Regardless of whether you have two or twenty employees, leadership matters and for what it’s worth, there are few natural born leaders. That’s why leadership skills need to be learned and relearned all the time.

So here’s a question I bet most entrepreneurs don’t ever consider. Do you lead from the front or the back? Some entrepreneurs know instinctively when to lead from the front or to lead from the back. Others though need to consciously work at trying to balance between the two. But sadly too many haven’t got a clue and nor do they care.

To say that leadership is a large and fragmented topic, would be an understatement. A recent search of Google on the word “Leadership” returned an astronomical 4.7 billion results. That’s “B” as in billions. Therefore it’s safe to assume that there is lots of interest in the topic.

To be sure that with this many results there is bound be a fair amount of repetitiveness in the advice given. Fortunately, there are always those tried and true nuggets of wisdom that have stood the test of time.

One of those truths is that good leaders tend to be good leaders regardless of the environment. Having said that, one of the biggest challenge facing leaders today is that they may have to up their empathy quotient. This is so that they can accommodate the current crop of employees, as many appear to need more hand holding than previous generations.

Female warrior leader aggressive stance

Why step back?

Although every situation is different, the good leaders know when to assert themselves and take charge or when to back off and let someone else lead.

They’re confident enough to know they don’t always have to be out front. By relinquishing control, they give their staff the opportunity to grow their leadership skills.

Ultimately, the more you lead from the back, the more freedom you’ll have, allowing you to tackle more strategic issues, or to simply cut back on your workload.

The trick is to know when to take charge and when to let others do so. Finding the right balance is tough and should always be determined by the situation.

So when do you lead from the front?

So how often do you lead from the front? Unless you have a very green team, it’s a lot less often than you think.
There are a number of situations that require you, the owner, to step up and lead the charge. These tend to fall into two buckets, crisis or opportunity.

A crisis can best be defined as a showstopper. It’s any situation that can negatively affect the company’s reputation or performance and has a high degree of urgency.

Many times in crisis situations you don’t have the luxury of sitting back and letting things unfold in a natural way. It often requires immediacy of action.

This is where experience and knowledge comes into play, whereby the leader can react far more quickly to the situation.

Opportunities on the other hand may require someone to lead from the front for political or strategic reasons.

Here are some situations that may require you to be out in front and leading the charge:

Let’s first look at some crises situations:
    1. Having a large client threaten to stop dealing with you after all attempts by your team have failed, would rank high.
    1. Needing to defend the actions of your team with a client would be another situation. Many times the “customer isn’t always right!”
    1. A massive competitive threat that comes out of nowhere might also qualify.
    1. A product or service failure. You need to own it!
And now opportunity situations
    1. Depending on your industry, you may need to lead the charge on launching a new product. This gives you the chance to get direct feedback, good or bad directly from your customers. Equally as important, it can show your customers and team that it is important.
    1. Setting the vision or direction of the company requires you to lead from front. It’s not something you can delegate. Your actions speaks louder than words.
    1. Matching is another situation where it’s important to be visible. Matching means exactly that. It’s where you match client title with your own.

For example, a new clients wants a presentation on your services. In attendance from their side will be mid-level person along with their company president or vice-president. In those case you should be visible and lead the conversation. It also shows the client that they are important.

The switch

Regardless of whether it’s a crises or an opportunity, the goal here is to ultimately relinquish the relationship to a team member.

This is done by stating something to the effect “Going forward Mary will be your key contact”, or “John will follow up with next week to discuss next steps”. By making that statement, you go from leading from the front to leading from the back.

Additionally, whether you lead from the front or the back, these situations must be used as teaching moments.

These teaching moments include taking the time to explain to your team the rationale for the given course of action and will be open to input.

However, being open to input doesn’t mean that you are obliged to act on it. So to counter this, you must take the time to explain why it will or why it won’t be incorporated it into the plan.

