How to Train Your Team to Take Ownership

If your days are a never ending parade of hey boss, you got a minute? Style interruptions, then I've got news for you. You don't have a team. You have a bunch of problem messengers. And the worst part is you probably trained them to be that way. But it's not too late to fix it. And today I'm going to show you the 333 model. A ridiculously simple system that trains your team to solve their own problems before they bring them to you. So that frankly, you can stop being the human Google machine for your team. Now, this system builds autonomy, it eliminates shoulder taps, and most importantly, it gives you back your time, it gives you back your focus, and it gives you back your sanity. Now if you don't know me, my name is Ryan Deiss. My partners and I manage 17 companies across our $200 million holding group. So we know a thing or two about building self managing team. Now there are three pieces to this process. So let's break them all down step by step. Step one is the three minute Google first rule. Now here's kind of the harsh reality. CEOs, founders, business leaders, you are spending way too much time Googling stuff for your employees and this absolutely, positively has to stop. So the first part of the 333 model is this. Anytime a team member has a question, they must spend at least three uninterrupted minutes to find the answer themselves. They can Google it, they can ask ChatGPT, they can check the sops and checklists and the company operating system. They just can't ask you or anyone else until they have first tried to answer it themselves. Because the fact is, 80% of the time, the answer's out there. It's there, it's available, it's findable, it's figureoutable. They just have to look for it. And this isn't about being harsh or treating your employees like children. It's about developing a resourcefulness as opposed to learned helplessness, which is what you're actually fostering when you continue to Google stuff for your people. So the next time someone brings you a question, don't answer it right away. Instead ask, what searches have you already performed? What research have you already done? And if they say nothing, send it back. Have them do their own research and do this. Even if you know the answer. We want to train the appropriate behavior so we can build the appropriate habits. Step two is the three peer rule. Okay, so let's say that they did some basic research, but they still couldn't find a clear answer that's fair. Not everything is out there. Not everything is figureoutable. So if that happens, now it is time for the three peer rule. And three peer rule states that before they can escalate the problem to a manager and especially to you, the CEO, the they need to talk to at least three peers. Now they can hit up a teammate in the office, they can post something in Slack, they can ask someone in another department. They can even post the question in a forum, an industry group, a Reddit thread. I don't care. The point is there's just so much wisdom both inside and outside of your organization if you just give it a chance to bubble up. And even if their peers don't have the answer, sometimes just the act of articulating the question, the problem out loud just that's enough to surface a solution. The point is collaboration happens horizontally first. Another point is that lone wolves burn out, but teams thrive. So teach your people to leverage their fellow teammates. Step 3 the three question one three one rule okay, so at this point they have researched. They they have asked around and they still need help. Now and only now do they come to you. And now and only now can they come to their manager. But they don't get to show up just empty handed. If they're going to come to me, they need to follow the 131 format, which stands for one problem. In other words, what is the actual issue stated clearly in one to two sentences. They also need to bring three possible solutions. In other words, what are three ways that we could solve this problem? This piece is important because it proves that they actually did the research required back in steps one and steps two. And finally, I want one recommendation. In other words, this is them telling you what they recommend and why. This requires them to actually have an opinion, to plant a flag, to formulate a hypothesis. So no more just dumping problems at your feet. No more taking the monkey off their back and throwing it on yours. No more what do we do? I don't know. They must show their work and importantly, even if their solution is wrong, it creates a teaching moment. Because if there's no hypothesis, there's no learning. Now personally I like to ask my team to send me their 131 in Slack or email before we hop on a call or start a meeting. It saves everyone a lot of time because I can review it ahead of time and more times than not I agree with their recommendation and and we get to bypass the meeting and discussion completely. I just get to say I reviewed your one three one. I understand the problem. I understand the possible solutions. I agree with your recommendation. Proceed as you believe is best. Now, the 333 model works because most problems simply don't need you. What they need is better filters. So it's not about removing yourself completely. It's simply about making you the last step, not the first. And as a result of that, you're gonna have fewer interruptions. You're gonna have smarter, more confident and more independent team members. And you're gonna have way, way more time to do the work that actually matters. Okay, here's your action step. This is what I want you to do. If you've gotten any value from this whatsoever, I want you to take this video and I want you to share it with your team. Whether you share it, email, Slack, and a meeting, whatever, share it with your team and drop the three three three model and into your next team meeting. And then next time someone brings you a problem, just ask them, hey, have you run this through the 333 filter yet? Train them in real time and you'll be amazed at how fast things can change. And look. If you want more practical frameworks like this to build a self managing team and a more scalable business, go ahead and click that subscribe button. Also, be sure to check out the video in the description on how to build and install a scalable operating system. You got this.