What Works - EP 340: Managing As An Introverted, Anxious, and Autistic Boss: Tara’s Interview On The Rebel Therapist With Annie Schuessler

EP 340: Managing As An Introverted, Anxious, and Autistic Boss: Tara’s Interview On The Rebel Therapist With Annie Schuessler

06/08/21 • 52 min

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In This Episode:
* How I decide what roles to hire for (and why understanding our team structure is key)* When it’s time increase capacity by hiring versus fixing messy operations* Why you don’t want to clone yourself to get more done* How product and operations can overlap to creating some really exciting opportunities
When I say I’m an introvert, I mean I’m a hardcore introvert.
People don’t believe me when I say that because I’m loud and enthusiastic—but being loud and enthusiastic is not the same thing as being extroverted.
If you spend more than an hour with me in a social situation, you’ll see the life drain from my eyes as my internal batteries release their last burst of energy.
I wish I was kidding—but I am not.
I also happen to be an introvert surrounded by extroverts.
I’m an internal processor surrounded by external processors. I’m an avoider of small talk surrounded by people who love small talk.
It’s a tricky situation.
Who are these people? They’re my team members—and among them, my husband.
Sean and I often joke about how unfortunate it is that I’ve ended up with so many extroverts in my life. Not because there’s anything wrong with extroverts but because it can be exhausting!
My friend Annie Schuessler asked if I’d be willing to talk about managing a team as an introvert and I jumped at the chance. I’ve learned so much about team-building in general over the last 5 years but I’ve also learned a bunch about how to put guardrails in place around my own energy and bandwidth as I work with my teams.
Since recording this interview, I’ve also started to talk publicly about how the way I work and relate to others is filtered through the lens of autism. So many of the things I’ve always thought of as a result of introversion and social anxiety are present because of my autism.
I am introverted, I do have social anxiety, and I’m autistic.
That’s a pretty thick soup to be wading through as a manager.
The main reason I wanted to share that before you hear this interview is because my experiences as an introverted boss may be quite different from your experiences if you’re also an introverted boss.
The other reason reason I wanted to share that is because, before I had the framework of autism to make sense of my life, I was constantly working against myself in an effort to fix things I perceived as problems & deficiencies.
While I’m still working to become a better manager and leader, I’m also looking much more objectively at how I can build structures that don’t require me to work against my nature quite so often. In so many ways, my autism is a strength for business-building, writing & podcasting, and team-building. But it takes work to embrace those strengths when they’re so different from what other people expect!
Alright, here’s what you’re going to hear in this interview—Annie and I talk about how I find team members, why you need to know what you’re really hiring for before you start looking, how I’m onboarding new hires now, and why you don’t want to clone yourself.
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EP 339: Hiring For The Upside With Small Business Co-Pilot Founder Podge Thomas