Equally important is that, when leading from the back you must let the individual know that you have their back and are available for consultation if needed.

In conjunction with this support, your job is to run interference for their team. In other words, you need to make sure they don’t get distracted with other people’s priorities.

Female warrior leader standing down

Don’t jump in

The hardest part for any leader when taking a back seat is to avoid jumping in and rescue an individual when it’s clear that their chosen course of action will not achieve the desired outcome.

This was a lesson I learned many years ago as a newly minted district manager at a major consumer goods company. A big part of my job was to monitor, motivate and train a dozen or so sales reps.

Fortunately or unfortunately, very little of this could be done remotely. For the most part this was a feet on the ground undertaking, riding shotgun for hours or days as we visited dozens of accounts.

One of the golden rules when leading from the back, was never to interrupt or critique the individual, while they were presenting to a buyer. Sometimes this was painful, when it was clear that things were going off the rails or there was a missed upsell opportunity.

Had I jumped in to save the day on any of these calls, we would have surely walked out with a bigger order, but at what cost?

Taking control in those moments risked destroying the individual’s self-confidence and undermine their authority with that buyer. Not a fair trade to my way of thinking.

Instead, the right approach was to wait until the call was completed and undertake a post-mortem. Unless the individual was brand new, these after call reviews only took a few minutes and happened in the car on the way to the next call. Simple teaching moments that paid immediate dividends throughout the rest of the day.

Female warrior confident pose

Time well spent.

In hindsight, working this closely and exclusively with any team member for a day or two pays huge dividends. Unfortunately, that’s a rarity today and that’s a shame.

Fortunately though, time spent working with your team to show them how to be more effective is always a good investment. It gives you a chance to share your knowledge and experience, usually in real life situations instead of in hypotheticals.

People go to work to be successful!

Developing your team’s leadership capabilities by knowing when to lead from the front or the back is critical if you want to grow your company.

By developing a more capable workforce, it frees you up to spend more time on strategic initiatives, such as goal setting or keeping the organization on point vis-à-vis your vision. And let’s not forget the freedom to seek out new opportunities.

Understanding that if employees are enjoying their work and feel appreciated, they’ll perform at a higher level. There’s nothing new or complicated in that statement, but it’s surprising how misunderstood this simple concept is.

As with any delegation initiatives, the goal here is to free up your time and increase employee’s satisfaction. Always keep in mind that people go to work to be successful. Being bored with their work is a sure fire way to increase turnover.

There’s a time and a place to be that hard charging entrepreneur and there’s a time to step back. Knowing the difference can really help you and your company grow.

 

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Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

The world economies are in a mess and heading for a recession. But this shouldn’t be much of a surprise if you’ve been paying any attention to the news over the past year.

The war in Ukraine, inflation, ongoing supply chain disruptions, interest rate increases, energy supplies and pricing are making it tough for consumers and small businesses alike.

So what is a small business owner to do? Well, you have two choices, play defense, and batten down the hatches or go on the offense and grab market share. So let’s explore both options.

Play defense

The most natural thing to do in recessionary times is to get ready to ride out the storm. In episode #55 of the Small Business Minute titled Are you Ready? I review some things you can do to ready yourself for an economic downturn.

But when a recession does hit, playing defense means making draconian cuts in expenses because there’s a good chance your revenues will take a hit.

It means being ruthless. You need to adopt the attitude that nothing is sacred, and everything is on the block. But being internal optimists, that’s not easy for a lot of entrepreneurs. Always remember the goal during recessionary times is to survive and live to fight another day.

One big problem with any pending economic retraction is knowing how bad things may get. There have been many contractions that weren’t anywhere near the predictions and ended up being nothing more than speeds bumps.

Ocean storm with lighthouse in background

However, there have also been many times that the reality was far worse than the forecasts. In addition, some industries were more impacted than others. The point is no one knows with any certainty which way the winds are going to blow. So, it’s better to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

This recession is different

Unfortunately, there is one major problem facing business owners this time around – Covid! Let’s be honest, from a business owners’ perspective, Covid was not just a health issue, it was business destroyer. Its impact was far worse than any recession.

