Build the right management team & help your business grow

Build the right management team & help your business grow

As you build your business, you can be very active in the day to day of running the business. But as your business grows, it’s important to let go of the reins, work less in the day to day of the business and build a strong team around you.

In almost every successful business I’ve worked with, sustainable growth could not have been achieved without a trusted, highly skilled team alongside the business owner.

However, the biggest hurdle for business owners is stepping back and allowing the management team to take a lead. So, how can you loosen the reins to allow your management team to take on more responsibility and help you to continue to grow your business?

A unified management team can have a huge impact on business performance and growth. But how can you be sure the right team is in place to take on the challenge?

 

People are like pieces of a puzzle

As a business owner, you don’t have a 360-degree skillset. So many business owners try to spin all the plates themselves and take on responsibilities that they don’t have the skills or the time for.

Every person in the business, but especially in your management team, is a piece of the puzzle. As a business owner and leader, it’s your responsibility to fit that team together so that when you step back, a full picture emerges. Everyone needs to play their part; any gap will break cohesion – and ultimately leave a missing piece in the puzzle. Small gaps in the team’s knowledge and expertise, left unattended for too long, will cause long term business challenges.

 

Create a shared vision

You need to share your vision for the business and ensure that all the management team are unified in achieving your vision and goals. If you don’t have this, it can result in individuals pulling in different directions or becoming siloed in the business. Having a shared vision may sound easy, but many business owners often struggle trying to align the management team’s aspirations with overarching business goals.

 

Be honest with your team

Many business owners I’ve worked with struggle to see or be honest about their own weak spots, for fear of losing respect or support. Many owners are frightened to show vulnerability to their management team. But being honest with yourself and the team about the challenges you face can help you build stronger relationships with your management team and make them feel they are part of a partnership, rather than in a hierarchical structure.

This honesty can help your management team to step up to the plate and they may well surprise you with the help, support, and knowledge they offer you. It can often open the door to productive conversations that take the business forward.

 

Employ people better than yourself

It’s often hard for business owners to employ people that may know more than them. When you build a strong management team of experts, it can be difficult or take time to accept that they are doing things that you thought only you were capable of doing. But this is a sure sign that you have the right team in place.

Another sure sign that your management team is performing well, is when they challenge you, rather than you always challenging them.

 

Do you have the right management team?

Deciding if you’ve got the right management team in place isn’t easy and can often mean making difficult decisions. Many business owners avoid asking themselves difficult questions about the quality of their management team – after all you appointed them in the first place!

If your management team isn’t delivering, then before you take any action, look inwards. The problem may not lie with them, but rather the lack of freedom and responsibility you allow them.

You also need to assess if you’re building the right culture in your management team, or whether it’s this that holds them back. Your management team must know that it’s okay for them to step out, innovate and push the boundaries of the business. They need to feel confident that any ideas they have and bring to the table, will be taken seriously and will be explored in a collaborative manner and it the best interests of the business.

When everyone in the team is confident that there is a safe place among their business peers to be honest, share innovative new ideas and challenge but also support one another in equal measure then a strong management team will be created.

 

Evaluating your management team

 If you’re trying to evaluate the skills and suitability of your management team today, then ask yourself these questions:

1. Does your management team understand business planning and demonstrate that they have been meeting their targets?
2. Is business performance routinely and collaboratively reviewed by the management team?
3. Is your management team emotionally intelligent, have clarity in their communication and create leadership for their teams to achieve the business objectives?
4. Does your management team ensure compliance, risk and growth targets are managed and measured, with minimal support from you?
5. When recruiting the management team is there consideration of the skills gaps in the team, and is selection made on a ‘best fit’ (as opposed to people who are the same as the those in the management team)?
6. Are roles and responsibilities well defined between the management team, and communicated with the wider business?
7. Does the management team regularly brief each other on what's going on in the business so they can collectively see their contribution to the wider picture?
8. Is the management team united in difficult times and celebrate successes in good times, collectively?
9. Is there is a development plan in place for each member of the management team, tailored to both business and individual needs?
10. Can you trust my management team to run the business in my absence?

 

The cost of not having a good management team

The cost of having the wrong people at management level can affect many parts of the business. It could manifest in missed opportunities, poor employee engagement, lack of innovation and inefficiencies leading to wasted time. All these negatively impact the bottom line.

Building the trust in your team to take over the day to day of your business and allow you to step back to work on your business, rather than in it, is not an easy thing to do. Trusting your team implicitly allows more time for thinking and planning strategically, while still being able to walk into meetings confident that the team has everything in hand.

Ultimately, the right management team will create and drive business growth, engagement, collaboration, decision making and will ultimately have a positive effect on the profitability of your business.

If there are any areas that we can help you with, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our offices in Chester, Wirral and Liverpool.