By Tony Groom
When a turnaround professional arrives at a business, they’re arriving at a business in crisis.
Most people think it’s the big strategic shifts that are the critical piece of a turnaround, but during this initial phase the most important job to do is steady the ship and give everyone some confidence back.
This is best achieved not by barking out orders but by rolling up your sleeves and showing people you’re there to help.
This is something the army taught me at a young age.
When I was a junior officer there was one senior sergeant who commanded more loyalty from his soldiers than anyone else. This loyalty stemmed from the respect he showed to each and every one of them. One might assume soldiers should salute their sergeant first, but he never missed an opportunity to salute the soldiers first.
One thing that made him such a brilliant leader was he never saw himself as a traditional leader. He wasn’t there to hand out orders to a team that needed guidance. He trusted that his soldiers knew what they needed to do and his job was simply to remove the roadblocks that would stop them getting on with their job.
This is a lesson I apply to every turnaround.
Whilst the big strategy shift is obviously integral, bringing calm to the crisis usually happens in the smaller moments. It means the turnaround professional should get stuck in and remove the roadblocks that are standing in people’s way.
A road block could be the breakdown of a relationship with a key supplier. Or it could be as simple as not having the correct health and safety form to meet incoming regulations.
Clearing these issues helps lighten the load on the team and starts building the momentum needed to make the bigger operational changes.