for, and ifwe have clarity around that, we
can do that.
Nikisha (15:59):
You know I'm intrigued what this system looks like.
Right, tell me some more andtell everyone listening, because
they all got their ears perkedup and it was like I hope
Nikisha is going to ask what isthis system?
Lindsay White (16:11):
I knew I used the magic word.
So a recruitment system orprogram is a very clear outline
of what you want to do, thetools and the templates that go
inside of that and then howyou're going to execute.
So it really does start withspending that time to actually
think very clearly about whatyou require in the job.
(16:33):
And also, is that reallyrealistic?
Like I get a lot of businessowners and they're looking for a
unicorn right, you're laughingbecause you know exactly what
I'm talking about.
They are not going to be abookkeeper, a graphic designer
and a customer service expertall in one.
Like, if they're promising youthat they're either
(16:56):
overestimating their ability orthey're outright lying and you
truly are setting people up forfailure.
Like, those things don't allexist.
Those are different skill sets.
So, again, being really clearabout what you're looking for,
why you need them and who theyare, how they're going to fit
your organization, that's first.
(17:16):
Then designing a job descriptionthat is really compelling.
It actually just like in ourmarketing, it doesn't start by
talking about who you are andwhat you do.
It talks about who they are andwhat they bring to the table.
We know that that's whatattracts people to us for our
services, but also for ouremployment.
(17:37):
Then we make sure that we areadvertising that in the places
those people hang out.
This probably sounds familiar.
These are marketing techniques.
To be clear, you are marketingyour business, but you're
marketing to a different, like adifferent, audience.
Okay, so where do they go?
Where do these people hang out,how?
(17:59):
How are you going to attracttheir attention?
We need to be very clear aboutwhat our salary or our hourly
rate, what benefits we offer,because I think that's fair to
people, right?
We've got to tell them.
We've got to be clear about howit fits in our budget, right,
or we're putting ourselves at adisadvantage.
Then we need to design tools toconduct the interview process
(18:23):
that are all geared toward whatwe have in our job description.
So are we going to start withsome kind of you know, virtual
or digital interview process?
So maybe we have them fill outa questionnaire.
I actually like to have peopledo a few questions and then I
like to get on the phone withthem.
I want to talk to them.
What are the questions I'mgoing to ask?
(18:44):
What are the first few things Ineed to know?
And then I want to invite onlythe top people back to do a very
clear, very in-depth behavioralinterview.
Tell me about a time that youhave done this thing.
What did that look like?
What issues did you encounter?
How did you fix them?
What was the result?
(19:04):
And all of that is geared rightback to your really great job
description and, of course, whatare you looking for them to
produce in your business?
When you have all of thatreally well articulated and you
have that system well organizedand you have great onboarding so
you talked about you spend anhour with your person every week
(19:26):
you need to think reallyclearly about how do you want to
get this person up to speed.
What do you, as the businessowner, need to do?
You can't just set them loosewith a job description and a
to-do list and expect them toperform.
That is not how it works.
Nikisha (19:42):
I tried that.
It didn't work.
Lindsay White (19:43):
It didn't work and listen.
Sometimes you hire the wrongperson.
Nobody bats a thousand.
I've been doing this for 20years.
Even I sometimes make mistakesright, but if you don't set them
up for success, that is on you,not on them.
You have not allowed them toperform for you, you've tied
their hands.
(20:04):
It's all about a greatrecruitment system and when you
do it right you get greatresults.
It works.
It works every time if you doit the right way.
Nikisha (20:16):
So true, and you know what it's so interesting, as
much as you clearly see thatsystem, people won't put that in
play.
They won't put it in play untilthey've done it a couple times
and the pain starts to come in,and then they're like you know
what?
Let me listen to Lindsay, letme get this done this way, and I
wanted to also say something,cause you're saying have a clear
(20:38):
process.
Lindsay White (20:39):
Yes.
Nikisha (20:39):
And I want to make sure I don't put my clients or the
people listening into perfectionmode.
Lindsay White (20:45):
Yes.
Nikisha (20:45):
Clear doesn't mean perfect.
No you won't get it perfect thefirst time you do this.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
No.
Nikisha (20:51):
So what I want you to do is take Lindsay's information
and test it, and the first timeyou do it, trust me, it's not
going to go as flawless as shesays it.
