19 January, 2024

The Extreme Price You Pay for Failing to Set Inexperienced Leaders Up for Success

Read Time • 3min

My Experience: The Struggle of Leadership Under Fire

In the whirlwind of scaling businesses, I've faced the daunting task of appointing new leaders amidst explosive growth. Herein lies a ubiquitous dilemma: the balance between the ideal candidate's experience and the harsh reality of a budget constraint. The decision to opt for potential over proven experience seems pragmatic — and it’s fine if you set it up properly. Not so great if you don’t…

During a particularly intense growth phase, the decision was made to bring onboard not one but three individuals lacking in the requisite experience, under the premise of 'growing' them into their roles. This strategy, albeit well-intentioned, fell short of its mark. While not a complete disaster it wasn’t a fun time. No one was quite doing what was required but these individuals were getting the support they needed to grow. To start delivering and get into a groove. The fallout was significant: subpar performance, frustrated clients, an overextended team, and my own stress levels sky-high. The chaos of growth left little room for the nurturing needed, highlighting a stark oversight.

What I've Learned: The Art of Cultivating Leadership

Nurturing and growing talent is critical. Often it will be the only way to transition from one stage in the lifecycle of your business to the next. The mistake to avoid is assuming it will just happen. It needs to be carefully planned out. It’s a transition from potential to experience that doesn't just occur spontaneously but requires meticulous planning and execution. In my case the oversight wasn't in the ambition but in the assumption that growth would naturally follow placement. Identifying growth opportunities and devising a clear plan to address them is paramount. Yep, all this takes time and there will likely be a million other demands on your time but if you don’t do it, or you don’t make sure that someone does it, there will likely be a price to pay and in my experience it will be high.

The investment of time and effort in this process does pay dividends. In the best example where I nailed it, in a short space of time I found I had a leader I could delegate to and for the most part not think about said tasks again. It was empowering for the individual and life-changing for me.

TL;DR

• Scaling businesses necessitates leadership decisions that often involve choosing potential over experience due to budget constraints.

• Properly nurturing and developing inexperienced leaders is crucial for scaling businesses but requires careful planning and execution.

• When you do invest the time and effort in the right person, the payback is exponential; your stress levels will drop, your clients will be ecstatic, the sky will be bluer and the grass will be greener.

This experience has ingrained in me the importance of patience, foresight, and the commitment to develop the next generation of leaders. It's a challenging journey, but one that I believe holds the key to sustainable growth and ensuring the long-term success of any organisation.