Episode 01: The Role Nobody Can Keep
Why Does the Same Position Keep Burning People Out?
Diane has hired for the same role three times in two years, and every person has burned out, checked out, or blown up on the way out the door. Other roles on her team are working fine. So what's going on with this one?
In this episode, Ashlee and Brad plan how they'd approach a meeting with Diane. They start with a simple but powerful question: is it bad hiring, a bad role, bad culture, or bad luck? Then they work through which order to investigate them in, and why hiring should come last, not first.
Along the way, they pull apart "overworked, underappreciated, and missing deadlines" and show why those are three different problems with three different fixes. They also cover the one-role-does-three-jobs trap, explain why the "black sheep" might be the only one who sees the cracks, and share a hiring approach built on test projects and shadow days instead of great interviews.
If you keep hiring for a role that keeps failing, this one's for you.
KEY TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
01:00 Diane's Scenario
03:00 First Impressions
07:00 Why the "Black Sheep" Sees the Cracks
10:30 Bad Luck, Bad Hiring, Bad Role, or Bad Culture?
13:00 What You Expected vs. What You Got
15:00 Overworked, Underappreciated, or Missing Deadlines?
20:00 Capacity vs. Complexity
24:00 The Role With No Buffer
27:00 Hiring for Real Skills, Not Great Interviews
31:00 Key Takeaways
Have a growing pain you can't quite diagnose?
Send us your scenario at innerworkofbusiness@gmail.com. Tell us what's happening, how long it's been going on, and what you've already tried. If we use it on the show, we'll keep it anonymous.
Want to work with us?
Brad Eisenberg is a scalability consultant who helps founders get out of the weeds and build businesses that feel as good on the inside as they look on the outside. Learn more at beleanbusiness.com
Ashlee Berghoff is a fractional COO and author of Eureka Results, building systems that protect sanity, peace, and creative work in a frenetic world. Learn more at [Ashlee's link]
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