Debra Chantry-Taylor: Why Half EOS is Worse Than No EOS

Debra Chantry-Taylor  00:00 

As a leadership team, you're either all in or you're not doing EOS. There is no half EOS. Partial commitment is just very, very expensive. No more heroic martyrs, doing jobs they hate. We should be doing stuff that we love, that we're really great at. That's where we'll add the most value to the business. Leadership Practices mean we have to give clear direction. We have to provide the right tools, and we need to take clarity breaks. If these aren't happening, leadership becomes performance art. The tools will do absolutely nothing without the people. People are everything in the business, and that is what EOS is actually designed for. 

Debra Chantry-Taylor  00:41 

Hello and welcome to another episode of Better Business, Better Life. I'm your host, Debra Chantry-Taylor, and I'm your champion of blunt truths, better leadership and business done properly with less chaos, less drama, and hopefully much more fun. And can you believe that we're up to episode 250 that's a bit of a milestone for me. I actually started this podcast back in 2020 with the idea of being able to share the ups and the downs of running a business, and actually having people who are using EOS come onto the show and explain about that. So 255 episodes later, I want to celebrate that for a start, but also, I've chosen to do something pretty special, because today's episode is what I've wanted to do for years. It's something I see all the time, almost weekly, and if not daily, and it's the great business lie that we tell ourselves, yes, yes, we use EOS. And then, you know me, I take one polite look under the bonnet and realise they're using EOS in the same way that people say they're watching what they eat while holding a biscuit, sometimes even a family pack. And so this isn't just a small problem. It's actually dangerous, because half using EOS is actually worse than not using it at all. And if you think that sounds extreme, then please just stick with me, because today I'm going to show you how exactly why dipping your toes into EOS without the proper commitment or the LMA leading, managing accountability tools, creates confusion, burns trust, stores growth and generally causes the kind of chaos that teams pretend isn't happening, and we're gonna do it with a good old dose of British humour, a dash of my German honesty, and a few real client stories. Of course, I'm not going to share real names, but the behaviours, oh, they're universal, trust me. So let's dive in. Grab your cup of tea, grab your wine, steady your nerves, and let's talk about what really happens when an organisation sort of uses EOS. So let's start with what half using EOS looks like. Let me paint a little picture for you. You know when someone tells you they've started running, and what they actually mean is, they bought the trainers, they've downloaded the app, but the running part is still pending. Well, half using EOS is exactly like that, all the gear, no idea. And here are the classic symptoms. So symptom number one is a level 10 that wanders off like a toddler in a supermarket. You know what it's like? People arrive late, someone's just finishing something off on their phone. The agenda gets abandoned after five or six minutes, and IDs, rather than standing for identify, discuss and solve, becomes, I don't suppose we're actually solving anything. Symptom number two, the rocks that behave exactly like New Year's resolutions. They're a strong start, Swift decline, quiet shame. Symptom number three, the scorecard of dreams. The numbers are missing. Numbers are late. Numbers are still being chased. It looks a bit like a sudoku puzzle that no one has actually finished. Symptom number four, the accountability chart on the wall that absolutely does not match reality. You ask, who owns a thing, and either three people answer or no one answers, which, of course, means no one owns it. Because if everyone is accountable, no one is accountable. Symptom number five, the quarterly conversations that absolutely haven't happened because we've been busy, and let's be honest, yes, you've been busy, busy avoiding them. So let me give you a real life example, observing a level 10 meeting recently with a tech team. I watched the following unfold. They all came in at various times, into their level 10, and the very first thing that came out of their mouth was, right before we start, can we just quickly discuss? And as every team knows, nothing good ever comes after those five or six words. So within seconds, we were knee deep in a side conversation. The agenda hadn't even been acknowledged yet, and you could feel the collective will to live leaving the room lovely people hopeless meeting hygiene so half using EOS doesn't move you forward. It just creates the illusion that you're doing something like tidying your house by shoving everything into one cupboard. And let's be honest, we've all been there, and it looks fine until the cupboard door opens and takes someone out. So why is it more. Costly to half use EOS than not use it at all. Well, here's where we get honest. The German half of me absolutely loves this bit. Half using EOS doesn't just fail. It actively causes damage. Damage number one, it destroys clarity, so that when the tools aren't being used properly. No one knows what's truly important, and so everyone tries to work on everything, which means nothing gets done. Because, again, if everything is important, nothing is important. Damage number two, it creates bottlenecks, especially when the leaders refuse to let go of the vine. If you're doing things you should have delegated in 2014 I guarantee you are the bottleneck. So take a good look and understand where is that bottleneck in your business. Damage number three, accountability collapses. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought Allison owned that. No, I thought Tom did. And meanwhile, the client, your customer, people who pay the bills, is quietly screaming. Damage. Number four, cultural cynicism. This is the dangerous one, because if you roll out Eos, and then you don't follow through, your team thinks, Oh, brilliant, another management fad, this will last about six weeks, probably last till Christmas, and your credibility drops, not because you're bad, but because inconsistency is worse than doing nothing. So now a real story, a construction business I worked with, insisted they were running on Eos, beautiful company, family oriented, salt of the earth, utter chaos. They had a VTO from two years ago. They had a scorecard that had 100 numbers. They had rocks that had carried over for four quarters, and their LMA, their lead manage and accountability, holding people accountable for what they meant to do, was a bit theoretical, like unicorns. And so when I asked the team to list their core values, they produced three different versions from three different years. And if you want to know what they weren't scaling, there it is, because half using EOS costs you time, trust, money, people and momentum. It's like installing a brilliant new engine in your car and refusing to put petrol in it. And I want to talk about where everything gets real, which really, truly is the LMA part of Eos. So LMA stands for lead and manage to hold people accountable. And it comes back to the accountability chart and being really, really clear about structure, first, people. Second, what is it the business actually needs to execute on its plan from a structural point of view? And then who is accountable for that? And are they the right people? So this is the part that, to be honest, almost everyone who are self implementing skips. They skip the LMA tools, they skip the people side. And here's the really funny bit, the businesses will often tell me, oh yes, we've got the tools, we just need help with the people stuff. But right, that's like saying we've bought the oven. We just need help with the cooking. The tools will do absolutely nothing without the people. People are everything in the business, and that is what EOS is actually designed for. It's actually a human energy management tool. So if the tools do nothing without the people, let's talk about the leadership practices. Leadership Practices mean we have to give clear direction. We have to provide the right tools. We have to let go of the vine. We have to act for the greater good, and we need to take clarity breaks. If these aren't happening, leadership becomes performance art. It looks impressive, but achieves nothing. And then you've got the management practices, keeping expectations clear, communicating well, having the right meeting, pulse, prioritise, delegate and elevate and follow through. And when these are missing, accountability becomes optional, which means chaos becomes inevitable. Here's a story a brilliant creative agency with loads of talents, loads of energy, absolutely allergic to structure, their founder genuinely thought he was delegating responsibilities, when actually all he was doing was yelling, can someone just sort this into the office and hoping the universe would decide once we brought in LMA properly, we had the accountability chart. We started having quarterly conversations. We're delegating and elevating. We're setting real expectations, having good communications, doing actual follow through. The transformation was immediate. The team stepped up. The Founders stopped working till midnight, and profit increase because the team finally stopped saying yes to everything. So well, when LMA lead and manage to hold accountable is missing, EOS is just admin. But when LMA is present, EOS is traction. So what does the full commitment actually look like? What does it look like when a company really commits. And by the way, this does not mean perfection, it means consistency. It's one of the things I think I'm really good at, being very tenacious and being consistent, just putting one step in front of the other every single day. It's an adult behaviour, but it's a willingness to have the uncomfortable conversations the British half of me. Voids and my German half insists on so fill commitment looks like this. Weekly level 10s that start on time, end on time, follow the agenda and actually solve issues, scorecards that are updated every single week, even when the number is embarrassing. The amount of times I've sat in my own level 10 meeting knowing that I haven't hit my numbers, but having to say them, it really brings a sense of accountability, and it starts to get you thinking about what's really going on. So even when that number is embarrassing, you should absolutely update it. And in fact, especially then 

