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9 Steps to Get Managers to Think Like Owners

Guest post by: Jonathan Goldhill

Article Overview: Management coaching, management training, team alignment, thinking like owners, facing reality, define vision, accountability, delegation, systems, financial stewards, focus

9 Steps to Get Managers to Think Like Owners

The focus of some of my past articles has been how to get owners to think more like owners and act less like employees in their business. This article is similar, but is focused on how to get managers to think and act more like owners and less like employees. From my observation over the past 25 years working with thousands of small businesses, owners (and supervisors) can become better leaders (and managers) by following these nine (9) steps. But, first, let me ask you a few simple questions. What would your business and life be like if you could take a four week long, guilt-free vacation where you didn't check in with your office while away? What would it be like to return from vacation to find everything running without you? It's possible!

Your goal as an owner is to design and shape a business that serves you and works independently from you - runs nearly on autopilot and spits out cash in your absence.

To accomplish this, an owner should focus on the company's purpose, direction, strategy, structure, systems, people, goals, and accountability processes. Meanwhile, managers should be focused on their key result areas: planning, organizing, staffing, supervising, delegating, measuring and reporting.

But, how many managers understand that these areas are the focus of their job?

Your job as the owner is to spend your time trying to make your company different, better, more profitable and more systems-oriented. And, it's probably your desire to shape your business to satisfy your vision, dreams and needs ... and to gain greater freedom, fulfillment and financial success in the process. To accomplish all this you must focus on leadership, not doer-ship. And, your managers must function as super-visors, not super-workers. Think about it. This is probably a paradigm shift from the way you are running your business.

You and your managers must:

1. Regularly face reality about what's working and what's not in your business (department). Have the courage to change what's changeable and change it.

2. Define and clarify departmental vision, goals and direction. Share this with your people and passionately own it through execution to completion.

3. Learn to lead (manage) your key resources wisely. That is, learn to manage your priorities, your time, your people and your money better. Effective stewardship of time, labor and capital enable you to leverage your most vital resources and grow faster than other companies.

4. Provide educational opportunities as a means of empowerment. Make the goals of the business a game to make it fun. Have everyone learn more about how other departments work. While not everyone does the accounting, everyone can benefit from understanding how that department works. And, while not everyone is involved in sales and marketing, everyone can have a positive effect on the public. Share information to facilitate better decision-making.

5. Put systems in place in the business. Well-run businesses have processes for everything. Accounting has a process, selling has a process, fulfillment has a process, etc., etc. Have managers learn and participate in installing these processes within the company.

6. Be strong financial stewards of your business. Improve everyone's understanding of financial statements. While most people don't understand financial statements, everyone can contribute to the bottom-line. Teach financial literacy and reward people for contributing more to the top-line (revenues) and bottom-line (profits) of the company. Managers need to understand the key performance drivers in your business so they can care for the money like it was theirs.

7. Hold people accountable in the company. Thomas A. Edison said "Vision without execution is hallucination." Likewise, having goals and making decisions without holding people accountable fosters a country club type atmosphere and undermines management effectiveness. Provide frequent feedback to keep everyone on course. Effective leaders are coaches and learn to coach effectively.

8. Listen and ask for guidance from within and from outside the company and even industry. Engage in learning from mentors to challenge yourself and find new ways of thinking and being in your business.

9. Learn to delegate and enjoy life. Commit to giving up micromanagement by valuing your people, trusting your people and then delegate with authority and control because you have put systems in place and have the right people running them.

Change your way of thinking to develop a more focused approach to your role. Re-engineer your mindset. Many of you did not start out with training in business ownership, leadership or management. You had a passion for the work along with some technical aptitude in it. So, now you need to shift your activities to bring out your brilliance and the talents of your managers too.

To escape the details and headaches of your business, you must make the great mental leap from that of employee to manager and from entrepreneur to that of a business leader. You must acknowledge your technical bias, your addiction to being busy and your uneasiness with delegation. You must adopt the "big picture" mindset of a Strategic Manager.

If you don't start thinking like a manager, it will be nearly impossible for you to start behaving strategically and working "ON" your business in a proactive, purposeful manner. For many, jumping this wide chasm from employee to manager is tough and terrifying. However, you will never escape a workaholic existence unless you stop being a detailed-oriented technician masquerading as a manager. Stop focusing on the technical work of the business. Focus on managing. The choice is yours. Step up and be a leader! Tame and calm your mind to free it from reactive, counterproductive habits.

With a little training (or re-training) of basic behaviors, you and your managers will become more focused on the right activities turning you into strategic owners and managers. And, the personal incomes and profits of your company will grow together.

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Article Tags: accountability, coaching management, delegation, facing reality, management coaching, management training, stewards, team alignment



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