The Road is Rough: Why You Need a Navigator

Have you ever tried to write something and edit it yourself? Of course you have. And you know what happens, right? You skim right over the typos, misspellings, grammatical errors and omitted words. It’s natural. You wrote the piece, so when you read it, your mind automatically fills in the blanks and makes corrections as if there were nothing wrong. You only discover the mistakes when someone comes back with a question, doesn’t follow directions or has a response you don’t understand.

The same thing can happen in your business. You go to work each day, reasonably confident that your policies and procedures will make for a smooth ride. But then, for whatever reason, they don’t. You start to see recurring problems. Maybe you’ve got employee tardiness. Maybe there’s lack of productivity. Maybe you suddenly realize you are never going to meet a deadline. Why is this happening? You and your team have reviewed projects, workflow and management umpteen times. There doesn’t seem to be a reason for these issues.

Stop. You need a fresh pair of eyes, an experienced “someone” who can look at various aspects of your business, assist you in pinpointing the source of the problems and help you navigate. Why?

First, an outside “navigator” can see holes in process, procedure and policies that you and your team cannot. Remember we said when you look at your own work you automatically make corrections without actually changing anything? An outside navigator won’t do this.

Second, a navigator will ask the questions and challenge assumptions that employees often avoid. There’s simply too much at stake for employees to endanger relationships. But those dynamics don’t help managers identify or fix problems. An outside navigator can take risks that employees cannot.

Third, the right navigator can help leverage people inside and outside of the organization. For example, maybe it’s not so much that your existing employees aren’t working as a team as it is that team leaders have not been identified. Or maybe you have to overhaul your marketing and sales department but you need an extra set of temporary hands. A good navigator can bridge gaps in knowledge, skills and understanding by getting the right people in the right places.

Fourth, once your navigator has identified and begun rectifying issues, she can help optimize what is working. Maybe your office manager and CFO have a great relationship but there is communication breakdown elsewhere. Is there a way to enhance that relationship to ensure, say, accounts payable is more involved in the communication loop? Your navigator can help make a good thing even better.

Working with a navigator doesn’t mean you are giving up control of the vehicle. It means you are investing in the vehicle. When you hire someone to help you maneuver around potholes and bumps, you save wear and tear and get yourself on the route to success. Your business is worth investing in. Don’t wait.

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Rosemary McDowell is a successful entrepreneur and business strategist with over 25 years’ experience in government and industry. Let her be your GPS to success. Visit www.beltwaynavigator.com.