Managing Management Teams

Entrepreneur-backed businesses are fueled by passion and driven by vision. It is not enough to helm the business, but also establish a professional management team that will nurture the business and steer it on the envisioned growth path. Along the way, it is imperative to strengthen and manage management competencies.

Rarely have businesses succeeded without a strong management team. Sam Walton brings out the essence of in these famous words, “Individuals don’t win in business; teams do.”

The entrepreneurial plunge is tough, and driven by passion, but it is not enough. A robust management is one of the pillars on which healthy growth-oriented businesses are founded. Yet it is one of the hardest things to get right.

While it is important to get the right mix of leadership behaviour, conceptual skills, and technical expertise, it is also crucial to remember that the team must also change as the business evolves with time. Someone who is adept at managing say, a particular management function with certain number of people, will be out of depth with an additional department and multiple teams. Therefore, as the initial leading visionary, entrepreneurs must constantly ‘manage’ i.e., develop competencies of the management in terms of shifting priorities.

Role-driven hiring is the first step. Define the role; determine the performance matrix, and hire accordingly so that each individual brings unique and specific expertise to the table. Once the senior management is operational, it is essential to put in place a system of value-driven assessment of leadership skills. This will ensure that the management members are on the same plane with where they are steering the company, with potential for individual career growth. At some point, gaps can be corrected with training, up-skilling or mentoring. Consistent evaluation is crucial for early warning signals indicating that consequent responsibilities have become too much for a particular person to handle.

Management is nothing but a balancing act. Individuals must be given the perspective and authority to utilise the skills they need to support their functions. Yet the board and senior managers must be answerable to a competency proficiency model, which is the foundation of employee development and performance excellence, both, from organisational and individual perspective. As Peter Drucker said, “What’s measured, improves.”