3 Time Bombs That Will Implode Your Business

You didn’t start your business to fail.

You had dreams of mass success.?

Big profits. Market demand. Exceptional client experience. Industry acceptance.

And you probably have experienced some, if not all of those things. Then, things started going sideways. You couldn’t put your finger on why?! Problems became the norm. Productivity started to slip. Capacity was becoming an issue: with either too much to do and not enough resources, or the opposite with a top heavy, unsteady team that was draining energy and morale.

"Developing effective conflict management within your business 
is as important as having an email address and phone number."         

How did this happen? What’s causing this collapse of your business? What infernal demon is rising up and swallowing all your hard work and passion? How can you prevent your business from failing despite being a top specialist in your field?

Here are the?Three Time Bombs That Will Implode Your Business?(and here’s a hint, it’s?not?the economy).

1. Time Bomb One:?Ignoring Self Awareness

Being a business owner relies on a lot of factors. Specialization in your field is probably how it started. You were good at something, built a business around it, and thought that it was the main capstone for success. Then you started running into problems that didn’t have evident solutions. You didn’t know how to navigate these problems and the issues compounded.?

There are two factors going on here. In order to know where you’re going, you have to know where you are. Navigating in the dark with no compass and no situational awareness leads to running in circles, or worse, diving deeper into the darkness. Knowing “how” you are, what behaviors work for you, and which ones don’t,?revealing blindspots?and understanding not just what you do, but?why?you do it are key to long term success.?

Getting a deeper understanding of your behavioral psychology is like getting your bearings on the map. You may not know exactly where to go next, but at least you know where you’re starting.

2.??Time Bomb Two:?Broken Leadership

As your team grows, you need to start putting leaders in place to develop, run and operate the parts of your business that you can no longer do on your own. Perhaps you have some leadership traps that keep getting in the way, like poor emotional regulation, an overly demanding style without buy-in, or don’t have the ability to articulate your master plan.

This inevitably leads to issues with your new and growing team. If you are unpredictable, or don’t have the ability to develop the leaders you bring into your team, then it becomes a free for all, and chaos sets in. Team culture starts to rot, assuming it was healthy to begin with, or it never takes hold and it feels like you’re herding cats in a minefield.

Getting your leadership right; dialed in, and leaning into their strengths with a healthy respect for the balance of responsibility, authority and accountability, what I call the?Leadership Trinity?is vital to the leadership efficacy of your team.

3.????Time Bomb Three:?Absence of Conflict Management

Conflict is inevitable. Teams that are imploding will either be rife with conflict, and exhibit constant open warfare with outright hostility, personal character attacks and a lack of respect for each other. It could also be a climate of false harmony, where microaggressions rule the day, with whispered back biting, poor cooperation, passive aggression, and resentment. The ability to bring these conflicts to the fore is vital, and without a system that disarms Time Bombs One & Two above, the ship will start coming apart.

Teams that implode with?ineffective conflict management?systems will drain their employees. The staff will suffer the cascading negative effects of a dysfunctional team. Good luck keeping your best staff when the ecosystem that they live within is broken.

Developing effective conflict management within your business is as important as having an email address and phone number. You can’t ignore it. It won’t go away if you don’t deal with it, and you have to get on top of it right away in an effective way. Many businesses have poor organizational clarity, leading to a situation where reporting is unclear, levels of authority wax and wane like the moon, and divisional control is muddy. Doubling down on getting these aspects organized while in tandem increasing the communication skills and emotional intelligence of your leadership is key to defusing this final Time Bomb.

Your business matters. And it’s frustrating to think that these elements are the things that will keep you from achieving ultimate success. Yet time and time again, it’s these three areas that lead to collapse.?

Start making a plan to address them. Begin with the top one and work your way through steps two and three as each Time Bombs disarms. Not only will you be happier, but your business will thrive, approach challenges with a different outlook, and achieve heights you didn’t know were imaginable.

Edwyn Kumar is the Founder and CEO of Ultra Team Development.?

He develops executives and leadership teams who inspire, connect, and manage with empathy.

ULTRA TEAM DEVELOPMENT 
www.ultrateamdev.ca
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