Consistency in Leadership

This week at the Thrivetime show business coaching program I learned more about management and how to develop myself as a leader.  Last week I wrote about consistency and the diligence that is required to own and grow a business successfully.  This week I am typing about the consistency it takes to be a leader with an organization.  Management can be tricky because you are holding people accountable and assuming things are wrong all of the time.  The world trains us to assume everyone is right and to believe what people are telling us.  Typically if I weren’t to hold my team accountable to getting our quota of reviews then we would be consistently under the number.  It makes a difference when I talk to my team every day, asking how many reviews were left then asking why the number isn’t where it should be.  

The manager has the responsibility of having the business owner’s back.  If something in the business is not getting done it is the manager’s responsibility to ask: Why isn’t this done?

Managers are required to hold the team accountable every day.  The manager has the responsibility of having the business owner’s back.  If something in the business is not getting done it is the manager’s responsibility to ask: Why isn’t this done?  There is typically one of two answers when it comes to a task not being completed.  Either the team member did not want to complete the task or the team member did not understand how to complete the task.  The answer to the first reason is to document said team member and the answer to the second reason is to train the team member.

The time to add a manager to your team is when your business coaching staff has more than 5 people.  At this point, you can either promote from within or bring a manager in from the outside.  If you choose to promote from within then know that members of your team will be unhappy with the decision and if you bring in an outsider, members of your team will still be unhappy.  This is great! Anytime changes are made, especially changes that will hold people accountable there is going to be some push back.  This push back will allow you to see who on the team may need to be led off the team.  Remember your team is a variable not a constant.  Hiring, training, and firing employees is part owning a successful business.  Treat your business like a garden, plant the seeds, water them, then pull weeds to keep the garden healthy.

A healthy and successful business has either you or, after the team has grown, a manager tending to it everyday single day to maintain the system.  The consistent expectation of being on time, getting reviews, and completing assigned tasks will aggravate the very employees who do not belong in your business coaching company.  The high standards will attract the A-players you are looking to hire and keep. To attract and keep A players requires diligently expecting the same quality of work as well as the same quantity of work. Every day there will be a reason not to apply the same amount of effort as the day before but your team requires the same things day after day.  This diligence will keep your business thriving, which in return will give you the time and financial freedom you may be seeking.