Tips for Growing Your People to Grow Your Business
1. To Grow Your Business, Grow Your People
A thriving business is the result of a thriving team. It’s simple—your people are your greatest asset. Whether you're actively involved in the day-to-day grind or guiding from the sidelines, your team's development should always be a top priority. The challenge many leaders face, especially those strapped for time, is that they often leave growth to chance, assuming it will happen naturally. But here’s the reality: it won’t. Growth needs to be intentional. Lock in regular coaching sessions with your team. This way, you’re building them up deliberately, not accidentally. Remember, when your people grow, your business follows.
Action Step: Schedule bi-weekly one-on-ones with each team member. Use this time to review their progress, set new goals, and offer guidance.
2. Be a Player-Coach or a Captain-Coach
In business, you’ve got to decide—are you in the game with your team, or are you overseeing the entire operation? As a player-coach, you're juggling two roles: you're still in the marketplace selling, but you're also responsible for coaching your team. This can be highly effective, especially when your team can observe you leading by example. On the flip side, the captain-coach steps back from daily tasks and focuses entirely on strategy, team management, and leadership. Whichever role you take, it's crucial to set the standard and be the example your team looks up to. If you lead with energy and drive, they’ll follow suit.
Action Step: Decide which leadership style best suits your current business structure. If you’re a player-coach, focus on modelling behaviours you want to see in your team. If you’re a captain-coach, ensure you’re consistently showing up for your team as a leader.
3. Grow Deliberately, Not Accidentally
A common mistake leaders make is assuming that if they’re good leaders, their team will naturally grow. Sure, some growth may happen just by osmosis, but relying on this alone is risky. The trick is to grow deliberately. Create a structured approach. One simple method is to break it down into 90-day increments. Every 90 days, sit down with each team member and assess their growth—what new skills have they acquired? What areas need improvement? These 90-day blocks act as benchmarks and keep everyone accountable, both you and your team.
Action Step: Add quarterly "growth reviews" to your calendar. For each team member, jot down a few key objectives to review at the end of the 90-day period. This process keeps everyone on track without overcomplicating things.
4. Delegate Leadership Carefully
Hiring a manager can seem like the perfect solution to take some weight off your shoulders, but it's a move that needs to be carefully considered. Delegating leadership without the right scale or structure can backfire. Often, businesses hire a manager without considering if the business is large enough to support that role. The danger? If trading conditions shift, you may be forced to let them go, which can lead to instability in your team. Even with a manager, many team members will still come directly to you because they value your leadership and vision. So, think through the decision carefully—can your business truly support this new structure?
Action Step: Before hiring a manager, ensure your business has the scale and revenue to sustain the role. If you're not quite there yet, focus on improving your current leadership systems rather than delegating prematurely.
5. Help Your Team Grow for Themselves
At the end of the day, your team isn’t growing for you—they're growing for themselves. They want to advance their careers, hit personal milestones, and achieve professional success. And as their leader, it's your responsibility to understand what drives them individually. When you take the time to learn what they want from their careers and lives, you can better align your business as the vehicle that helps them achieve those goals. The result? A motivated team that’s not only growing for themselves but is also more engaged and invested in the business’s success.
Action Step: In your next team meeting or one-on-one, ask your team members what their personal and professional goals are. What are they striving for? Once you know, find ways to help them achieve those goals through their role in the business.