Leadership
Leadership is the first constraint on growth. A business cannot scale beyond the capability, energy and self-awareness of the people running it, which is why so much of our coaching work starts with the leader rather than the plan. In our experience of working with ambitious UK scale-ups, the point at which a company stalls is rarely a market problem. It is usually the point at which the founder's way of leading stops working at the new size.
This section brings together everything we have written about leading a high growth business. The articles are practical rather than theoretical, drawn from what we see in leadership teams week after week, and they fall into a handful of recurring themes.
Focus and priorities. Most leaders are not short of ideas; they are short of focus. Defining your needle movers explains how to pick the few activities that move the business forward, and how to avoid shiny toy syndrome deals with the constant distraction that kills them.
Energy and mindset. Energy is contagious, and a leadership team takes its cue from the top. Your role as chief energy officer sets out why managing your own energy matters more than managing your time, and what's your primary question? looks at the habitual question that quietly shapes every decision you make.
Letting go. Founder-led businesses hit a ceiling when everything still routes through one person. The three levels of delegation and ownership gives you a simple model for handing over real responsibility, and breaking free from micromanagement covers the trust that has to come with it.
Communication and feedback. Why feedback is the key communication skill argues that giving and receiving feedback well is the single most valuable habit a leader can build, and how to run an effective weekly leadership team meeting shows where that habit lives in the calendar.
Where leadership goes wrong. What causes poor leadership? names the four failures we see most often, and four hidden leadership bottlenecks explains how to clear them before you try to scale.
Developing yourself. The leaders who scale well keep working on themselves. High growth leadership starts with self-discovery explains why, five underrated leadership habits picks out the quiet routines that compound over time, and the servant leadership mindset makes the case for putting your people first.
The newest articles are listed first below. If you prefer to browse by theme, our strategy, team and implementation sections cover the other three disciplines of a high growth business. And if you would rather work on your own leadership with someone alongside you, that is exactly what our one-to-one business coaching and non-executive support are for.
478 articles, page 12 of 20
How Leaders Manage Their Moods
The primary job of a leader is to set the mood in an organization so a team can perform at its best. The challenge we all have, is at times we can be moody.
East Midlands Fastest 40: Stuart Ross awarded Mentor of the Year
Nottingham-based business coach Stuart Ross, of Global High Growth, has been named Mentor of the Year at the East Midlands Fastest 40 business awards.
High Growth Launches in the US
High Growth set up offices in San Diego, California after growing demand for a high growth coaching approach in the USA.
Defining your rules of success
Back in my early corporate days, the office I worked in had notice board. On that board generally important information was communicated.
How to get rid of toxic employees…..
Many clients have completed or are currently going through an annual appraisal process. This is a great time to address poor performance.
Why feedback is the key communication skill……
With many aspects of communication many complete to be views as the most important: effective listening or building trust, for example.
What makes a high growth leader?
One question I am frequently asked is “what makes a great leader in a high growth company?” There are many schools of thought this including personality traits, behavioural patterns, the ‘great man” concept, etc .Each has their strengths and weaknesses.
Time for some gratitude…….
With Thanksgiving last week in America, there has been a real focus on gratefulness, the lessons of which can be applied to any one in business. Here are a few lessons on gratitude that can be applied to any managers:
USA TO GET TASTE OF HIGH GROWTH FORMULA
Nottingham business coach Stuart Ross will launch a new office in San Diego next month, to enable him to service growing demand for his high growth coaching approach in the USA.
High Growth Leaders Promote Accountability
One key skill employees must develop as they move up the leadership ladder is that of personal accountability.
Time to Mastermind
One of the most important actions you can take to create change, transformation and success in your life is to build and participate in a “Mastermind.”
Affirmations
Life is filled with good days and bad. Many of the challenges I have faced and overcome provide me with the strength and reassurance to manage through difficult times.
Why would I want to work for you?
On my recent trip to America I was working with a successful US company looking at their recruitment challenges.
5 Leadership traits that will hold back your company
High growth of any company starts with effective leadership. Yet so often this is what holds back the growth of a company as the founder of the business fails to make the ‘step up’ to the new leadership style needed and ends up sabotaging their own business.
Keep you energy levels high……
Over the years, I have been fortunate to have worked directly with hundreds of very successful business leaders and CEO’s . One trait they all share is an enormous amount of energy.
Are you Awesome?
In 2008 Neil Pasricha’s life was not going well. With “dark clouds” circling him he started a website to force him to think about positive things called 1000awesomethings.com.
Questions to ask yourself daily
Whilst we all have a different definition of success, the one thing all successful people are aligned on is a drive to be better than the day before.
How to become world class…
Chet Holmes is said to be “America’s greatest sales and marketing executive”. At every company he has worked for he consistently achieves breakthrough results again and again.
What have you failed at lately?
If we truly want innovative, out of the box thinking and leaders who are open to change and creative thinking, then we must agree that failure is an option.
How to create a competitive edge through self awareness….
You can’t change what you don’t notice, so the first step to making any change is awareness – of your physical health, of your emotions and your mood, of the way you are focusing your attention, and of how you’re living your purpose and values.
Tasks you should never put on the back burner….
As we get busy, we all have tasks we put off. Some tasks end up on the back burner out of necessity. If you are putting off the right things, it can be a good move to reduce your workload.
What do you need to abandon to achieve high growth?
What do you need to abandon to achieve high growth?
Time to improve employee engagement….
All companies I work with claim they want enthusiastic and engaged employees.
How to make Monday your most productive day…..
According to a recent survey on employee productivity, 39% of managers said that Tuesday was generally the best day for productivity.