Expansion brings excitement, challenge, innovation, change to list but a few words. It might mean more product, wider and deeper services, perhaps greater specialisation to attack niche markets. It might mean expansion outside traditional markets. Whatever type of expansion you are looking at, one thing is for certain. You will need to bring new people on board. But more than that, you will need to put strategies and systems in place that will help you manage your expanding team to best effect. This article focuses on the people aspects of expansion and offers advice to MDs looking to improve their team expansion management skills. Building a picture of the future First off, it’s essential to map out your future team needs. Start by creating an organisation chart for your future business. At this point don’t include named individuals. Focus on the roles you perceive are needed to enable this expansion to take place. Taking names out of the equation for the time being frees you … [Read more...]
Case Study: Leadership Succession Coaching in Action
Gordon is MD of a £24m turnover business. He is aware that in the next few years there will be a number of retirements at senior levels and there is an experience gap between Board members and the next tier down. He has identified Richard as possibly having the potential to step into a broader role over the next few years. Gordon’s challenge Gordon faced five immediate challenges: Is Richard the right person? Is he capable of stepping up? When is the right time to start the process? When are the other Directors going to retire? How do l sell the process? How do l manage the expectations of both Richard and others? Dealing with these challenges Answering these questions took a number of meetings over around 3 months. One of the solutions was to adopt the leadership profile developed by leading assessment company SHL, which could be used as a proxy benchmark of capability against a senior manager group. We also did a mapping … [Read more...]
How coaching can support leadership change in a small business
Coaching might be seen as the new buzzword of the age. It has come to cover a multitude of interventions – consulting, training, educating, advising, mentoring, therapy, counselling and so on. For me coaching is about engaging with the whole person to achieve the outcomes the business is looking for in a sustainable way. This first blog is to unpick that last sentence and explore how that fits in to succession planning in an SME environment. “Engaging with the whole person” means working with the rational and emotional sides of the brain. My client may or may not know what to do. Any knowledge gaps can be identified through coaching and a plan developed for further training and education outside the coaching relationship. That is relatively straightforward particularly if the person is motivated to succeed. The emotional aspect is just as important. I would be asking such questions as: How does the person really feel about the new opportunity (in the context of succession)? What … [Read more...]
