Runway shrinking by the minute?

Founders! Feeling stressed out? Runway shrinking by the minute? You’re not alone, the struggle is real. It’s not just about the money. It’s about the people and their alignment to a scale up ready culture.

Alignment – it’s a term that often gets tossed around in start up conversations. But how exactly does it contribute to the success of a start up? I thought I’d share why it’s important to align your people with your scale up culture to maximise their potential and your run way at the same time.

Understanding the concept of Scale Up Culture

Culture is how we interact.

It’s a bit like an orchestra. Where you are the conductor, your people the musicians and the music is your product. But you need more than that to play beautiful music. ?Your people need to be able to listen for and play in tune and also be aware of the tempo, so that each instrument is played at exactly the right time.

But, a start up is a little more messy. The music is good but there are definitely tunes out sync at times. That’s ok!

Culture is how you do the “what”. How you solve problems, brainstorm new features and even how we show up in the morning. It’s the “how” of how work is getting done.

But it’s more. A scale up culture is the ultimate energiser! When we move from a “nice” culture where everyone shows up, care for each other and just get their work done, to the scale up ready culture that is ticks all the boxes for what your start up needs to be to succeed.

That’s right, the one that fits your start up. Culture is diverse. No two start ups have the same culture. Why?

Because there is only one of you, the founder. Yes, that’s right. You, whether you know it or not, are creating the culture of your start up.

The Role of Alignment in a Scale Up Culture

One of the most important aspects of getting your scale up culture right is to define what it actually is.

I get many founders saying to me, “we have a great culture!”, to which I say, “Great, can you describe it?”. I get some fuzzy words about fun, work hard, solve problems etc., but nothing specific.

That’s understandable because if you haven’t done the work to establish what kind of culture you have how can you describe it?

Now, let me confess. I am no expert on culture.

What I do know though is that it is not necessary to go through a complex process to define your culture for you to get a good idea of what it is. And when you do know you’ve found your secret sauce.

Once you know what your culture is, from that point it is all about alignment, alignment and alignment.

You, your people, new hires, board members and even your clients need to feel at home with your scale up culture.

But most important is that you and your people are aligned. That you agree how to show up each day, how to navigate through tough times, and what breaks the culture.

How Misalignment Can Drain Your Runway

If culture is how we interact then it’s plain to see that it has a direct effect on how much, how well and how fast work is getting done.

We do those things well when we feel happy, inspired, focused and as though we belong to the “tribe” within your start up. That’s where momentum is being built. No matter how complex the problems or the long hours to solve the puzzle the challenge of solving it is just too exciting!

When there is hesitation within the team to do all it takes to be successful then there may be some misalignment. I am not suggesting taking advantage of your people. Simply that in a start up your people may need to wear more than one hat until the revenue becomes consistent enough.?

This is the essence of the difference between a start up and an SME or corporate. It is a special breed of person how loves to work in a start up.?Those people love it because in a start up there is such amazing opportunity to learn, to grow and create, even though it’s uncertain and often hard work.

The Process of Alignment to a Scale Up Culture

So how is it done? How do we build a scale up culture that feels like you are playing beautiful music day in and day out?

You start by asking your people what they believe it is. Why our people? Didn’t I just say culture is created by the founder. Yes, that is true, however culture is co-created, including in the meetings, problem solving sessions and in the small interactions that occur when you are not around.

So while you, the founder, may have some idea there are aspects that you are not aware of. Your people can tell you what those aspects are.

Next you share your vision, the roadmap and what your dream is, so that the team is crystal clear on what is coming!

When I ask my clients, “when did you last share your vision and roadmap with the intention of really inspiring them?”. The answer usually is a “Uhmm, well I have shared it but perhaps not that clearly.”.

That’s the next step. You must let people know what to expect. Really paint the picture in a heartfelt and authentic way.?That’s when your people will realise “things will have to change here if we are to achieve that!”.

Final step is, again ask your people. What will your scale up culture look like? What of the current culture will you need to do more, or less, of?

Now if you are turning up the heat, remember it is you the founder who must lead the way! Don’t expect your people to be creating the culture, that’s your job. Their job is to keep it alive and be in alignment with it day to day.

Case Study Of A Successful Scale Up Culture

A recent client had a team of 8 people in the business. They were a great team in many ways, except when it got really busy or when they felt unsure about something, which was most days.

That caused there to be a lack of communication between people and they felt the need to check in with the founder multiple times a day to ask questions or confirm they had made the right decision.

The founder was slowly burning out and knew it had to stop. He knew that somehow his people needed to see the error of their ways and he, himself, needed to figure what he was doing that was causing it to be so chaotic.

The founder was able to do something that is very hard. He let go. Instead of needing to be across everything he simply put two of his key people in the drivers seat and let them know he had full confidence in their ability.

But what made the biggest shift was in asking the group what they believed the culture needed to be if they were to scale up successfully. They could see the changes that needed to be made and we identified how those changes would be implemented in their day to day.

Within 6 months the founder was relieved of the constant harassment, the people who had stepped into leader roles were in place and a culture of accountability starting to build. The founder now had the time to work on the business and explore other opportunities.

Our mission is to align your people to a scale up ready culture, ensuring everyone works in sync. Stress less, achieve more. Let’s maximise that runway together.

How? Join the Get Scale Up Ready Workshop.

FREE 75min workshop for scale up founders who knows that without preparation the runway will, well run out!

Register for Get Scale Up Ready workshop here.

If you are not sure if this is for you simply complete the short Get Scale Up Ready scorecard and join other start up founders who used the tips to get scale up ready.

Link to Get Scale Up Ready scorecard here.

When you align people to performance you scale with confidence and certainty!

Join the workshop with other awesome scale up founders and get the full case studies and tips.

Have an awesome day!

Jess