What's going to happen isyou're going to learn something
new in it, because this is thejourney of learning, and then
you'll be able to implement thatthe next time, and that's how
this system becomes a powerhouse.
(21:13):
But you have to start it.
So when she says clear, don'tsit down and let perfection kick
in and be like I have to dothis right.
I have to like no, don't do iton your highest level, do it
where you are and build on that.
Clarity comes through action,intention, and that's what we're
talking about in thisconversation.
Lindsay White (21:36):
I really appreciate that you said that,
because I do think we can getreally locked in on it.
Has to be perfect or it's notgood.
Keep in mind, when we talkabout people systems whether
it's recruitment, performancemanagement I'm talking about
organizational development, howwe grow as a business.
Because there's people involved, it's always got a little bit
(22:00):
of flaw built in.
We're innately imperfect.
That's the way we're designedand so we do.
We have to recognize 80% is agreat result here, and the best
result in the recruitmentprocess is that you found
someone that fits.
They align, they get yourvision Like if you're doing it
right, they should see what yousee and be like holy smokes.
(22:21):
I want to be a part of that.
They should understand themission, what you're changing.
Their value should line up andthey should have some of the
skill sets and experience you'relooking for.
To be clear, they're likelynever going to come with all of
it.
Nikisha (22:37):
Right, they'll create, they'll, they'll build it on
your team.
Lindsay White (22:41):
That's where the leadership comes in.
How are you going to help themgrow?
How are you going to growtogether?
Cause they're going to comewith skills and experience the
likely you don't have.
So that is for you to pull outand to encourage and your word
empower as a leader.
So you're not going to get ahundred percent result.
You're not going to get.
You're not going to checkeverything off on your job
(23:02):
description, but if you can get80% and you can get alignment
and you can get someone that youfeel really good about working
with, that's the person you wantto hire Exactly.
Nikisha (23:13):
And that's the blessing in it.
Yeah, now let's speak to theamazing entrepreneurs who tried
it hired someone, been hiringemployees, w-2s taxes didn't
work out, didn't work out andnow they got to do it again and
they're so scared because itdidn't work out the first time.
They're like I don't want thisanymore.
I want to do collaborations andindependent contractors and
(23:36):
they think this is like a bettersystem and I have my opinion
about that which I will share.
But I want to hear yours firstabout what should they do?
How do they like process thefirst experience and not to let
that dictate their secondexperience?
Lindsay White (23:56):
Yeah, that's a great question.
So, first and foremost, I thinkwhat you need to do is again, I
think you need to pause, youneed to spend a moment and you
need to actually recognize andbe with whatever that emotion is
.
And for many of us it is thatsense of disappointment that we
(24:16):
have been a failure, that wehave not, you know, like we've
not executed, and we just needto be with that and recognize
that there are parts of it thatbelong to us.
And then there are other partsthat aren't.
Like my mother says, takes twoto tango Right More than enough
laying to go around, and that'sokay.
Parts that aren't Like mymother says takes two to tango
right More than enough lane togo around, and that's okay, it
didn't work.
But what part belongs to us?
(24:38):
And we really need to sit withthat just for a moment and be
okay with yeah, we didn't havethe right process, we weren't
really clear.
Okay, now those areopportunities for us to shift.
Okay, and we can do that.
We can implement a differentsystem, we can make changes.
(25:00):
Right, we are always evolvingand our processes and systems
can evolve with us.
But we got to acknowledge, youknow, what do we want to leave
behind?
Where do we need to find thegift or the opportunity that we
can move forward with?
If we do that first, then thatwill help us step out of that
space where we're really fearful, where we feel really anxious
(25:22):
about it.
It seems maybe even a littleoverwhelming to try and dip our
toe back into that space wherewe need an employee.
So that would be my opinion.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
So that would be my opinion.
Nikisha (25:33):
I'd love to hear your thoughts when I think about an
employee which is considered aW-2 in the United States of
America.
I'm going to be clear.
This is where we're recording.
We have independent contractors, considered 1099s.
They don't work on our schedule, they work on their own, but
they supply us with some form ofwhat we need done.
And then we have collaborations.
(25:54):
Collaborations is when twopeople come together with an
idea.
They bring it to life, they putit out in the world In some
form.
They have some type ofrelationship either.
To split it, it's a revenueshare.
It's so many differentopportunities there.
Here's the difference, in myopinion, with all three.
The independent contractor andcollaborator is not part of your
culture.