Small businesses faced unprecedented disruption, through forced shutdowns, and health and safety protocols that were extensive and expensive. This left small businesses uncertain of their future.

Because of this, entrepreneurs were forced to make decisions to cut staff and expenses in order to survive. Any owner that had a financial cushion saw most of that safety net disappear.

So, once the economies of the world started to open up, entrepreneurs have been struggling to return to profitability and normalcy. Unfortunately, because of Covid, most small businesses have nothing left to cut.

Sadly, if a recession is in the cards, thousands of small businesses will disappear as they are tapped out. One thing that you can count on is that there won`t be a government bailout.

But there is an alternative.

Play Offense

Soccer/Football player on the offense

If you take a pause and step back for a moment, you’ll might realize that there is another approach to consider, and that is to go on the offense.

When you consider that when most small business owners hear the word recession, their knee jerk reaction is pull back on everything. As I mentioned early, it’s a legitimate strategy. Batten down the hatches and survive.

However, instead of a wholesale slash and burn across all areas of their company, taking a surgical approach might prove to be the way forward.

First off, making cuts is prudent. But instead of sweeping cuts, why not look at all non-profitable areas of your company. Got dead inventory that you’ve been hanging onto, dump it and free up your cash. Even at $.25 on the dollar, it’s better than staring at it and it puts some cash in the bank.

Next, focus only on those products and services that are profitable, period! This is not the time to launch any new initiatives. They usually require some form of investment, whether that’s human or financial to support it until such time they contribute in a meaningful way to the bottom line.

By focusing on those products or services that are already profitable frees up financial and human resources to go on the offense and start grabbing market share.

When you consider that just about everyone of your competitors will be cutting their marketing spend, this will create a vacuum in the marketplace. With them cutting back on their promotional campaigns, this forces the advertising industry to offer discounts or bonuses to make up for their shortfalls. So, this is the time to take advantage of the situation and amp up your awareness.

By increasing your marketing and sales initiatives during this period, it can drive awareness of your products and services within your target market. The key here is “your target market”.

“Going on the offense in a recession,

is like driving down a two lane highway

and getting the chance to pass

10 slower cars in one shot.”

It’s absolutely necessary to have laser like focus on your target because you’ll need to be shrewd on how you spend your money. Because your profitability will probably take hit during a recession, this may not be the best time to open new markets, but every case is different and need to be measured on its own merits. However, going deeper into those channels that you already know and understand is the smart play.

It’s also important to be aware that recessions aren’t biased. They impact most industries the same. So, you’ll need to be prepared to sharpen your pencil as you hunt for new customers, because everyone will be looking for value.

Once the economy recovers, you should be able to recover most of the margin you gave up, because you’ll have fewer competitors.

Going on the offense in a recession, is like driving down a two lane highway and getting the chance to pass 10 slower cars in one shot.

Bear in mind, this strategy take guts, but as the saying goes “To the brave goes the spoils!” But when you think about it, how risky is it? It might be less than you think. When you consider your that many of your competitors will be sitting in a corner sucking their thumbs hoping that things get better.

Fortunately, recessions don’t come around that often but when they do, you must react decisively regardless of whether you choose to play offense or defense.

A word of caution if you’re planning to play defense, be ready to protect current customers or market share. Chances are one of your competitor may be playing offense and you are on their hit list.

Basketball players at the net

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

In the movie Top Gun, Maverick and Goose are flying in close formation with Iceman in a training manoeuvre as they try to shoot down a much nimbler fictitious Russian MiG fighter. Maverick having been accused of abandoning his wingmen in the past, is sticking tight to Iceman but clearly has “the shot”.

