Bernard Clarke, an experience business leader and a presenter of Boost’s Scale to Thrive masterclasses, explains how and why some business owners struggle to grow and scale their business.
From my work with business owners, the transition from a micro business (under nine staff) to a small business (10 to 50 staff) is a key transition. At this point founders discover that they do not know everything about the business. They begin to employ management positions and can quickly become removed from the delivery side of the company.
This is scary for many business founders and often it means the founder stays involved in operations as it grows. For a scaling business this is no way to thrive, and the founder can become a bottleneck to timely decisions, growth in sales or essential change.
A business founder frequently has a technician background of some kind. They have a skill set or experience that allows them to specialise; for instance, a plumber setting up his own business, an experienced PA creating a virtual PA enterprise or a surveyor establishing a practice.
But running a business involves so much more than a technical skill set. And running a growing business is a further challenge – setting strategy, delegating responsibility, planning finance, following employment law, assessing risk, etc. Few people have all the experience and knowledge needed.
In addition, a founder’s business is often entwined with their personal circumstances. Money may have been borrowed to invest in starting the company. Responsibilities mean protecting an income is vital, and emotional investment often results in a founder’s describing the company as ‘their baby’.
All these factors mean letting new people lead the business is often a challenge for a founder.
The author Dan Pink published a bestselling book that has stood the test of time, it is called Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (Pink, 2018). His insight also then went viral online when posted as an animated talk by the Royal Society for Arts.
A key concept of his work was to understand that if people need to utilise their insight, expertise or judgement then the best way to obtain high performance is to ensure to create three key conditions.
This correlates with a business founder’s challenge. To motivate a growing workforce, to ensure quality and efficiency, a founder should actively cultivate the following three conditions in their business:
1. Mastery – Clarifying the tasks of each role, plotting how each role can excel so high performance is understood and recognised. Too often role descriptions are vague, targets not clear and expectations change with the pressure a leader is under. This confuses people especially when leaders do not work directly with them every day.
2. Autonomy – Don’t micromanage staff, otherwise great (and those who will become greater) staff members will leave. Delegation is key – as the business grows, a founder can become a block if they do not release and share authority.
3. Purpose – Explicitly describe and confirm the business vision. Leaders need to reinforce foundational intent on why something is happening not just what. This draws people to a leader and highlights who is not right for the business.
As a leader focuses on these three conditions they will be drawn to describing and writing down the company. This will provide a foundation for growth that goes beyond the founder and is more sustainable.
A fast-scaling business needs to codify its essence, building processes that can be improved and expanded as demand rises.
If scaling a business is crucial, a founder must create a business that can build and develop beyond them as individuals.
Setting the conditions for mastery, autonomy and purpose in place will also inspire a leader to learn more themselves – after all, business is not done in a static environment.
Founders change their goals, life expectations and needs. Markets evolve – faster than ever – and competitors are always seeking progress too. Consumer interest adapts and environments bring new opportunities and risks all the time.
For a business to thrive at scale continual change is something to be embraced by the founder and their people.
About the author
Bernard Clarke is experienced at establishing and leading business. In a career that has included senior roles in the private sector, academia, and charities, he has amassed a wealth of practical knowledge to share. He has supported numerous new business leaders through training, mentoring, and coaching across the UK.
Bernard is delivering Boost’s Scale to Thrive Masterclass – People and Skills: Embedding Innovative Culture and preparing the workforce for growth.
The masterclass will enable leaders of fast-growing enterprises to clarify the competencies and skills they need to cultivate in their workforce. It will explore the value of a growth mindset and assess the management practices needed to scale up a business. Participants will leave with a strategy to implement that develops individuals and teams in a changing environment.
If you’re looking to grow, scale or start your business, use Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub. We offer a range of funded business support services. Call our Business Support Helpdesk on 0800 488 0057 to find out more or complete our enquiry form.
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