“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”
– Henry Ford
Great companies are built by high-performing teams that set ambitious goals and find ways to achieve them. As a leader of a growing mid-sized business, your role is to transform your team into one of these high-performing units - capable of driving your business to the next level.
Scaling a business is exhilarating, but it can also feel overwhelming when your team struggles to adapt to new demands or align with your vision. To ensure success, you need to equip your management team with the skills and knowledge to confidently navigate the complexity that comes with growth. Your team's ability to perform at a high level—without constant intervention from you—unlocks your business's full growth potential.
For example, at Strider Digital, the management team worked deliberately to transform into a unit of strong leaders. By so doing, they improved their strategic execution scores quarter on quarter, increased their sales, owned their roles in the company’s 70% year-on-year growth, and truly lived Strider’s core purpose of ‘walking the journey’ with their clients and making change happen.
Where to Focus:
Organizational Structure and Design:
Does your organizational design support your business strategy, or is it accommodating individual personalities at the expense of productivity? A structure optimized for collaboration ensures every team member is clear about their role and expectations, fostering accountability and efficiency.
For example, at StructureIt, CEO Llewellyn Watson recognized he had to reimagine what the fundamental design of his business should be if we were to be a fully product-focused business. Aligning the organizational structure with the company’s strategic objectives helped position the business to make its move into designing, producing and selling fintech products into the US financial markets. This transformation highlights the importance of revisiting and refining your structure to ensure it supports your strategic goals.
Team Health:
Is your management team a cohesive and productive unit, or are dysfunctions holding them back? Healthy teams build trust, embrace constructive conflict, and commit to shared goals. They hold each other accountable for delivering results. Address dysfunctions to create a team that’s aligned and effective.
For example, at Expert Technology Solutions, the directors had experienced a critical breakdown of trust and the business was at risk of being sold at a massive loss. Through expert coaching and mediation, their coach provided various tools to drive a better understanding between the directors and foster a sense of psychological safety; where the team felt comfortable to speak up and disagree openly. The business is now on track to achieving 20% growth this year and exceeding its growth targets.
Attracting and Retaining A-Players:
Are you attracting top talent—and more importantly, retaining them? Evaluate your hiring practices, leadership approach, and incentive programs to ensure your business is a magnet for top performers. High-performing teams start with high-performing individuals.
For instance, at Ace Hardware, CEO Ahmed Tar implemented the Topgrading methodology. A 12-step hiring process and analysis tool that helps identify the highest performers for each role; the process ensured that Ahmed only added to the growing health of their team and company culture. At Creative Stone, business owners Friedl and Alison Wiehe had from the beginning, made it their mission to develop their staff members – a philosophy that has contributed to great staff retention.
Setting Direction and Managing Tasks:
Effective leadership teams design and manage tasks that drive results. Are your team members equipped to translate business metrics into actionable strategies? Ensure alignment between your vision and their execution.
At Empowered Spaces Architects, owner Terence Shacklady and his team focused on setting clear metrics linked to the company’s vision and culture. They complemented these with standards, training, and manuals to ensure tasks were executed with precision. This approach significantly improved the quality of work and reinforced a culture of high performance.
For a rich and colourful insight into the power of building a Winning Team, take another few minutes to read this superb article by Grow’s founder Graham Mitchell on how two great companies that dominated the Formula 1 scene for a twenty-year period subsequently went on very different trajectories: Ron Dennis built MacLaren into a £2 billion company with 4000 employees, while founders Frank Williams and Patrick Head had to sell Williams for just £100m.
Scaling your business requires more than ambition—it requires clarity, trust, and a commitment to empowering your team. At Grow, we’re here to help you master these essentials and unlock your full potential. Let’s start the journey together.
