As your business grows, the joys of expansion can sometimes mask the potential pitfalls that come with it. Navigating these changes requires careful attention to your business processes, team dynamics, and leadership skills.
To help you navigate this stage successfully, we’ve compiled five common pitfalls and tips on how to avoid them.
1. Avoiding difficult conversations
One of the most common pitfalls in team dynamics is not clearly communicating expectations. When team members aren’t sure about their roles and deliverables, it can lead to confusion, frustration, and ultimately reduced overall productivity.
I had this experience at RealWealth a few years ago. An employee was frequently missing quarterly goals and team meetings and frequently turned in substandard projects, negatively impacting morale and productivity in the department. I held out, hoping the problem would resolve itself, but eventually I had to fire the person. They were shocked, and the conversation was emotional.
After that, I vowed to never let that happen again, and I resolved to use the techniques in Kim Scott’s book. Radical Kander (Great book!) provides a system for directly challenging employees while still showing them that you personally care. We’ve also improved our performance review process, which we now conduct on a quarterly basis.
My advice is to not let the issue go unaddressed and to clarify expectations. Onboarding is the perfect time to outline and discuss work expectations. Once the employee crosses the 90-day mark, review the expectations going forward and ask if there is anything that needs clarification. Taking the time to be upfront will help avoid misunderstandings.
2. There is no documented process in place
Assuming someone knows how to do a task can lead to misunderstandings and knowledge gaps that can hinder project and team performance. Before you assign a job or project to someone and assume they have the expertise to complete the task, create a system that provides a knowledge base for everyone. Whether you have a team of three or fifty, documenting your processes sets your company and employees up for long-term success.
Key points include:
- Ask your employees to create documented processes for the tasks they perform on a regular basis.
- The process should be documented or recorded in video format. The key is to thoroughly explain the steps of the project or task.
- Once completed, employees will have a concrete reference for completing work across the organization.
- Store these processes in a digital hub (Dropbox, Google Drive, Trainual, etc.) and make them accessible to all employees.
- Share with affected employees or new hires as appropriate.
- Review your processes annually as the systems used and procedures followed may change.
Having a system for distributing how-to’s is a valuable tool, ensuring your team has the information they need and isn’t left in disarray when employees move on or take time off.
3. Leaders who lack curiosity
Curiosity is a powerful trait that plays a huge role in a leader’s effectiveness, yet many leaders underestimate the importance of curiosity and how a lack of it can lead to stagnation, missed opportunities for innovation, and employee attrition and abandonment.
Cathy and I learned the power of curiosity early on in our business thanks to a RealWealth employee who ran live and virtual events and helped Cathy manage pressing priorities and projects. When we discovered her passion was in art, not real estate, we worried we might lose her.
Instead of letting fear dictate our emotions, curiosity took over. Cathy asked how she could pursue her passion. It was a win-win: she decided to continue working for us and built an award-winning app and blog about street art on the side. A few years later, when her priority shifted to travel, we tried remote work.
Our approach of being open-minded and giving our employees the freedom to do what’s important to them has shown us how important it is to ask simple questions to get to the heart of the matter. It only takes a few questions to understand how to make your team happier and more fulfilled.
To get started, answer these five questions:
- What do you want? I mean, what do you really want?
- How would your life change if you had it?
- What can you do to get it?
- If there was anything that could stop this, what would it be?
- How can we most effectively support them?
4. Assuming leaders know how to lead
Leaders are a key component of any organization’s success. As a business owner, it is crucial that you understand the fundamental role that you and your leadership team play in creating an effective and cohesive organization.
As an experienced business coach, I have worked with many executives who lead their teams with directives and micromanagement. This style kills team morale. Instead of performing at their best, the team ends up underperforming and less enthusiastic.
As a leader, you must put your ego aside, listen, and be prepared to improve your skills. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- If your team isn’t working well, start by looking at yourself and your leaders. It’s probably starting from the top down. Are there shortcomings you’re not aware of? Do you need to change your way of thinking?
- Be prepared to critically and compassionately evaluate yourself and your leaders: What areas or skill sets can you improve?
- Leadership is a skill that can be developed, so provide yourself and your company’s leaders with opportunities for improvement. These opportunities can take the form of seminars, reading, coaching, mentoring, and (most importantly) practice.
Finding a leader who values growth and learning can motivate everyone and take your business to the next level.
5. Believe that the company’s vision will inspire your team
One of the most common pitfalls in building a lasting team is assuming that a vision alone is enough to inspire your team, encourage hard work, and foster loyalty. While a strong vision is certainly essential, relying on it alone can lead to a lack of engagement.
When we first started RealWealth, we needed clarity about our goal, so Kathy and I set a mission: “Help 50,000 people build real wealth.” This mission inspired our team, but we decided to take it a step further by involving them in the visioning process.
We asked our team to envision what our business would look like in 10 years’ time and how it would positively change our clients. This process led to many of the things we have in place today, such as:
- Helping members acquire over $3.5 billion in real estate assets by 2030
- Donate 10% of profits to life-changing charities
- Creating a quarterly profit-sharing plan for all employees
- Supporting real estate investment and job options
By broadening our focus from what we, as owners, could get out of the business to what our team could accomplish, we dramatically changed our team dynamics and created a company culture of dedicated employees.
lastly
These are just some of the pitfalls I have encountered over the past few decades. Some cannot be avoided entirely, but the key is to recognize them and change course sooner rather than later. A thoughtful approach that involves having difficult conversations, documenting the process, staying curious, fostering growth, and integrating the team into the company vision strengthens the foundation for team collaboration and long-term success.
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BiggerPockets notes: These are opinions expressed by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.
