I enjoy working as a hospitality consultant with business owners who take a role in their business on a daily basis. They tend to be businesses where traditions [Perhaps down through generations] are plain to see. There’s a connection, a closeness between the business and the local community. The owner generally has a real feel for how their customers like to be treated.
That said, although those long-standing traditions are being observed, there is also a potential failure to move with the times. Perhaps right now, that’s okay because your regular trade will continue to come in and thus the business ticks along. What happens if that regular trade comes under threat – a new rival, a shift in the marketplace. What happens if your regular clients just get tired of the same thing every time they come and are looking for new experiences?
In this case it is okay for the business owner to take a step back and to trust that following good people around them could lead to amazing positive results for their business. Taking a restuarant as an example, how often do you change your menus – is it too often? Where do you capture really positive meal experiences that your team have had when dining elsewhere and have you considered if those experiences would sit well in context with the style of restaurant you operate?
A common misconception is that leaders are the ones who dictate the strategy and systems and that they set clear direction based on their own beliefs and in the above case, traditions. We can all name the examples for those iconic individuals. Why? Because they are also unique in their own rights.
As an operator of a family business, we need to be sure that we are taking time to see what’s happening around us and keep pace with the market. There are countless ways that this can happen but what I always encourage teams I support is to start with a simple exercise that requires just a few things – two flipcharts, two markers, your team and open minds. On one page, you list all the things that you enjoy as a customer when you go out yourself to a restaurant (If that’s what your business is). You then ask for all the things that drive you nuts when you go out, because let’s face it, those of us who work in the industry are the ones most likely to pick up on service that could be better. Then we invite the team to identify if they are doing everything that is great, or if it’s possible that on occasion, the items that drive you nuts exist in their business too. Try it for yourself and you’ll be surprised by the results.
Having opened up everyone, particularly the business owner, to the concept that the business might not be perfect, a couple of clear actions can be discussed and agreed and let me tell you this; if you involve your team in coming up with the solutions you are bringing them into the loop and they will be invested in helping see through your new actions.
This makes many of my clients uncomfortable. They feel it is relinquishing control and that their role is to be the leader and their fear is that initiatives like this could make them a follower. A true leader is a person who can create a sense of collective responsibility, a common cause and something that everybody supports fully. It’s not easy, and like any process of change management requires careful planning, control while it’s happening and measurement so the successes or shortfalls of expectations are picked up right away allowing real-time change.
When was the last time you stepped back to measure just how great your team are? After all, you assembled them. At some point you saw them as the next person who would join your organisation and bring great things in their role. How proud of them are you now that you have seen them grow and develop in your team? Will you trust them to help you and “Follow” their ideas to help build your business together?