We’ve all heard the announcements on the Underground (or subway if you live abroad) to “Step Away From The Edge”. In effect they are reminding us that we need to step away and put space between us and our businesses and and yet the reality is that few business leaders really do this, especially in the SME sector. Business leaders struggle to “Stop working in the business and start working on the business” The result is that many businesses get stuck at a certain revenue ceiling because they simply can’t grow. The business leader/owner has become a bottle neck in the business causing operational flows to slow down and in the worst case stop all together.
Some recent research conducted by Haines Watts, a UK accountancy firm, of 500 UK SME’s revealed that “(42%) of UK SME owners believe that their business couldn’t survive more than a single week without them at the helm”. I can’t imagine what pressure that puts on the business leader just simply to keep things going. Having time to take any vacation, well that simply doesn’t figure into the equation. And yet when business leaders step away, even for just a few days, from the daily business operations, they come back renewed, re-energised and with a new perspective on business issues.
Here are five reasons for this very serious business challenge:
- Lack of Shared Vision
Business leaders are very poor at articulating clearly their vision for the business. As such their teams are not on the same page when it comes to the strategic growth plan. These divergent views cause silos to emerge, and create team disengagement as the team members, who could massively drive the business forward, are not engaged and don’t feel they know how to contribute to the success of the business. - Poor Planning
The research revealed that only 84% of business owners are only able to spend between 1-10% of their working week planning for the future. In contrast, business leaders who are able to step back and focus predominantly on planning are more than twice as likely to run fast growth businesses (annual growth greater than 15%).This is the typical chicken and egg situation. The business leader doesn’t feel that they has time to plan, and yet without creating a robust, well thought out plan, no-one else can navigate the business, as they don’t know where they are heading. - Lack of TrustOnly 60% of business leaders believe that they have the full support of their management team and as a result many business leaders simply don’t trust their team to deliver. Whether this is a perception built on ego – No-one can do this as well as me – or a genuine concern, the reality is the same. The business leader doesn’t share vital information with team members, and so they feel disempowered to do their role.Concerningly, despite nearly 50% half of business leaders lacking trust in their management teams, the teams themselves don’t realise that trust isn’t there. 83% of senior managers believe they fully understand the business owner’s goals and 87% hold the, often false, belief they would be trusted to run the business even in the owner’s absence. So, there is a massive gulf in team members perceptions and that of the business leader.
- Lack of Communication
The problem of a lack of trust is compounded by poor communication. 52% of business owners find themselves hiding their concerns from their teams because they are worried about showing vulnerability. And yet we know that being able to display vulnerability is a key skill of a leader. And if the business leader cannot articulate their concerns to their management teams then there is no transparency and courageous conversations fail to occur. - Lack of a Growth Mindset
For an SME business there is a very real need to focus on sales if the business is to grow, and yet many management teams lack the skillset to help the business leader grow the business. The research revealed that over half (53%) of management teams have never helped grow a business prior to the one they now work in today. This is because in larger organisations there are specific functions dedicated to sales, and yet in a smaller business every single team member needs to be a brand ambassador actively promoting and selling the business at every opportunity
Given that SME sector is the powerhouse of economic growth across the world it is imperative that we help these business leaders elevate themselves out of the day to day operations so that they can become more strategic about their growth. Only by doing so will they be able to fully leverage the power of their teams which will create a more engaged workforce that help deliver more productivity and profitability to fuel business growth.
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
