All businesses and all individuals grow through natural stages of development over the course of a lifetime. Or they stagnate. They cease to grow. Natural growth spurts and transitions occur approximately every 7 –10 years for individuals; every so many millions in profit for business.
This article speaks directly to business owners and partners who face the challenges of leading through business growth.
Having a smooth functioning culture with happy employees who have support and resources for their personal and professional development starts at the top. For owners and business partners, a long-view toward future transition or sale puts markers for growth into perspective. When business partners are aware of these long-term objectives—and their partnering relationship is solid—communicating through growth stages and transitions, providing access to resources for individual development, and other cultural values naturally goes hand-in-hand with productivity expectations and profit markers.
Each stage of business growth brings many changes. Managing the transition and being prepared for different responses to the change requires leadership clarity, confidence and communication that frames employee response. Focusing on the desired outcome is key.
Facing and Managing Challenges of Leading Through Each Stage of Business Growth
Transitioning through stages provokes the need for change. Some owners are sensitive to changes on the horizon, anticipate, and plan ahead. Others are heads-down focused on the day-to-day demands. Such owners are often blindsided by unexpected needs. Individuals and relationships are strained. In business, with so much on the line, change requires understanding, negotiation, new strategies and tactics, for partners to stay focused on mutual outcomes. The foresight, alignment, and consistency of the partnership relationship determines just how nimble and proficient each proves to be.
For a clear path to communicate change with your team so you lead them to the outcome you desire, take a look at our article 4 Steps to Frame a Change and Manage Your Team During a Transition Period Within Your Business.
Accompany that with a short video further describing how to Frame a Change.
What works at one stage of your business and business partnership may not work at another. And if you or your partner’s personal life goes haywire, or demands more attention, as in the case of pregnancy, divorce, illness, or death in a family, is your partnership armed with the tools and skills to pivot, to move through the changes as a team? Do you have the tools and skills to pivot and make decisions quickly and efficiently together—or do the demands strain your partnership and your business growth?
Whether change is anticipated or unexpectedly thrust upon you, having not only an agreed upon approach to carrying out your business objectives, a firm business model and working business plan, it’s also important to have an agreed upon approach to relating—so you know you can count on one another to work through the challenges together.
Managing change through business growth and transition requires clarity, confidence and skills to frame and focus everyone on value of outcomes.
Some Styles of Business Partner Communication Are Better Than Others
There are 4 basic styles of relating. Mixing them leads to great confusion and is inefficient. Learn more about each style here in the following articles. I’ve focused on each relationship style in depth so you can see the strengths and weaknesses and ways they might be impacting your business. From this it is easy to consciously identify the style of relating you wish. In doing so you can reach out for coaching to learn the skills so you confidently achieve your goals.
In this article you’ll be introduced to four relationship styles entered into by business partners. In the four articles indicated throughout and at the end of this overview, each style will be discussed in greater detail. Unlike relationship therapy or counseling, coaching for relationship style empowers you with skills and tools so you start and stay aligned as business partners. This way you can focus on building your business together!
- Business Partnering Styles: The Dominant—Non-Dominant Relationship Style 1/4
- The Difficulties of Business Partnerships With Undefined Roles: Style 2/4
- The Unilateral Decision-Making Relationship Style in Business Partners ¾
- Coaching The Big Picture Business Partner Relationship Way—Style 4/4
The need for care and clear communication is important at each choice point from start-up, through phases of growth, through to future planning for succession or sale. While business and personal lives are often not mentioned in the same sentence, there is a need for care not only due to impacts on the business success, but also impacts on personal lives, the fruition of personal dreams and fulfillment. And care for your relationship as business partners.
Consciously acknowledging that business and personal changes will occur naturally over time, functioning consistently with a growth mindset, you can arm yourself with mindset, tools, and skills so your business remains focused, your employees and customers are minimally impacted, and you support one another through the transitions and choice points that occur.
RESOURCES:
COMMUNICATION TOOLS: SHORT VIDEOS
- Visit our Video Tips and Resources page here.
- Or Dr. Jan Hoistad’s Youtube page here.
RESOURCES for BUSINESS OWNERS & PARTNERS
Are you having partnership difficulties now or in negotiation with a potential partner? Don’t wait! Let’s get you on a better path Contact me here.
- For a case example of business partners successfully implementing the Big Picture approach, please read this article.
- A Case Study: Juggling Family, Work Team and Farming
- To download both White Papers for business partners, please go here.
RESOURCES FOR CAREER COUPLES
When You Are Ready to Reach Out for a Complimentary Conversation – START HERE
As an executive, career professional or business owner, having a supportive, strategic coach and consultant who empowers you to confidently clarify and achieve your desired outcomes is invaluable. Coaching helps you work more productively and lead more effectively.
While Dr. Hoistad cannot promise to remove outside demands, she can help you prioritize, set goals and strategies so you and your team function at peak performance.
♦ Executive Coaching, Leadership Coaching, and Business Consulting. Develop awareness of how your decisions affect other areas, your people and your future goals. Fully aligned, make decisions for best possible outcomes.
♦ Partnership Coaching for business owners, partners, teams, entrepreneurs, dual-career couples and couples in business together. Become fully aligned so you work together better, achieving business objectives.
♦ Career Coaching for individual professionals and dual-career couples. At all stages of development; during times of transition; when considering a relocation; when desiring to integrate personal life goals with your career.
With her unique “Big Picture” perspective, Dr. Jan partners with you as you transition through choice points in your career and business life. Her focus is on helping you clarify what you want, identify what’s in the way, and strategize a step-by-step plan so you achieve your goals.
Dr. Jan brings her expertise in human development, system dynamics, entrepreneurship, business growth, partnering, communication and creativity to her clients who become catalysts for change in their businesses, careers, and personal lives. She has helped numerous professionals, business owners, and teams achieve ambitious career and business goals, healthy relationships, and a greater quality of work and life.
“When an experienced professional incorporates Dr. Jan’s coaching and consulting solutions, you can almost feel their body relax. They become excited again. More hopeful, they remember what they love about their work as, together, we turn burdens into doable strategies that achieve their future goals.”
-Dr. Jan Hoistad