How To Form The Right Leadership Team

We all want a company that results in increased profits, personal freedom and impact. To accomplish this dream, you must scale up your business. Scaling up puts you in a position to achieve these three goals. However, in pursuit of this dream, many janitorial business owners do things detrimental to building the company they actually want. Greed, pride and fear of letting go all put the brakes on our growth efforts. And this is especially true in this critical step of scaling up, building an “A” team.

In my last column, I discussed how developing a vision was the first step in scaling up. You can’t get to a destination if you don’t know where you are going and how you’re going to get there. But after that roadmap is built, you need a team to get you there, and not just any team.

In our industry, we often work hard to get new work, then attempt to find people who can perform the work we have. With management and supervisor hires, we are often playing catch-up. Rarely do we think ahead to the type of person we need to help build a strong company. Instead, we look only days or weeks ahead and hire the person who can help us now.

While I understand the need to fill holes, we need to be more forward thinking.

So let me ask you a question: If money were no object, what one or two ideal people would you add to your team? Not people who would fill an immediate need necessarily, but people who could help you get from where you are now to where you want to be. What would his or her skill set look like? What about his or her personality, character and leadership ability? Imagine for a moment how this person would transform your cleaning company. Now let me ask you another question: What is keeping you from hiring this person?

There are three primary reason we don’t hire the A-caliber individuals we know we should. First, we are afraid of giving up control. If we bring in a top-notch manager, some amount of control will be given to that person. Second, owners often want to be the smartest person in the room and are threatened by others more talented than themselves. But great leaders always surround themselves with smarter and more talented people. The final reason we don’t hire A-caliber leaders is fear of spending too much money. While this is a legitimate fear, there are creative ways to overcome this challenge, such as paying commission or offering profit sharing.

Let me encourage you to push these fears aside and make it a priority to assemble a leadership team that can push your company to the next level. While risk is certainly involved, the reward is definitely worth it. Don’t let fear, control or financial risk keep you from achieving your dreams. A better version of your company is waiting.

Jordan Tong is a BSC consultant and founder of Elite Business Coaching, in addition to being a third-generation owner of Frantz Building Services based in Owensboro, Kentucky. For more information on his coaching services, visit www.elitebusinesscoaching.net.