As a business grows or changes direction, the way people work together needs to grow with it.
There comes a point in the growth of many businesses when things don’t work quite as well as they used to.
Decisions take longer. People aren’t always clear about who is responsible for what. Work falls between the cracks, and leaders find themselves pulled into decisions they thought others would be making.
The first instinct may be to look at the people.
Why aren’t they taking more accountability? Why aren’t they stepping up? Perhaps they need more training.
Training may help. But the answer is rarely just training. Often, the business has changed while the organisation around its people hasn’t changed with it.
When informal ways of working start to strain
In a small business, people tend to know what everyone else does. Decisions can be made quickly, roles are flexible and someone will usually pick up a task that needs doing. The leader is often at the centre of everything, and that may be one reason the business has succeeded.
But as the business gains people, customers, complexity and ambition, those informal ways of working can become harder to sustain.
The person who made every important decision can’t continue to do so. People who joined when everyone did a bit of everything may need clearer roles and accountability. Managers who were brilliant at their own jobs may now need to teach, support and lead others.
Change affects more than growth
Growth isn’t the only thing that can create these challenges. A business might be entering a new market, acquiring another company, introducing new technology, restructuring or preparing for a founder to step back.
Whatever the trigger, business change almost always means people change.
That doesn’t necessarily mean changing your people. It means asking what needs to change in the way they contribute, make decisions and work together.
Businesses understandably spend time thinking about where they want to go. There’s another question that matters just as much:
What does our organisation need to become to make that future possible?
In my more than 30 years of helping organisations navigate change, I’ve often seen the people implications addressed only after they have become a problem.
Questions to ask as your business changes
Whether you’re already experiencing these challenges or want to get ahead of them, start by asking:
- Where are we going, and what will that require from our organisation and our people?
- What capabilities will we need?
- What will our leaders need to do differently?
- Where does accountability need to become clearer?
- What do we need to preserve, and what do we need to let go of?
Leaders can also ask themselves:
If I didn’t walk through the door tomorrow, what would prevent the management team from successfully running and growing the company?
The answer could tell you a lot about where the real gaps are.
Addressing those gaps doesn’t always require a major transformation programme. Sometimes a few targeted changes are enough to help the business work better as it grows.
Growing the business is only part of the challenge. You also need to grow the organisation behind it—and make sure your people are ready for what comes next.
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Find out more at amandacerysjones.co.uk or contact Amanda at amanda@amandacerysjones.co.uk.