SME – a different kind of organisation
In the middle, between Ëœstart-up’ and Ëœcorporation’ there is another type of business. These are the Ëœsecond generation’ organisations “ the Ëœscale-ups’- and they are flourishing. In the UK, these Ëœsmall to medium-sized’ enterprises form more than 99% of all businesses and employ over 12 million people. If your business is an SME it will typically turn over anything from £2m to £50m and employ from 10 to 250 people.
A different style of leadership
An SME doesn’t need the full raft of corporate structures to work well, but as it grows, will need to be guided in a different way from the informal Ëœfamily’ structures and methods you could use when it was smaller. Do you ever find yourself thinking:
- “Why does everything end up on my desk? Â
- “Nobody shows any initiative “ it’s like managing a bunch of children. Â
- “Why can’t I get people to do what I want them to do? Â
- “I do everything I can to look after them, yet they still complain about me behind my
back. Â
These are all signs that your informal leadership style and structures are running out of road. Second generation organisations need to be structured more than start-ups, but this doesn’t mean Ëœcorporate’ systems. In fact, people moving to SMEs from corporates very often fail precisely because they try to over-engineer the organisation.
What to remember:
The needs of your company have changed enormously as you’ve moved from Ëœstart-up’ into Ëœscale-up’.
- Your role has moved from being Ëœone of the gang’ to being leader/manager of the enterprise, and ensuring its sustainability.
- Processes and systems need to be recorded, not just in somebody’s head.
- Roles need to be defined, and people recruited, to suit the needs of the business, not just to fit in with the existing team.
Getting started:
- Map where your company actually is on the growth path.
- Identify what this means for you as leader and manager of the organisation and change your priorities and behaviour accordingly.
- Set up or capture simple processes in every department, and for managing the performance of every member of the team.
- Redefine all roles to suit the needs of the business now, and make sure the right people are in each role.
- Don’t let sentiment or loyalty stop you putting the right roles or the right people in place “ there are other ways to show these values!
Read more about speaker Kate Mercer, connect with her on social media & view her past and future events at MD2MD
