It’s Impacting Your Team And Your Business!

I was delighted to meet Nikhil at a networking event in Mumbai. Nikhil is my friend’s son and was representing an engineering firm at the Trade show. We met up over coffee as Nikhil wanted advice on a job change decision he had been considering. I was surprised- as I knew he had joined the current company a year earlier. “So what is motivating you to consider another offer so soon?”
Nikhil was thoughtful “It’s like this – I don’t think I am getting the mentoring and inputs I had expected here. You see when I joined I was impressed with my boss-  Sanjay’s portfolio and achievements. Sanjay is a brilliant entrepreneur and I thought my learning curve will be high, but now I am not sure.”
“What changed Nikhil? Can you elaborate so that I can help you clarify your thoughts?”
“Ok. Here goes – you see Sanjay is fantastic at getting new client accounts, but it means he is not in office often. But that’s not the problem entirely; Sanjay and I have not really found a firm footing despite me reporting to him for the last 15 months.
You see, Sanjay was very busy last year and our regular reviews did not happen. I was rated average in the appraisal and I did not get a feedback on why, so I don’t even know what really happened.
In my previous organization, my boss would spend time giving me direction and also do a quarterly feedback, so I knew what to improve on. Moreover, Sanjay takes interest only in special projects, but I think I need guidance on other projects too as they are new for me, for which he is not available ever. There is a communication gap too.
Last month I was held responsible for a decision which impacted our sales process, but I was not aware of the detailed background. Sanjay believed I could have handled it but apparently I did not”.
Nikhil was getting more agitated now “It makes things difficult as I am not clear about priorities and goals and I feel a lack of support.  I feel my efforts are not recognized. I want to grow and take higher responsibility and not just keep doing low level tasks. But that’s possible only if I have someone who could support me, challenge me and push me to do more. So I think its best I move on now as I  may be able to join a company where I could use my strengths better.”
Phew! I totally understood from where Nikhil was coming and agreed with him that things should change. I advised him to open a dialogue with Sanjay before taking the decision to move on.
As a Business Coach   we often come across this “Missing leadership” syndrome where the leaders are so busy dealing with customers that they lose sight of their teams.
Business Owners and Leaders complain that they struggle to hire high quality staff. On the other hand, those who have high quality staff struggle to leverage them. At Expandus we coach & mentor business owners & leaders to build high performing & profitable teams.
While I can’t advise Sanjay how to change things with Nikhil; here are some things I do recommend as an experienced and certified Business Coach .

• For businesses to run smoothly and become scalable, the Leaders of the company must follow the rhythm of a healthy “business cycle”.
• The Owner must support & develop the team by giving direction, identifying priorities, taking decisions, paying bills, staying profitable, paying wages, giving guidance & encouragement, building systems.
• It’s the Team then that must support the customer with great sales skills, great service, great quality and great consistency.
• Customers will then be willing to support the business by coming back more often, spending more on each visit and telling their friends about you.
• And in turn the business will supports the owner through profits and over time less hours worked.

As a Business Coach  I guide our clients to avoid “Sanjay” situation and become inspiring leaders.
Expandus Business Coaching Pvt. Limited, is an ActionCOACH Business Coaching, USA Franchise Partner located in Pune at Koregaon Park. We  offer specially designed high impact personalized one-on-one business coaching and mentoring for Founders, Directors and CEOs of Small to Medium sized businesses.

Become that amazing Manager and Leader that your staff deserves.

The tips we share are a small part of what we do at our coaching sessions.

If you’d like to take the whole framework and install in your business, then do drop an email at sameer.waghode@expandusbusinesscoaching.com with subject line as “Scale Session” and we’ll reach out to you with all the details quickly.