Expert tips to get your team firing on all cylinders
PEAK PERFORMANCE
Angelina Bell is an executive business coach and dedicated Scaleup North East Partner . Here , she shares five top tips that will allow you to have an Olympic-level business where you as a leader – and your team members – are highly effective and successful performers …
The Olympic Games were a great demonstration of just how important a vision , clear objectives and goals are to the success of a competing athlete .
With that in mind , here are my top tips for building an Olympic-level business .
1 . Strong leaders should be able to communicate the business strategy with absolute clarity Often , I am asked – “ How do I get everyone in my team , all pulling together and motivated to achieving the business goals ?”
The first few questions I ask are : How clear are you as a business leader on your business vision ? What outcomes do you want to achieve ? Does every staff member understand this , and do they understand the part that they play towards achieving it ?
There are several effective tools that you can use to help you communicate an execution plan for your strategy . My personal favourite is the one-page action plan which is developed from OKRs ( objectives and key results ).
2 . Ensure that you have the right talent and skills in your business Often , established businesses fail to recognise when fresh talent and skills are needed . Firstly , put a required skills matrix together , then review the people that you have and establish if you have what you need within the existing team ( s ). If there are skill gaps , then consider upskilling through training , mentoring and coaching , or seeking fresh talent and skills into your business . If you look at it objectively , it is easier to make those decisions but keep at the forefront of your mind that you need to have a good cultural fit .
3 . Understand and engage with your target market Scaling businesses need to develop a strategic approach to accessing new markets . Local contacts and networks will get you so far but to scale , you need to access larger clients which requires a structured approach . Consider market research and profiling your competition . Profile your prospect clients and have a clear plan to target and win new business .
4 . Have the right infrastructure to support a highly effective team High performers expect to have all the resources that they need to do their job to the best of their ability . The recent pandemic has catapulted the need for flexible working arrangements and highlighted the need for digital solutions . Things to consider are
the quality of equipment available , systems and processes , tools , internet speeds , databases , bespoke systems , and the building / environments they are to work in .
5 . Know your numbers and access finance at the right time High performers can get wobbly when they sense financial pressures and unfortunately this can sometimes result in them jumping ship . If you don ’ t know your numbers , you don ’ t know your business . Your employees will expect you to have a good solid plan and contingencies in place for an unexpected crisis . The pandemic is a good example of this . Therefore , good financial forecasting and management are paramount . You can access finance in several different ways , and it is always easier to do so when it is planned for rather than in a crisis moment .
The RTC North team is highly experienced , many of whom have run their own business and can share knowledge and insight across a broad range of sectors .
While they can individually help to support growing and scaling businesses , like any team member , they all have different personalities and different styles of working .
Together , they form an Olympic-level team of business support .
RTC North is delivering Scaleup North East in conjunction with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership ( LEP ). The programme is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund ( ERDF ). It is aimed at supporting North East-based businesses that can demonstrate both the hunger and the potential to achieve high levels of growth . scaleupnortheast . co . uk .
24 | Aycliffe Business