Maverick pleads with Iceman to break off and let him take the shot. Iceman’s rebuttal is that he only needs a few more seconds to acquire the target. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, Iceman capitulates and breaks hard right as Maverick has requested and that’s when things get really ugly for Maverick and Goose.

When Iceman finally relinquished his position by breaking hard right, the airflow over the wings of Maverick’s plane became disrupted. What was once clear air flowing across his wings, turned into a vortex of turbulent erratic air. This clear air disruption meant the plane’s wings lost their lift capabilities. Suddenly, the plane was into a flat spin, from which Maverick couldn’t recover and cost Goose his life.

It’s good enough for me

Of course, this was fictional, but serves as a great example of what happens to too many businesses that don’t set their own strategy. They blindly follow a competitor’s lead assuming all along that “if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.” But what you don’t know is, what conditions they are operating under.

Thoughtlessly following a competitor’s strategy is just being lazy and leaves you vulnerable. Taking the time to set your own course is time well spent.

Your flight path

Charting your own flight path minimizes the risk of being caught up in a competitor’s vortex. You decide what to sell, who you want to sell to and where you want to sell. Paying too much attention to your competitor, restricts your ability to come up with creative solutions. Just because it’s never been done before, does mean it can’t.

Throughout my career I’ve broken the rules many times and received very little push back. In most cases it opened up a huge competitive gap that gave me a significant advantage over my competition. I didn’t have to wait for them to clear out of the way, because I wasn’t following anybody, as I had clear air all the way.

Clear air

How do you find clear air? Most of the time, it’s simply a matter of looking around and seeing what others outside of your industry are doing. We get so immersed in our industries, that we forget that people are doing new and creative things everywhere, in every industry and every day. You need to be aware of your surroundings, of what’s going on around. Once you develop this habit, you’ll begin to see a myriad of new ideas or opportunities that others have overlooked.

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 2019

Sign up above to receive email notification of the latest update to this blog.

 

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

I like to define entrepreneurs into one of two categories, they are either a hunter or gatherer.

A hunter is someone who’s business requires them to go out every day and find new customers. Whereas a gatherer is much like a farmer who continuously harvests business from an established base of existing customers. The best businesses do both.

Of course, all entrepreneurs start out as hunters. They must, because they don’t have an existing customer base from which to harvest. Survival in the early days requires hunting every day, otherwise they won’t be in business very long.

Neglected Opportunities

Unfortunately, far too many entrepreneurs neglect the opportunities that exist to become a gatherer. They are so accustomed to the thrill of getting a new customer, they completely miss out on or don’t realize the potential that exist from generating incremental business from their previous customer base.

Long vs Short Purchase Cycles

To be fair, some businesses have incredibly long customer purchase cycles. An example of this is roofing sales as most people only replace their roofs every 15-20 years. Another example is new car sales, whereby people are keeping their vehicles an average of 7+ years. So, trying sell these people any sooner is very difficult.

In these situations, there still exists the opportunity to harvest from these relationships through referrals to friends and families. Easy to do, but seldom tried and wastes all the goodwill generated. Even hunter type businesses can become gatherers, if they stay in business long enough.

Many other businesses with shorter purchase cycles, think months not years, still don’t try to increase the purchase frequency. They are in such a habit of hunting that they overlook or fail to identify the many opportunities to promote complimentary or supplementary purchases. They just wait and hope that the customers return or calls them.

Look for Opportunities

Entrepreneurs that act as gatherers look for opportunities to be constantly in front of their customers, reminding them of the products and services they have to offer. With the all tools available today, such as, social media or email, staying visible is far easier than ever before.

Hunting everyday is far more difficult than gathering. Finding a balance between hunting and gathering can reduce the pressure to find a new customer every single day. Understanding whether you’re a hunter or gatherer business allows you to design the most effective strategy that will allow you to maximize your potential from all the goodwill you’ve already generated.

You may also enjoy No New Customers

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 2017

Sign up above to receive email notification of the latest update to this blog.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.