Great leadership is crucial to the success of any business—but what happens when you are not able to be there to lead your people for whatever reason? To ensure the continuous and smooth functioning of your company’s operations, it is important to take steps to create a self-sustaining organization.
Implementing processes, systems and structures that allow your team to operate seamlessly when you are absent is essential to effective leadership. Below, 19 Forbes Coaches Council members share key steps you can take as a leader in your company to make certain that things run smoothly even without your presence.
1. Have The Right Team In Place
Your ability to step away is dependent on your ability to hire and develop talent. The best leaders hire people who could do their job—or be their boss one day. A sign of true leadership is a team that runs effectively without the leader monitoring every step. Set clear objectives, coach and let them run; you’ll build a culture of development and empowerment. – Kathleen Woodhouse, Nova Leadership
2. Build A Team That Thinks Like The Key Leader
The process of understanding both individual and team personality dynamics is critical to the delegation and empowerment of the team. The rest of the organization will become engaged and committed to what they see as a cohesive leadership team, not just a singular individual. – Barry Michael George, Impact Global Coaching and Leadership LLC
3. Have A Robust Succession Plan
Everyone is replaceable, but things may not run smoothly when you are not around. Ensure you have key personnel assigned, properly trained and able to step in when you are not around so that you can deputize them if needed. Good process documentation and standard operating procedures, together with clear escalation paths, will also help ensure smooth operations when you are not around. – Kevin Kan, Break Out Consulting Asia
4. Coach Up Your Leadership Team
When it comes to being a leader and ensuring your succession (be it short-term or long-term), the key is to hire and coach up your leadership team so they are always ready to step into your role. Building an organization around “single points of failure” is a very dangerous thing to do. It might feed your ego, but it certainly won’t feed the organization’s success. – Nishika de Rosairo, HumanQ Inc
5. Do Weekly Scenario Planning As A Team
On Mondays, leaders should provide a scenario to their direct reports on something that could disrupt the operation. On Fridays, spend 15 minutes discussing possible solutions, with the leader sharing their ideas last. Let the team agree on the best solution—while it most likely resembles what the leader would do, the team will feel that they came up with it. This is how to develop and empower others. – Shane Green, SGEi
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6. Develop Team Members’ Leadership Competencies
Invest time in developing your team members’ leadership competencies. Ensure that they are aligned around a clear vision, purpose and values; make these real, not just words on a page or a poster. Take time to clarify roles, accountability and decision-making processes with your team. Finally, trust your team and demonstrate that you do. – Charles Dormer, APEX STP, LLC
7. Teach Your People How The System Works
A successful company is built on solid systems and competent people. A leader who empowers and equips people with sound knowledge of how the system works is a game changer. Leaders must take this extra step to reproduce strong leaders so that the systems and processes can run efficiently without them being present. It really is the hallmark of great leadership. – Erica McKenzie, Creative Brands & Concepts
8. Ensure Value Alignment Between People And Goals
Leaders should ensure value alignment between the rest of the organization and the company’s overall goals. Each person needs to reflect on how their values align with the organization. Open, honest dialogue about value alignment ensures that decisions made without any leader continue to move the organization forward to benefit all involved. – Jakob Franzen, The Modern Coaching Company
9. Show Trust In Employees By Giving Them Autonomy
Leaders need to express to their employees that they have the autonomy and authority to delegate, solve problems and make decisions in their absence. Expressing trust in employees and allowing the employees and team leads to own projects will help the company run smoothly in the leader’s absence. If employees believe the leader trusts them, they will work harder for the leader and the company. – Diane Hudson, Career Marketing Techniques, LLC
10. Make Sure Information Is Accessible And Well-Organized
One of the main issues that can cause problems in this area is when too much information is stored only in the leader’s head and can’t be found anywhere else. This means that if the leader is not available to answer questions, productivity is slowed down. – Rajeev Shroff, Cupela Consulting
11. Focus On Effective Delegation
Leaders need to delegate effectively and ensure that clear communication channels and processes are in place and that there is adequate support for those who are given new responsibilities. They need to be like a drone that flies over their team, giving them freedom and a panoramic view of what they are doing while also getting as close as necessary when a collaborator requires it. – Paula Vidal Castelli, Paula Vidal Castelli Intl., LLC
12. Clarify Processes, Procedures And Accountability
Leaders must ensure that the company has transparent processes, procedures and accountability to run smoothly even without their presence. This means having well-defined roles for each team member and a system for tracking progress against goals. Additionally, leaders should provide regular feedback and recognition to foster a culture of collaboration, trust and ownership. – Peter Boolkah, The Transition Guy
13. Create An Army Of Leaders, Not Followers
The role of a great leader is not to create an army of followers, but to create an army of leaders who can think for themselves. Followers just follow, and when you are not around, they don’t have the habits or skills to succeed and think for themselves. The key step is to develop the leadership skills of your team and give them the space to make mistakes, learn and grow. – Alex Draper, DX Learning Solutions
14. Develop A Strong Leadership Pipeline And Bench Strength
To ensure the company runs smoothly in their absence, leaders should focus on developing a strong leadership pipeline and bench strength. A CEO should identify high-potential employees and provide them with mentorship, coaching and training. Test them with more complex tasks and responsibilities so that the company continues to thrive even if the CEO or key personnel are absent. – Thomas Lim, Technicorum Holdings
15. Have Systems And A Succession Plan In Place
Systems and succession planning are the two key factors that can ensure a company keeps running even if its leaders are not around. Systems make sure that everyone knows what they are supposed to do, and succession planning provides clarity on who the next person to report to is when the top person is not there. – Manzar Bashir, Potential Mapping
16. Lean Into Trusting Others’ Decisions And Capabilities
Trust is the key to being able to step away. Too often, leaders feel as if they can do the work better and more efficiently themselves and, therefore, don’t lean into trusting the decisions or capabilities of those around them. Build a coalition of leaders around you who you can trust. Learn what makes them tick and how they think, and understand their strengths and capabilities. They will flourish. – Elliott Blodgett, Flyway
17. Create Space For A Regularly Held Tactical Meeting
A best practice is to create space for your staff to have a tactical meeting where they present what is working, what is not working and what help they need from others, whether you are present or not. These meetings can be held daily or weekly and can create an environment where team members are not waiting for your help. – Brent McHugh, Christar International
18. Intentionally Remove Yourself For A Period Of Time
Leave for a period of time, or take a short sabbatical. Some leaders are so engaged, hands-on and in touch that they build a business of dependency. That is not all bad. But intentionally remove yourself for a period of time and have limited contact with the team. Can your leaders do what you want them to do? Can you not text or call in to micromanage? If so, great. Let people make mistakes and grow. – John M. O’Connor, Career Pro Inc.
19. Leverage Decision Heuristics
A leader can leverage decision heuristics—such as building decision-making frameworks, setting clear criteria for decision making, establishing effective use of data and seeking diverse perspectives—to improve the consistency of decision making within the organization. This broadens, deepens and builds consistency of decision making without a leader needing to make all the decisions. – Jamie Flinchbaugh, JFlinch
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