The challenges of being a leader in a scaleup business (and how to overcome them)
Scaling up is a huge milestone for a business, but it can also bring a lot of problems.
From people management to processes and systems, and from culture to team collaboration, business leaders have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders.
In fact, research shows 23% of scaleups fail because they don’t have the right team or lack experienced leadership. So what can scaling leaders do to prepare?
Being aware of potential hurdles can smooth the way for transitioning from a startup to scaleup. So to kick you off, I’ve pulled together some of the main challenges you will face.. and a few tips on how to come out stronger on the other side!
Challenge 1: Getting the right people for the job
In a start up, everybody is used to rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty with whatever needs doing. As the business scales and moves into the next stage of growth, you need to be building a team of speciailised and skilled people to focus on each particular role.
We all know the phrase ‘people are your biggest asset’ and for scaleups this rings particularly true. You need to have the right people for the job, otherwise it isn’t going to work.
Unfortunately this means you may have to replace or get rid of certain people and/or roles, but it also involves a lot of talent acquisition.
What can you do?
When a business scales fast, it’s easy to rush decisions. Building the right team should not be one of these decisions!
Make sure you are clear on the purpose and values of the business as well as the skills required, and then only hire the people who align. There’s no point hiring somebody just because you need the role filled as quickly as possible. If they aren’t a good fit it’s only going to cause you more problems in the future.
Challenge 2: Building the right team culture
If you want your business to succeed in the long run, you need to have the right culture.
Culture drives employee engagement and leads to greater employee productivity and a stronger business overall. But culture is also an abstract concept that's difficult to define and even harder to measure.
As your company and purpose evolves, so will your culture. It will need constant focus to be maintained, especially as your team continues to grow.
What can you do?
Every person that joins the company brings a fresh perspective, attitude and skill set. You need to be crystal clear on what you want the culture to look like and then make sure everybody in the company is aware and aligned.
But remember, it needs constant re-evaluation… Does anything need changing? Can new team members bring anything to the table that can bring positive change? Or can they shine a light on an issue you’ve not previously noticed?
Culture is a team effort - get them involved!
Challenge 3: Getting stuck in the weeds
It makes sense that as the business grows, so does your workload. You have more people to manage, more responsibilities, and things are changing on a daily (if not hourly) basis.
With your growing list of priorities, sometimes it’s easy to get it wrong and end up losing sight of the bigger picture. You can end up stuck in the weeds, working on the stuff you always have, because it’s comfortable and what you know.
What can you do?
Delegation and letting go of control is a hard thing for many leaders, but you have a whole team around you - use them! The whole point of hiring new people is for them to share the workload, so make sure you’re not taking too much on and wasting your skill and expertise somewhere it doesn’t need to be.
You have to be able to prioritise and utilisie your new and skilled workforce to the max so that you can focus on those jobs only you can do.
One last thing…
There’s no doubt about it, you’re in for a tough road. But with the right planning, preparation and focus you, your team and the business will thrive as you transition from startup to scaleup.
The fact you’re here reading this blog shows that you’re already on the right track!