A growing and successful business attracts top talent – then loses them through pressure instilled by its highly driven CEO. She wants to change – but how?
The Issue
Charlotte is an entrepreneur, the founder and CEO of a very successful and growing IT business. The business has grown from four people to more than 50 over the past five years and is still growing. She is supported by four executive leadership team (ELT) members and a senior management team (SMT), most of whom are managing small teams for the first time.
Charlotte is described as ‘fantastically gifted’, ‘innovative’ and ‘talented’. That’s why people join the business. But her ‘flying by the seat of her pants’; ‘constantly re-arranging meetings and expecting everyone else to fall in line’; ‘taking on more work than we can manage’ and ‘expecting us to work all hours and then changing things at the last minute’, is taking its toll. The organisation has lost some of its best young talent because, according to the HR manager, the pressure is too much, and there is no long-term career path.
Meetings, when they do happen, are often a ‘waste of time’ as Charlotte has made up her mind about what should happen already.
Charlotte knows that things have to change – and that she has to change too – for the business to continue to grow and for her to have a life outside of work. Her executive team has pledged its support. But in the constant cycle of ‘busyness’ she doesn’t know how or what to do first.
The Interventions
Lynn Scott
International Coach Federation master coach and team coach
Charlotte has recognised that things can’t go on as they are. Her team is willing to support her. A good starting point.
There are two areas of work here – working one-to-one with Charlotte and also with the wider team (ELT and SMT) to shape the business of the future.
I would start with Charlotte – working with her in a relaxed space (some ‘breathing space!) away from the office. Who is she? What are her hopes and dreams? How big does she want the organisation to grow – and to what end? What type of leader does she want to be? Does she have the right people to help her grow?
To develop her self-awareness further and translate awareness into action I would use Hogan Leadership Forecast assessments to help her understand her characteristics, competencies, values and her ‘reputation’.
Charlotte can then start to make changes – experimenting with different ways of ‘doing’ and ‘being’ over an agreed period of time.
I would recommend Hogan assessments for the executive team too – giving the team members a common language and understanding of themselves and each other – what they each bring to the party. A facilitated session will help them share ‘what
this means for us as a team and the business’.
Work with the wider team would start with a diagnostic: a series of one-to-one confidential conversations to get people’s views on what’s working and what’s not. Key themes are fed back to Charlotte and the team, with recommendations and priorities for moving forward.
A team breakthrough day would be the first event for Charlotte and her ELT to work on the priorities identified and to build a solid foundation for future growth. This would be supplemented by other team coaching interventions over an agreed period of time to maintain focus, awareness and action.
Rob Nathan
Founder, career coach and trainer, Career Counselling Services
This is a common stage of growth that many successful entrepreneurs discover: the methods Charlotte has used to gain success are no longer working. But she has the respect and support of her senior teams and the far-sightedness to realise that change is essential. Since Charlotte is in danger of not knowing her staff, the place to start is with a three-day whole company residential event, facilitated by an external consultant. The aims will be:
- to engage all staff in an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) of what is working well in the organisation
- to include reports from each member of the ELT on ‘The company – past, present and future’
- to crystallise individual and team strengths, possibly by using a Strengths-based questionnaire such as Realise2 or Strengthscope
- to jointly do some scenario planning for the next five years, considering technological and other potential impacts on the business
- to include a workshop on ‘Developing our brand for 2020 and beyond’, which will focus on identifying shared values and goals.
Subsequent individual and team coaching with Charlotte and her senior teams will embed the outcomes of the company event. These could include the development of a career and development infrastructure suited to the values and goals identified in the event, and the talent population that the company wishes to retain.
Training in career conversations would equip managers to maintain regular career discussions, which will need to be separate from any performance management or assessment. This training would equip managers with the structures, tools and confidence to have regular career discussions with their staff.
Appropriate ways of assessing and developing talent will also need to be agreed – talented people want to be stretched and valued, otherwise they will move on.