In This Episode:
* Why management specialist Podge Thomas believes your team should be your biggest asset* How to prepare to hire—and how to take better care of your team member through careful onboarding* How our previous experiences with management shape the way we approach the prospect of hiring today
Managing has gotten a bad rap.
In fact, if I had to guess, I’d say that “not wanting to manage people” is the biggest reason people cite for not hiring.
Sure, there might be financial issues. There might be issues with finding the right person. There might issues about knowing what to hand off.
But almost everyone I talk to has either a fear or an unwillingness to manage people.
So why do so many of us have such an aversion to management?
Why have so many people sworn off hiring help?
Why has solopreneurship become such an enticing thing for people wanting to build a business?
Here’s my take: we grossly overestimate the risks & liabilities of hiring people and managing them. And we grossly underestimate the benefits of doing so.
Typically cognitive bias, especially for entrepreneurs, works the other way. We fixate on the upsides and ignore potential risk. That’s entrepreneurial optimism in a nutshell.
So maybe this is managerial pessimism?
I don’t know—but what I do know is that hiring might be the best thing you ever do for yourself and for your business.
That’s not to say that I think it’s the right decision for everyone—but I do believe it’s a good decision for more business owners.
This episode is going to be perfect for you whether you’ve avoided hiring to this point, whether you’re considering making the leap, or whether you’ve already got a team and looking to become a better boss and really receive the benefits of building a team.
But before we get into the meat of it, I want to paint a picture of the upside of hiring for you. Because there’s a very good chance that, even if you’re already paying people, you haven’t experienced this yet.
Upside #1: People have your back
Team members—especially employees—aren’t just there to get things done for you. They’re part of the fundamental support of the business. And sometimes, that looks like making sure you’re in a position to the do work that only you can do.
They might keep you from getting derailed by an unhappy customer. They might watch out for you when they know you’re under the weather. They might pick up an off-hand remark as an idea for a game-changing project.
I simply cannot oversell the benefit of having a team that has your back. Of course, building this kind of team takes work—management work—but it is so, so, so worth it.
Upside #2: Other people can create or deliver value for you
Most micro business owners—solo or not—operate as if they’re the only ones who can create value for the business. But team members can create value, too!
They can turn ideas into reality. They can work with your clients or lead conversations in your course. They can build systems that dramatically increase efficiency and effectiveness. They can even build offers for you!
Maybe that seems incredibly far-fetched at this point. Maybe you never even considered that as a possibility. But it’s all true. Of course, you’ve got to hire the right people and guide them... ★ Support this podcast ★

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EP 341: Taking Better Care Of Each Other with Wanderwell Founder Kate Strathmann

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In This Episode:
* Wanderwell founder Kate Strathmann and I unpack how our personal values often don’t line up with economic forces—and how that impacts our business* Why rethinking the purpose of your business might help you rethink your goals to be more aligned with your personal values* How expanding your vision to include taking care of others as well as yourself can create a paradigm shift in your business
Marketers love to tell you: do this and you’ll make more money.
Or, do this and you’ll have more freedom.
Or, do this and you’ll get to be more you.
If you do what I tell you to do, your life will significantly improve.
The reason for this is simple: capitalism turns life improvement into a task of consumption.
We’re convinced we can buy our way to an easier, more satisfying life. And that means many of us are convinced we can work our way to the money we need to do that.
Further, the more we improve ourselves and enhance our lives, the more we can use our selves as a form of capital to reinvest in the market. As Jia Tolentino writes, selfhood is capitalism’s last natural resource.
Now, I’m not meaning to pick on marketers here.
Because the way we (and yes, I’ll include myself here) market our products and services is only one very small part of a systemic problem.
The larger, systemic issue is how most of us are conditioned to focus our effort on the individual pursuit of success. We focus on our individual challenges, our individual needs, and our individual opportunities.
And that’s great because businesses can sell us answers to the questions of individual success and the solutions to individual challenges.
When their solutions don’t bring about the results we’re looking for? Well, it’s likely because we’re just not as capable as we need to be, right? Ugh.
Individualism is insidious.
Of course, just because individualism is insidious doesn’t mean we don’t have individual needs, goals, and desires that are absolutely worth pursuing.
It’s just that individualism as a system, along with the personal responsibility doctrine and the false promise of meritocracy create a series of assumptions that ultimately pit my success against your success, my needs against your needs, my desires against your desires.
We can talk about wanting business to be a win-win all we want but, as long as we’re working in these systems, it’s incredibly difficult to make it happen.
So what that does is put our personal values in conflict with economic forces. It puts the way we want to see the world in conflict with the way the world works.
Over the last 5 years, I’ve been trying to imagine and build ways of doing business that meet & exceed my individual needs while also broadening my focus beyond only my individual success. I still have many more questions that I have answers—and I’ve peeled back many layers of privilege and conditioning to see things in new ways.
Last spring, a new layer to peel back started to emerge. My friend and our resident business radical, Kate Strathmann, made it clear that many of the ways we were responding to the pandemic and resulting economic shock were an attempt at “individual solutions to ... ★ Support this podcast ★