They're not part of yourstructure, your business.
(26:17):
They have no ties to it.
But that moment in time thatyou're asking them to do
something specifically for you.
Lindsay White (26:25):
Yes.
Nikisha (26:26):
An employee becomes part of your culture, they
become part of your team, theyunderstand the brand's voice,
tone and messaging and they haveskin in the game.
Because when you do good, theydo good right.
And as much as you think of anemployee as being a heavy burden
, the reason you think it's aheavy burden is because you
(26:49):
don't teach them how to feed thesystem.
You actually depend on them orthey depend on you.
That's what I mean.
They depend on you to feed them, but you're creating that
culture.
So there's a lot of companiesthat have independent
contractors work with them and Iusually would speak to the
(27:10):
owner and they would tell me ohman, it's so hard to be the
person responsible to have topay these people and feed them
and their families.
And I'm like I don't understand.
Why do you have that pressurewhen, if they're independent
contractors, how do you producean agreement where they bring in
opportunities?
If they're doing a gig, why arethey not promoting this
(27:32):
opportunity like it was theirown business?
And now people are coming in toyour business paying you so
they can hire them again forother opportunities.
Why are you not one teachingthat?
You teach that through findingeducational programs.
If you can't do it.
You find ways to help them grow, because when you invest in
them, they invest in you.
(27:53):
Why are you not creating anenvironment that, if you're
working with a team, theyunderstand when they show up,
when they do the work, when theyinvest, when they become owners
of the product that they'recreating?
Now, all of that positive,loving, good energy goes into
that art.
That art speaks volumes andgenerates more business.
(28:15):
The more business you make, themore you can pay them.
But you also have to rememberthat too, as leaders, we cannot
be greedy.
So, we're able to learn how tomeasure someone's production,
which is a fact, people, notyour feelings.
Don't put your feelings in yourbusiness.
Use your facts to interpret thestory and then how do you want
(28:40):
to respond?
That's what I love.
So what I mean by that?
Yes, there's a way to measuresomeone production.
When they produce one, how muchtime did you get back so you
can go do the visionary work?
To, when they produce, what'sthe KPI?
How many people are you getback so you can go do the
visionary work?
Two, when they produce, what'sthe KPI?
How many people are converting?
Do they help people convert?
And if all of these are yes,what's that percentage coming
(29:02):
from that person?
And then, how do you create aformula that says, well, if you
do this amount of work andyou're bringing in this revenue,
I can give you a certainpercentage of what you're
bringing in.
It could be a bonus, it couldbe a gift.
So many different ways to lookat how to do this 100%.
Lindsay White (29:23):
So many different ways to create a performance
management system that reallyrepresents how you want to
measure and reward performancein your business.
I would also add you need toreward the right behaviors,
because the right behaviors arewhat is likely to get you the
(29:44):
right performance right.
Nikisha (29:46):
Wait before you go on.
Determine or not determine.
Define what right means.
Lindsay White (29:53):
Yes, All the way back to your values.
So I'll give you an example.
Many businesses have a value ofintegrity.
That's a value we bring to ourbusiness.
Right?
You and I, we do the rightthing because it's the right
thing to do, even when no one'swatching.
That's one of the simplestdefinitions.
And in a business thattranslates into doing the right
thing for our clients, even whenit's not profitable, because
(30:16):
it's the right thing to do.
I want to find and bring intomy organization particularly
employees, but I would want acontractor to be on side with
that and so have that behavior.
I do the right thing becausethe right thing to do for the
client I can reward, I canmeasure that and I can reward
(30:36):
that.
Where did you go and do theright thing for the client?
And it didn't immediatelyresult in revenue, but what it
resulted in was a long-termbuild in the relationship, which
then brought in more business.
Nikisha (30:49):
Right Retient retention Yep.
Lindsay White (30:51):
Client retention.
So this is the thing when wemeasure the right things and we
get people moving forward intheir performance and being a
leader of those things, that'swhen we really get incredible
traction and performance frompeople.
Nikisha (31:09):
Yes, yes, so good.
I truly, truly hope that thepeople listening are able to
take away from this, because, inmy opinion, this is so
important.
Now, the last thing I want toask you about is how do they
start this process Other thanthe system?
(31:30):
There is someone right nowsitting down.
They are in high capacity value, they are by themselves.