Debra Chantry-Taylor  10:36 

having rocks that matter, so not tiny tasks disguised as rocks or not, great big projects that are boulders that cannot be done, but real strategic commitments that will move the needle, that will take the business forward, that can be executed upon in 90 days, quarterly conversations that happen on time and properly. No excuses, no avoiding, no will do it next month. They should be booked in your calendar at the beginning of the year with every single one of your direct reports, so they know that it's coming, so they know they've got a chance to actually have a conversation with you about what's working, what's not working, and what we could be doing differently. Delegation and elevation is used properly. No more heroic martyrs doing jobs they hate. We should be doing stuff that we love, that we're really great at. That's where we'll add the most value to the business. We need to literally delegate and elevate so we are doing that stuff that we love and are great at, alike and are good at, so that other people can do the work that we're not so good at or that we really don't enjoy. This is going to be a game changer for the business. It's all about letting go and letting other people step up, the stuff that you hate will be stuff that other people really enjoy. Leaders taking clarity breaks, not pretending that answering emails counts as thinking time, not pretending that driving into work counts as my clarity break, genuine clarity breaks where you take time out, where you sit there in complete silence and you just allow your brain to settle and then start to think about what is good for the business. And here's the funny bit. When a business truly commits, everything gets easier. The drama reduces, the tension reduces. Decision maker making becomes cleaner and easier because you're actually getting to the root cause. And this means that people relax and suddenly the business feels lighter, more fun. It's like taking off shoes that were two sizes too small and realising it wasn't my feet, it was the shoes. So if you're listening and thinking, oh my goodness, this is us, then please breathe, because here's how to get back on track. And let's be honest, every company drifts, every single one, even the well oiled ones. Here's how you fix it. Step one, get honest. Do the organisational checkup. I put a link to this in the notes from this podcast, and you can do that online. Not only will you get a report about where you're sitting and what's going on, but it will also help you to understand what you can do to improve. The only thing I would say my desperate plea to you is, please do tell the truth. Answer honestly, not the flattering version. This will give you the best basis to move the business forward. Step two, recommit as a leadership team. You're either all in or you're not doing EOS. There is no half EOS. Partial commitment is just very, very expensive. We need you to commit to doing it, and commit to doing all of it. That includes all the people, all the LMA tools. Step number three, nice segue, bring back your LMA lead and manage to hold people accountable. You need those leadership abilities and those management abilities, if these aren't solid, the tools won't save you. So if you've got any concerns about what those tools are, drop me a line. I will send you through both the leadership and the management principles, and that will help you to get back on track. Step number four, reset your rocks, proper rocks. If everything is important, nothing is important. Less is more less. But obsess so less. But obsess means have three to seven rocks, proper rocks not be less busy, but actually have things that are going to move the needle on the business. And step number five, get your implementer back in. Yes, that's me, or one of the other 44 EOS implementers in the APAC region, you need to get them back in because No, you cannot self diagnose and self treat. Even doctors don't do that. They go to other doctors. Step number six, trust the process. Gino says this all the time. The answer is in the tools. Trust the process. Stop reinventing it. Use it properly. It works, but only when you work it. So that's the truth. Half using EOS isn't harmless. It's costly, confusing, demoralising. It drains belief in leadership, in improvement, in the possibility that the business can get better. But when you go all in, when you. Use the tools properly. When you lead and manage like you mean it, when you embrace both clarity and discipline, that's when businesses transform. That's when the noise quietens, the stress lifts, the work gets easier. People actually enjoy coming in and you get the traction you were always meant to have. As I like to quote my favourite Jim Collins quote, magic occurs when you combine a spirit of entrepreneurialism with a culture of discipline. And that is what EOS is all about. I'm Debra Chantry-Taylor. This is better business, better life. If you feel like your organisation feels a bit stuck, drifty, chaotic or half committed, please reach out. This is what I love. This is what I do until next time, lead Well, manage well and build yourself a better business and a better life. You.