The Little Known Reason There Isn’t A Famous “One Man Band”: And How It Can Teach You To Dial Up Your Output

What was the last one man band you heard of?How famous were they?Did they ever get a record deal?

Did they “make it,” by their definition?

Chances are you know about one or two people who play at local venues or cafes and consider themselves a “one man band,” playing drums, cymbals, harmonica, and guitar.

Maybe it doesn’t sound like all that much at first, but consider this:

This is the same person who books the gig, sets up the electronics, and pays taxes on earnings. This is the same person who has to write songs or transpose others into their unique format. This is the same person who has to respond to fan emails, create album art, and ship cd’s to customers. This is the same person fielding complaints and dealing with shipping errors, booking cancellations, and venues not paying on time.You see my point?Define success however you’d like, but I’d bet you any of these people wouldn’t say “no” to large scale popularity. What I mean is: this person wants person wants more people to hear and appreciate the musical output. Yet, by doing all of this alone, growth and impact are limited. 

2 Minute Action:

This is the part where the excuses appear (when it gets hard).“Well, Chris, I don’t have the resources to pay for someone to help me.”What if it was your mom?What if it was your brother?What if it was your biggest fan, who believes in you?What if it was a music performance student who needs internship credits?Getting around the excuse is called “making it happen,” and that’s totally up to you. Today, it will only take you about 2 minutes to think of an area where you’re holding yourself back. How much of the work are you doing?What could you offload?Pick one person who might be interested or available in helping (in some very small and specific way—at first).Reach out. The height of the ceiling is more in your control than you think. 

Are You As Ready As You Think

Here's a leadership trick I pulled from Agile.When you're looking at yourself, your team, or a co-worker, you can use this tool to quickly assess readiness.In the "Situational Leadership Model," there are 4 levels of "readiness." Readiness is how motivated and capable someone is.It's a predictor of future output. 

Here are the readiness levels:

Here is the type of leadership that is most effective with each of these levels:

R1

If you're an R1, you don't have the skills or the confidence to face challenges. This person needs a little micro-management and very clear task instructions. The goal is not to continue on like this, but to get enough small wins that they develop the confidence to move on to R2. You're telling them what to do. Hence the name "Telling" style.

R2

If you're an R2, you still don't have the skillset, but you're up for learning. This is a great place for new hires to be if you've got the bandwidth for some training. Quick ways to get your team up to speed would be involving them in decisions and have them pair up on tasks where knowledge could be transferred. The focus here is on quality, not quantity. It's like lifting weights. You need to get your form right before you can start doing the heavy stuff, else you risk injury. This is called the "Selling" style of leadership in this model.

R3

R3s are interesting because they have the skills and tools they need, but lack the confidence to complete tasks at high capacity. It's actually a great place to be. One of the most critical things you can do here is build trust by creating an environment where they don't feel like they'll get the axe if they fail. This might mean that instead of making decisions for the team, you're letting them make their own decisions while you facilitate learning. This is called "Participating" style because you're reducing task direction and increasing relationship-building behavior.

R4

R4s are the final stage. This is where you can shift from participating in the process to delegating the task of deciding how the work should be done. This means you're now only thinking of maximizing throughput, and blocking/tackling for the team. You're making sure everyone is aligned with the most important priorities and pushing hard. Sustainability is key. This is called the "Delegating" style.

2 Minute Action:

Where are you on this map?What kind of coaching do you need to give yourself?What are the things you'll need to level up?Take 2 minutes to decide one way you might start leveling up, today.