Let’s talk about leadership.
Over the years I’ve seen a common theme with expanding businesses when it comes to employing staff.
As business owners the buck stops with us. Ultimately, we’re responsible for our own success, or not. We’re passionate about what we do. The impact we want to make.
Expanding, we hire people and with the expectation they’ll have the same vison and level of passion as we do.
And while it can happen, mostly it doesn’t. Which leads to disappointment and frustration when our employees fail to take the same level of responsibility as we do.
So what’s going on?
We’re visionaries. Know what we want. Are willing to take the risks to enable a better future.
So we hire people and expect them to be like us.
But they’re not. Think of this way. If they were they’d likely be in their own businesses. Not working in yours.
This is the advice I give my clients.
When hiring concentrate on values and cultural fit. How does this person think? Do they share your values? What’s their level of emotional intelligence and engagement? Will they lead or want to be “friends” with everyone else including the people who report to them. Are they capable of making tough decisions.
You need to set clear boundaries of responsibility and communicate them clearly.
Set goals and equivalent scorecards that measure performance.
And never abrogate responsibility. Ergo, you can’t take your eye off the ball until you’re sure you have a leadership team in place which will act in the business’s best interest.
Given all this, is your business where you want it to be?
Maybe you feel something’s missing. While you’re successful, things are slipping and your business is underperforming. You know you can do much better but can’t quite put your fingers on where.
You want to breathe in new life, regain your competitive edge and become excited about your future.
Maybe you’re rapidly expanding which has its own set of risks. Managing cash flow is one. Being tactical rather than strategic. Ensuring the right people are in the right roles is another.
We work with our clients via our Better Business Reboot program to perform a thorough assessment of the current state, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing changes to improve performance. This may involve changing strategy, revamping marketing and sales efforts, streamlining service offerings, or restructuring people and operations.
We implement a solid expansion plan providing a framework for decision making, helping you stay focused while minimising risks.
So if you feel your business could do with a reboot in one or more areas, drop me a note. We’ll have a preliminary no obligation conversation and take it from there.