They're really scared about theidea of hiring someone because
there's a story they're tellingthemselves this person's going
to steal my ideas, they're goingto steal the way I do stuff,
they're going to open up theirown company and then they're
(31:51):
going to make more money than me, because all of that is what it
takes to make a better businessand it doesn't.
It's a lot more, you know.
But they want to start byfiguring out how to get possibly
a virtual assistant, a VA, intheir business.
And right now, the VA feelslike the low hanging fruit,
where everyone is a VA, everyoneis an online business manager,
(32:15):
right, and they feel like, maybethey've tried it and it didn't
work the first time.
And someone might be like well,I'm scared because I've heard
so many horror stories, but Ineed help, and they're kind of
stuck because they're not makinga decision, they're an
indecision at this moment.
Do we have something verysimple for them to do, to even
(32:39):
start the process?
Lindsay White (32:40):
Yeah, I think one of the most effective things to
do when you're in that space issort of this idea of delegate
or die.
Right, what are all the thingsthat you do?
So, creating that master listof all the things that have to
get done in your business andreally analyzing it very
carefully.
What are the things first andforemost?
That analyzing it verycarefully, what are the things
first and foremost that I loveto do?
(33:01):
What are the things that Ireally would never want to give
up?
Right For me, that's that's myone-on-one coaching.
I love coaching businessleaders.
I don't ever want that to goaway.
I know they say in a lot ofplaces oh, you can only scale
through group I.
You know what if that keeps mefrom scaling my business, I'm
cool with that.
Scale through group I.
You know what if that keeps mefrom scaling my business, I'm
cool with that.
I'm keeping one-on-one coaching.
What are the things that Iactually have to do?
(33:22):
Right?
So there's for some of us,especially as we're scaling our
businesses, there are somethings that have to remain with
us, at least for a short periodof time.
What I had a client that waslike I pay the taxes right.
That has to come out of the bankaccount.
I want to make that transactionhappen.
Okay, if that feels like it'simportant for you to keep, keep
(33:43):
it.
And then we need to think aboutwhat are all the things that
potentially someone else coulddo right and and who would?
Who would do those things?
What skills would they have?
What experience would they have?
And likely it's actually morethan one.
And you can hire peoplefractionally.
You can hire people part-timeor hourly.
(34:05):
So, for example, one of thefirst things that usually
happens is bookkeeping right.
Finding someone who has higherskill and capability in that
than I do was key, right?
Maybe there's something aroundsome of your digital marketing.
If you're like me, that'sactually not my jam.
I'm the, I'm the thought leader.
(34:25):
I come up with all thebrilliant stuff.
I need someone else to help meexecute it.
The copy and the graphics, okay, that I can read.
So just really thinking aboutall the things and then thinking
carefully about is this, isthis something I really need to
be doing?
And if the answer is not animmediate yes, then it's no.
(34:45):
It needs to be delegated.
And how am I going to execute?
That's step number one.
Nikisha (34:51):
Good, got it and then once they curate that beautiful
list, yes.
What comes next?
Lindsay White (34:59):
Yeah, I think you can start to do some grouping
right, so you're curating oryou're analyzing, and then you
can start to group activitiestogether, right, so what makes
sense in terms of skill sets orcapabilities?
Well, again, I think whatyou're likely to see is it
doesn't all live on one list.
There's likely two or threesubgroups, and then I can start
(35:24):
to really think about okay, Ireally need someone who actually
can do this bookkeeping pieces,because I'm not doing them
effectively, I'm not doing themefficiently, and so what would
that look like?
Right, so I could outsourcethat, potentially.
I don't need a full-timebookkeeper.
That's something where someonewho was on contract and does a
(35:44):
fractional piece for hours amonth, that works.
If it's something that I'mreally compelled about and I
really feel like that needs tobe an employment relationship,
okay, what kind of time doesthat look like?
What would happen if that waspart-time or full-time?
Where would that add value inmy business?
(36:06):
Now I can really start to getgranular with it.
Nikisha (36:07):
Does that make sense?
Yeah, yeah, makes sense.
And I'm just going to add athird part to that.
Once you finish grouping it,you need to use a recording
screen system so you can recordhow you're doing it and then
just store that in your drive,wherever drive you use, so that
now, when you start yourinterview process and onboarding
(36:31):
, these are tools you alreadyhave, because sometimes I work
and I get in a zone and I'm notrecording my screen so I can
teach the person I'm workingwith how they can do it, so they
can take it off my plate.
But I think when you get clearabout the things you don't want
to do, it gets easier when youdo that and you just show them
and you kind of talk throughthem.
And there's so many I love Loom.
(36:53):
Loom is my number one where youcan literally record and it
creates an SOP.
It does so much for you in asecond.
And I think once you startputting that in play, is it
going to be perfect?
No, because perfection is notthe goal.
I love reminding people becausemy people are like me, they're
like perfectionism and when Iwork with my clients I'm like
(37:15):
throw that away, just brain dump, for now we can clean it up as
we go.
Lindsay White (37:20):
Yeah, iterate, we can iterate.
Nikisha (37:23):
Yeah.
Lindsay White (37:23):
And as your business grows, you're going to
have to iterate anyways.
Right I mean that is the partabout growing and scaling a
beautiful business is thatyou're not going to do it the
same six months from now becauseyour business is going to have
a different complexion to it andyour team so that's one of the
attributes you want to hire foris someone who can understand
(37:47):
maybe even better than you doabout iteration is imperative
that they are comfortable in thecontinual recreation cycle,
especially if you're not, youknow I think that's the other
thing is hire for attributesthat you know you don't
necessarily have.
Right, you need to have peoplearound you that aren't all the
(38:09):
same.
If you have a whole bunch ofperfectionists in the room, what
happens?
Nothing.
Nothing happens because it'snever perfect.
That's what happens.
You need people that areconfident and comfortable with
change, they're comfortable withiterating, they're actually
comfortable pushing back andsaying you know, lindsay, that
was great, but actually I thinkwe could do it this way Like,
(38:31):
think about who you need toround out the skills, experience
and the culture in yourbusiness.
That's what's going to help yougrow.
Nikisha (38:41):
So true, so true.
Lindsay.
You have been an add value toso many iconic women CEOs who
are listening to this right now,and this is what I love about
my podcast Leading Her Way.
It's all about adding value topeople who are hungry to grow
and there are moments thatthey're just not sure how, or
(39:03):
they don't know how to makesense of it all.
But when they get to come hereand listen to you and other
guests that I have, there's anopportunity for them to actually
take action and we were able togive them those small, little,
bite-sized steps so that theycan move forward.
Now, in other words, I will addyour, of course, Instagram,
(39:25):
whatever links to the show notes.
So if you're looking forLindsay you love what she said
I'm going to tell you to gofollow Lindsay on Instagram.
Where are you, Lindsay?
Where's your favorite space tobe?
Lindsay White (39:34):
Yeah, so I'm on Instagram and it's high vault
leadership, and I also spend alot of time on LinkedIn, so you
find me there, okay.
Nikisha (39:42):
Perfect, so those will be in the show notes so you
could go follow her, please, andlet her give you so much tips
and tricks on how to do this.
Of course, I would love you togo to our resource page and sign
up for our workshops, becauseI'm going to create some value
from this.
I already have some ideasforming my beautiful mind and I
(40:03):
want you guys to know.
This is not a journey where youhave to be alone.
Growing your business is not aalone journey.
It's not a me journey, it's aus.
And community is everything,and you want a community that
supports you but still drivesaction right.
I am a action lover.
My clients, they're so freakingphenomenal with action.
(40:26):
Sometimes I'm like wait for me,let me catch up.
And action for me is everything.
I am a believer in my energy.
I believe in, I don't know,manifestation is good, but
manifestation comes throughaction.
There's opportunities and Itake action, but it all boils
down to one thing decision.
When I make a decision,everything happens from that
(40:49):
point.
If I am indecisive in decision,nothing really occurs.
So all I'm trying to tell youwho's listening today is this is
your time, this is your moment.
Don't let your past dictateyour present.
You are more than capable.
So, lindsay, thank you.
(41:09):
Thank you for contributing yourtime, investing in this
beautiful community and sharingall the value, and more, that
you have to give.
I appreciate you.
Lindsay White (41:21):
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
Thank you for joining us today on Leading Her Way.
We loved having you with us.
Remember each action you take,no matter how small, adds up to
big results.
If today's episode fired you up, hit subscribe for more
insights and visit our resourcehub, which is linked to the show
notes.
There you'll find tools tostreamline, organize and grow
(41:47):
your business.
Keep moving forward and we'llbe right here to cheer you on
next week.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!