Mark C Winters identifies four reasons visionary leaders resist hiring an integrator: financial concerns, fear of losing control, worry about identity without the work, and feeling unworthy to focus only on strengths. He offers fixes for each, from running the numbers to reading EOS Life, and warns against forcing a hire before you're ready.
We see a common problem with visionaries who are preparing to hire an integrator. They love the idea of the visionary integrator combination. They've seen how it works for others and want that for their business. They're saying all the right things, but they're not moving. Why? They're facing some sort of resistance and have to get to the root of it. Usually, fear is stopping them from taking action. In chapter four of Rocket Fuel, we talk about the four readiness factors to get a handle on fear. You can read more there, but let's go over the resistance to each of those readiness factors. Factor one, financial resistance. Visionaries may be resistant to the cost of hiring an integrator. They may think it's just too expensive and don't see the roi. To address this resistance, I invite you to watch the Integrator economics video and do the math for yourself. Factor two is psychological resistance. The visionary doesn't want to give up control and is resisting trusting someone else to do the work. The five tools can help a visionary really understand how to make things work by letting go of the vine. Factor three is lifestyle resistance. Workaholic visionaries worry that bringing on an integrator will make them less valuable to their companies. They'd rather work 60 or 80 hours a week than risk potentially feeling put out to pasture. To combat this resistance, I invite visionaries to read the EOS life and see how much more they can accomplish by freeing up their time. Factor four is unique ability resistance. This one can take hold when the visionary doesn't feel worthy of living in their unique ability. They feel like they're being selfish. In this case, visionaries should remember that someone else actually loves to do all the things they hate to do. I know that's shocking, right? But they're actually robbing someone else of living their EOS life. If you're a visionary dragging your feet about hiring an integrator, do any of these sound familiar to you? I recommend you read Rocket Fuel again to see how you can overcome these readiness resistance factors. I encourage you to get a handle on them by addressing them at the root. Then you're ready to find your ideal integrator. One word of caution. If you still feel stuck somewhere, it's okay to pause for now. Don't try to force a decision. You'll only end up doing false starts which aren't fair to anyone. So to wrap up, number one, recognize that fear is the root of your resistance. Number two, when you face your fear and get past it, then you can go find your ideal integrator. And number three, avoid false starts. If you're really not ready to move forward yet, that's okay. Don't force it.
