It’s been evidenced in modern history that a business can have the best equipment available, in the best facilities, with the best surrounding environment, yet if the people leading and operating the business are not the right people; it is possible for the business to falter. 

The opposite is sometimes experienced when a business does have the right leadership and people. The business might have less effective machinery, inadequate facilities, with a challenging environment and operate relatively successfully, simply as the leadership of the business provides a solid space for people within the business to work well, as the employees want the operation to succeed.

The leadership and employees in a business can make or break an operation simply through their knowledge of what needs to happen, their skillset of being able to make it happen, and their attitude in wanting it to happen. Selecting the right people to lead and to operate the business can be a difficult task for business owners, whether the business is a new venture or an established entity, and removing the wrong people from the business might prove to be even more difficult when wading through employment law.

Business Governance

The values and ethics of a business are designed by the leaders that govern the business. Their collective character forms the personality of the business as it is seen by its employees and other stakeholders. 

The ethics and values set by the governance body are rolled out to the business through the hierarchical structure of management to the supervisors and employees, stamping the imprint of company culture throughout the organization.

Once the culture of a business has been entrenched into the daily operations, the culture needs to be nurtured and cultivated on a regular basis from the governance body through to every employee. If a portion of the governance body in the business is not aligned with the culture and vision being implemented, it is possible for the business to experience a significant dilution of the values and ethics the business has established. The dilution of the business culture may spread into the functional areas of the business, allowing operational gaps and inefficiencies to occur with a spiraling effect, ultimately causing an amount of dysfunctionality within the operation.

Management Team

Having the right management team in place can be critical to the success of any business. The management team skillset needs to be adequate enough to ensure the business operates in an effective and competent manner, with enough management knowledge to know how to close the gaps that might appear in the business from time to time.   The management team of senior managers to supervisors needs to be aligned with the ethics, values and culture set by the governance of the business. If a portion of the management team is not aligned, there is a significant risk that the business may slip into a level of dysfunctional operations.

The aspiring entrepreneur may have a great product to take to market with all of the right facility elements to deliver the product, yet if the entrepreneur selects a team that is not aligned with the needs of the business, some difficulty may be experienced in reaching to goals the business has set, and regardless of the business being a new entity or a long established business, the risks are quite similar.  

A well planned and documented approach to each role within the business can be very helpful when seeking to employ leaders and employees, including documenting the values, ethics and cultural attributes the business elects to maintain. Documented expectations may draw the desired candidates to the business whilst deterring those that may not be a good fit for the business. 

Having well documented expectations of each role can be beneficial, allowing the candidate to know what the business expects of them and what level of competency they should be able to deliver. It might take some time to document all of the roles within the business and it may be that an individual facilitates multiple roles for a period of time, yet the preparation for separating a particular role from a multi role individual is much more effective when using a documented Job description rather than bundled assumptions.

If you would like any further Business Mentoring information or support in the understanding of the documenting a Business Plan, or you seek support in working through how to “The right Leadership, Vision & Workplace Culture” please contact us through www.activebss.co.nz/contact  or noel@activebss.co.nz