How To Keep A Growing Team On The Same Page

A common challenge that my clients have is when they go from having a smaller tight-knit team, two or three people, to then having a larger team of 5 to 10 people. This is when you need leadership systems and structure to keep everyone on the same page.

I know it's so vital to have these leadership systems in place. I'm sure you've noticed that when it's a small team and you can do things ad-hoc you can get away with it because you see everyone regularly and they feel engaged and understand what is going on. But…… as the team grows it doesn't give anyone certainty if its too sporadic and no one knows whats going to happen next. And new team member that come on board don’t know how things play out here in your business. And this inconsistency can sometimes cause issues because people don't necessarily feel like they can bring things to the table. Or they have a great idea to share but then they haven’t seen the boss in 2 months and that idea gets forgotten about…

The real purpose of getting these leadership systems in place is you're setting a standard for your business. And it's your business, it's your standard, you need to have the platform and the opportunity to hold that standard, especially as the team gets bigger.

Leadership system number 1- One to one check-in conversations

The most important system to have is One on One check-ins with each team member to have a development conversation with them. Every 2 or 3 months. With each person. Those one-to-one check-in times as so vital for everybody to feel like they matter. And to feel like they are being developed. So setting those little mini goals for them, and then talking to them about how you can both go about achieving them, how you as the business owner can support them to get to that next level.

And I know that for some of you, it might be challenging to be able to step into the role of being that leader that needs to give feedback and stretch your team member to lean into their potential. It's a challenge, I get it.

That’s why getting coached as a business owner is so important. You might find this really challenging and it is such a key element of Leadership.

Some of the massive realizations that my clients have had are:

1) They didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings

2) They don't want to rock the boat.

3) They don’t know how to have those conversations with love and with grace.

There is a way that you can be a leader who deeply cares, who shows true emotion towards your team, and who holds the standard of the company.

You are able to have those development conversations with the team and teach them how to step up their game.

Everybody's learning and growing. And so are you. It's okay if you fumble these conversations. It’s a constant dance. It's ongoing learning for the business owner to become effective at these conversations.

Leadership structure number 2- Quarterly team meeting every 90 days

The next most important Leadership structure to have is a quarterly team meeting every 90 days, and scheduling it into your diaries so that you can have those bigger-picture conversations.

And what is the vision of the business? What are you working towards? What role is the team playing, that's important.

Creating the space for yourself and your team allows them to feel like they can contribute to the overall running of the business.

It also means that everybody's getting together to share ideas. And it's not just you as the business owner having to make all of those decisions, bring them on board.

When you start doing those team meetings at the beginning, people don't actually know how to contribute. And you might be asking for ideas and get crickets completely normal.

But when you set that consistency when every 90 days you have a new meeting, they know that it's coming up, then your team will feel like they can contribute more and more. And eventually you'll build a culture of team members who are actively engaged, sharing ideas and helping you achieve your vision and mission of your business.

A lot of the time, I find that people are so busy as managers and leaders and business owners that they forget that their role as a leader is to create space, create space for themselves, and create space for those check-in conversations.