“You want to grow bigger? What do you need to focus on? Because I don’t think you are ready.” I said.

The group looked at each other, not sure, ideas rattling around in their heads, but no one wanted to speak first.

“Before you think about getting bigger,” I continued, “what is your biggest challenge? Look, you called me in here. You look tired, worn out. You worked way past 5p every day. And now, you have an opportunity to take a risk which will grow your company 30 percent over the next 12 months. What is your biggest challenge? What has to get fixed before you even think about taking this next risk?”

“We feel like we are fighting too many fires,” Marcus explained. “And this new project will fail, if we don’t get some of these fires under control.”

“Why are these fires happening?”

“Our team members run into problems they are not capable of solving. We try to empower them, but that still doesn’t mean they have the capability to make the right decisions. So we are down in the trenches with them, helping to put out the fire.”

“Is it possible you don’t have a clear understanding of the level of work in those roles? And that you have placed people in those roles who do NOT have the capability to solve the problems and make the decisions that go with the role?”

“Isn’t that what I just said?” Marcus replied.

“You described the people you placed in the role, but the root cause of the underperformance is that you, as the manager, don’t clearly understand the level of work in the role. The biggest mistake most organizations make is underestimating the level of work. Without identifying the level of work, most organizations hire someone without the necessary capability. And then wonder why the fires begin to flare.”