“The company is the people.” This statement is one of many made by Richard Branson during his career that put employees front and center.
He, like many serial entrepreneurs, believes that people are the greatest asset of any business, and in order to scale and execute an ambitious growth strategy, you need to create a strong, loyal workforce that believes in this vision.
Given his success in amassing a multi-billion pound fortune, it is hard to argue with his approach. The truth is that people are extremely important when it comes to achieving success in business. What's more, with the war for talent raging across many sectors, finding the right people to navigate this growth journey is an increasingly important task.
At the helm of any fast-growing company is a management team. Their mission is not only to achieve the company's growth ambitions, but also to instill confidence and leadership in every employee.
Building a strong management team, both now and in the future, is vital to the success of any ambitious business, especially if you want to ensure that “the company is the people”. But how do you create a high-performance management team?
Identify the key qualities needed in your team
It is important to understand each element of growth and identify the essential qualities needed to achieve success. Look around the management team and assess who can bring their skills and experience to each element, whether that be international expansion, identifying, executing and integrating acquisitions, or targeting larger customers and demand values.
It is very common to have gaps in skill sets and experience. As such, a diverse group with a wide range of skills that can come together to implement the plan makes for a strong management team.
Get your hiring process right
Before starting any interview process, summarize what's great about working at your company. What is your employee value proposition? Why should anyone join your company? High-caliber candidates who can have the greatest impact on your business will likely have a number of options available to them, so you'll need to make an attractive offer to secure their services. This is especially true for small and emerging brands that may not be able to offer some of the advantages to more established companies. However, although they may have less scope, what they can offer is the opportunity to have wider involvement and influence across the business, the potential for increased responsibility and flexibility, and the chance to work in a dynamic company with real growth potential. .
Keep an eye on the future
The biggest mistake companies make is hiring for today, instead of hiring for the future. When looking for senior leaders, think about what the business will look like in two to three years. There is no point in hiring someone who is perfect for the business as it is today, but they will not be able to achieve a similar impact when the business grows, becomes larger, offers expanded product ranges, or sells to different customers.
Hiring someone who has been on the expansion journey and can contribute now and over the next few years will be a real advantage. Yes, it will be a little more expensive, but you won't incur rehiring costs in 12 months or less, and you'll have a valuable senior colleague throughout your next stage of growth.
Moving with the times
Leadership continues to evolve – driven by the demands and desires of a changing workforce, new technologies, and economic and political change. Leaders must then have the ability to lead through those challenges and uncertainty, leveraging the skills, knowledge and capabilities of their team, by creating an environment of innovation and collaboration.
Increasingly, employees are also looking for mission-driven and purpose-driven workplaces and leaders. A successful management team must have the skills to respond to the changing requirements of employees and respond to the vision and values set by the company.
Since people are the cornerstone of success in almost every company, a strong management team (without exception) must have strong people skills and the ability to inspire and lead. An investment of time and commitment is therefore invaluable to ensuring that everyone's leadership and coaching skills are fit for purpose and that there is a consistent understanding and appreciation of expected behaviors and what high performance looks like.