Understanding the Roles of Starter, Finisher, and Stabilizer in Business

Are you a Starter, Finisher, or Stabilizer?

I love this question and have used it in my business with clients & team. It’s important to understand this distinction for ourselves, as well as for the people we work with.

A Starter likes to get the ball rolling – you are a visionary. You see the world through a lens of opportunity and how things can be changed for the better. You are passionate and driven by your ideas – nothing gives you more pleasure than a great (new) idea and the possibility it creates.

A Finisher likes to get stuff done – you love to plug into someone else’s ideas and help bring them to life. You naturally see what it will take to accomplish a goal – the steps, resources and timeline – and don’t feel satisfied until measurable progress is being made.

A Stabilizer likes to keep the engine running – you are driven by stability – chaos, messes and surprises drive you crazy! You have an eye for detail and a heart of service, knowing that a strong foundation is what keeps the vision (ideas) alive. You are satisfied when everything is running as it should, on a daily basis, with excellence.

Which one do you identify with the most?

The answer could be more than one for you – many of my clients are both a Starter and a Finisher, but not usually a Stabilizer. 

My clients are great at coming up with big ideas – solving big problems – bringing solutions to life. And then once the programs are created and serving where they are meant to serve, I see them start to disengage. Once the creation is live their natural inclination is to move onto the next thing.

Does this sound like you?

If so, embrace your strengths and accept that you may not be a Stabilizer, and that’s OK. 

It doesn’t mean that everything you create is destined to fall by the wayside and disappear when it comes to keeping things going. The key is simply to surround yourself with strong Finishers & Stabilizer - the folks who love to make sure everything gets done and runs as it should long-term. 

As a Finisher my zone of genius is putting the systems and structures in place that bring your visionary ideas to life. I love to see progress, bring things to completion and make sure they are built to stay strong.

How does your current team compliment your nature?

For my business I thrive on connecting with powerful Starters. 

If you’re a Starter, you need strong Finishers & Stabilizer around you to keep the success engine running.

Know yourself. Honor yourself. And surround yourself with the complementary support team. Interested in exploring this concept further? I’d love to dig deeper with you.

Meet Kiva Slade - the Founder and CEO of The 516 Collaborative. With a unique background in high-power politics on Capitol Hill and sixteen years as a homeschooling mama, Kiva found her calling in the online business world as a trusted guide for entrepreneurs looking to build the business of their dreams.

Kiva's work began behind the scenes, orchestrating the back end of businesses and managing teams. But her inner data diva couldn't help but notice that small businesses needed help harnessing the power of data for growth. So she and her team set out to uncover and tidy up the data required to enable clients to grow their businesses confidently and easily.