Getting the right people into the right seats is one of the highest priorities for all leaders.  Jim Collins has been telling us this for years.  I agree with Collins, but I like to take it one step further…

The right people, in the right seats doing the things they LOVE is my approach.  

To make this happen, I use the ‘Love versus Loathe List’ and I reckon it is one of the most valuable tools ever.

What is the Love versus Loathe List?  

It’s a 10-minute task that lets your team members tell you what they love and what they loathe doing in their current job. 

How to start using it?

  1. Ask a team member to stop what they are doing and grab a blank sheet of paper
  2. On the sheet, divide it into two columns.
  3. One column has the title ‘Love’ and the other ‘Loathe’.
  4. Now the team member has 10-minutes to add all of the tasks of their current job on to the list.  There can be no middle ground, every task is either a love or a loathe.
  5. When the 10-minutes is up, review the list together and talk trough why they love or loathe each task.

How to get the best results?

  1. If possible, remove at least one of the loathes from the team member’s list immediately.
  2. Make a plan to gradually allow that team member to spend more and more time on the tasks they love and less time on the tasks they loathe.
  3. If, for any reason, you can’t add more loves or remove more loathes, explain clearly and honestly why this is the case.
  4. Use the tool with as many team members as possible at least twice per year.

Regularly using this simple tool will make you a better leader.  Start using it today!

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