4 reasons why you struggle to work "on the business"
As a leader, it is your responsibility to not only manage the day-to-day operations of your business, but also to strategically plan for its long-term success. This involves stepping back from the daily grind and working on the bigger picture, also known as working "on the business."
But this can't just be a one-off exercise, nor is it something that a business owner should undertake on their own.
If the rest of the leadership team isn’t fully engaged in this activity, then you are setting yourself up to fail: No-one else will be tuned in to your way of thinking. No-one else will be committed to the new mission. No-one else will be primed to sense the changes in the market and help you ‘course correct’ as you continue your journey.
If this sounds familiar, rest assured that you are not alone. Many business owners and their leadership teams will say that they are too busy, and struggle to find the time.
But in my experience, there are more subtle things happening. Here are four barriers that must be overcome before any leadership team can truly collaborate and work ‘on the business' effectively.
The Four Barriers to working on the business together
1. Information Overload
I’ve previously described how you, as the leader of your business, are swamped with ‘content’. But it’s not just you!
It’s the same for every member of your senior team. They, like you, have their own informal business network and a steady stream of emails, social media and blogs, all promising new ways to win at business. (None of us can resist the search for that magic solution!)
In a sense, everyone is ‘panning for gold’. But the problem is, it’s rarely done as a team. Each person consumes their own ‘content’ on a daily or weekly basis; if they find something that looks shiny and bright, they’ll shout ‘gold’ and bring it to everyone’s attention.
On its own, this can be disruptive and energy-sapping. But this often leads to the second problem.
2. Not Invented Here
There is a tendency to judge other people’s potential treasure trove with suspicion. It seems like we’re programmed to challenge its authenticity and effectiveness rather than embrace it.
This gets even more extreme when the promised ‘gold’ involves the use of external advisers. It might be a new business growth programme offered by your accountancy firm or a growth expert who someone heard speak at a conference. It could be that a new member of the executive team has suggested bringing in the consultant who worked wonders at their last organisation.
Either way, it typically results in what I often picture as a medieval joust. Each person sends in their consultant or programme to do battle armed with competing ideas and approaches. The result is often a stalemate, or if there is a clear victor, then this comes at the cost of alienating one or more senior team members. There are rarely any real winners in this scenario.
3. Pursuit of Functional Excellence
As the business leader, we aim to surround ourselves with experts across all functions. They are rewarded handsomely for making sure their department performs its role in the business.
This is all well and good. In fact, it’s essential for the business to be able to operate day to day. However, for many departmental heads, this can easily develop into an obsession with their own function that undermines the effectiveness of the senior team.
With their blinkers on, they tune out of discussions that don’t call for their functional expertise and only tune back in to perform their functional role or defend their department. They’re unable to take the broader, nonpartisan view that is needed for any senior team to work ‘on the business.’
Patrick Lencioni stresses the dangers of this situation in his book, 'The Advantage'1,
“When members of a leadership team feel a stronger sense of commitment and loyalty to the team they lead than the one they’re a member of, then the team they’re a member of becomes like the U.S. Congress or the United Nations: it’s just a place where people come together to lobby for their constituents.
Teams that lead healthy organizations reject this model and come to terms with the difficult but critical requirement that executives must put the needs of the higher team ahead of the needs of their departments. That is the only way that good decisions can be made about how best to serve the entire organization and maximize its performance.”
4. Initiative Fatigue
We all understand and readily accept this principle when it comes to the wider business, but it also applies to your senior team.
I’ve often seen business leaders coming back from a course or raving about a book on leadership, innovation or culture change. Whatever the trigger, their step back from the business had left them focused and fired up to work ‘on the business’ and make the changes needed to accelerate growth. More often than not, the rest of the senior team have seen it all before. They roll their eyes and wait for it to pass!
Almost without fail, three months later, the day-to-day challenges still dominate. The urgent has overtaken the important, the blinkers are back on and that fleeting moment of clarity and objectivity has been lost.
Whether it’s new consultants, new methodologies or the latest business bestseller that’s distributed to the board of directors, every new attempt to work ‘on the business’ is viewed with increasing cynicism and risks further sapping energy and confidence.
A more subtle approach is needed.
Developing Better Habits
Engaging your senior team is crucial but complex.
An understanding of these four barriers reinforces why this is something that you should own and initiate rather than outsource to an external consultant or adviser. Yes, they can provide expert insight and help with specific interventions but it’s your job to engage and lead the senior team in this activity.
Given these four barriers, it should be no surprise that overloading your senior team with another time-consuming, ‘not invented here’ initiative that drags them away from their departments is almost certainly doomed to failure! Instead, overcoming these barriers requires a level of subtlety and patience.
If you recognise the need for a better 'on the business' routine, then it's important to understand what it takes to build a new leadership habit.
In my next blog, I'll describe how neurobiology and behavioural science can help you Build A New Routine For Business Success.
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