INSIDE LETTING-GO MENTORING

Which role will you fire yourself from this fortnight?

The fire-yourself commitment is a letting-go mechanic Ivanka Menken uses inside her 6-month 1:1 Mentoring, priced at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. The founder names one role they still hold without the title, such as head of sales, head of hiring or the final reviewer of every proposal, hands it to a named leader, and writes it down as the fortnight's one commitment, with no override for 14 days. Commitments kept on the monthly scorecard shows whether it held.

Email the role you want to fire yourself from

This fortnight's commitment

I resign as head of sales.

It now belongs to  .

I will not take it back for 14 days.

Signed, the founderChecked at the next session

THE HIDDEN TITLES

You hold jobs nobody gave you

Most founders carry a handful of titles that never appear on the org chart. Each fortnight one of them comes off your card and goes to a named leader, and it stays there.

The Hidden TitlesA founder's card carries five informal job titles as name badges: head of sales, head of hiring, head of conflict, final reviewer and head of exceptions. One badge, head of sales in this example, leaves the founder's card for a named leader's card, sealed with 14 days and no override.YOU, FOUNDERHead of hiringHead of conflictFinal reviewerHead of exceptionsTHIS FORTNIGHTA NAMED LEADERHead of sales14 days, no overrideNext fortnight: another badge, another name.

An example: this fortnight, head of sales moves. Tap a title to see the job it hides.

The Hidden Titles · a framework by Ivanka Menken

SOUND FAMILIAR?

Jobs you never applied for

  • “I never officially gave up the head-of-sales role”
  • “I'm still the head of hiring, even if nobody says so”
  • “Every conflict ends up on my desk”
  • “Nothing goes out until I have read it”
  • “I hand things over and quietly take them back”

THE ROLES FOUNDERS KEEP

Five titles that are not on the org chart

Each one is a real job. Naming it is the first step to giving it away.

Founder

You

  1. UnofficialHead of salesyou still close every deal that matters
  2. UnofficialHead of hiringevery interview runs through you
  3. UnofficialHead of conflictdisagreements travel up until they reach you
  4. UnofficialFinal reviewernothing leaves the building unread
  5. UnofficialHead of exceptionsevery discount and special case needs your yes

HOW IT WORKS

One fortnight, one title handed over

It uses the same four steps as every mentoring session. What changes is the commitment.

  1. Step 1Name the roleThe one informal title you will give up this fortnight, said out loud.
  2. Step 2The numbersThe hours it takes from you each week, and how many decisions wait for you because of it.
  3. Step 3The storyThe story that keeps you in the seat, often that nobody else can do it properly.
  4. Step 4Write it downThe role, the leader who now holds it, and no override for 14 days.

The next session: At the next session Ivanka asks whether the role stayed fired, and commitments kept on the monthly scorecard records the answer.

“Personable, but straight to the point. Ivanka helps you identify the bottleneck in your business and supports you while you execute on your plan.”

Business owner

WHERE IT LIVES

Part of Letting-Go Mentoring and Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring: six months, twelve fortnightly sessions, AUD $1,500 a month ex GST. No extra fee.

Letting-Go MentoringBuilder-of-Leaders Mentoring

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Before you resign from anything

What is the fire-yourself commitment?

The fire-yourself commitment is a letting-go mechanic inside mentoring with Ivanka Menken. You name one role you still hold without the title, such as head of sales or final reviewer, hand it to a named leader, and write it down as the fortnight's one commitment. For 14 days you do not take it back, and the next session checks whether it held.

Which Ivanka Menken program includes it?

The fire-yourself commitment is part of 1:1 mentoring with Ivanka Menken, and it is used most in Letting-Go Mentoring and Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring. Both run for six months at AUD $1,500 a month ex GST, with twelve fortnightly sessions. There is no extra fee and nothing separate to buy: it is one of the commitments a fortnight can hold.

What counts as a role I hold without the title?

Any job that still runs through you although someone else could own it. In the fire-yourself commitment Ivanka Menken asks where people go when they need a yes: sales calls, interviews, conflicts, final checks on proposals, discounts and exceptions. If the answer is always you, that is a role, and it can be named and handed over.

What if I take the role back?

Then that is the topic of the next session. The fire-yourself commitment is written down so that taking a role back is visible rather than quiet. Ivanka Menken asks what happened, what story made it feel necessary, and what would let the leader keep it. Commitments kept on the monthly scorecard shows the pattern over six months.

Does the leader need to be ready first?

Rarely as ready as you would like, which is why the fire-yourself commitment is limited to one role and 14 days. Ivanka Menken helps you decide what the leader needs to own it, what you will stop checking, and how you will hear about results without stepping back in. Readiness usually grows once the role is actually theirs.

How is this different from delegating a task?

A task comes back to you when it is done. A role does not. The fire-yourself commitment hands over the whole job, including the decisions inside it, to one named leader. Ivanka Menken uses it when a founder delegates tasks but keeps the role, so everything still comes back to their desk for the final word.

Email ivanka@ivankamenken.com with the role you want to fire yourself from.

See Letting-Go Mentoring →Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring →