5 Ways to Successfully Lead Your Team Through a Transition

When a business decides to expand, it invests in everything from new equipment and supplies to software platforms in order to facilitate growth. However, one critical component is often overlooked: their team. Focusing on ways to lead your team through a transition should be at the very top of your to-do list. After all, it is your team that will help your business reach the next level through their innovation, inspiration and hard work.

Here are a few, simple tips that will help you successfully lead your team through any transition:

Communicate Clearly and Often

More often than not, your team will feel starved for information during periods of change. This will obviously cause a serious drop-off in the effectiveness of your employees at a time when you need them to perform at their best. Teams need structure and clarity to work efficiently. You want to make sure each member of your team fully understands developments, plans and goals. The key is to communicate clearly and often throughout the transition process, even over-communicate. By keeping the lines of communication open, it will give your employees the opportunity to share ideas, concerns, comments and suggestions throughout the period of change.

Hire New Skill Sets

Especially during periods of change, many business owners and managers default to hiring people who have similar strengths. It makes them feel more confident in their decision, since they can understand or identify with them. However, it is critical that you identify the skills your business needs to grow that your current team does not have. For example, if your team is great at product development and customer management, but struggles with gathering and analyzing data, find someone who can provide deeper insight into what your information means. It is also important to look for people who have a similar work ethic as your existing team – look for a shared vision.

Provide the Tools Needed to Succeed

You have brought in skilled individuals with a high probability of success and created a culture where they can thrive. The next step is to give them what they need to be successful. Do you know what tools will help them work efficiently? If you are not sure, there is a simple way to find out: ask them. Ask them, and they will tell you what they need to provide for and exceed the customer’s (and your) expectations as your business grows. Committing to giving employees the tools they need goes beyond computers, phones and software; it also includes clear communication, resources, responsibility and the authority necessary to finish the job.

Offer Opportunities to Grow

The most effective leaders never stop learning – the same is true of the best teams. To help your employees overcome the anxiety that comes along with change, encourage them to take the initiative to help your business move forward. You can accomplish this by giving them opportunities to prepare for change with more skills and experience. Some of the opportunities for employee growth and development you can offer include continuing education courses; tuition reimbursement; skills training; opportunities for promotion and internal career advancement; coaching, mentoring, and leadership development programs, etc.

Be Decisive and Purposeful

Especially in the middle of a big transition, decisions need to be made on a constant basis. Teams that are thriving have a strong leader behind them that knows how to act decisively and with purpose. Is your fear of making a wrong decision holding you back? In truth, there are few decisions in life or business that cannot be reversed or modified. It is important to remember that how a decision is made is often more important than the decision itself. You might not always get things right, but making decisions quickly with conviction is what keeps your business moving forward.

All in all, when you take an active role in the development of your team, it demonstrates confidence and concern for the future of your business. Following the tips above will help you successfully lead your employees through change of any size.

Security Business Capital’s Invoice Factoring Services

If your small business needs capital to add to your team, fund growth and say “yes” to the opportunities change brings, consider the many benefits of invoice factoring. Through invoice factoring services, you can use your business’ unpaid invoices to secure the cash you need quickly and easily. Security Business Capital has built a dedicated team of individuals with years of experience in providing flexible cash flow solutions that help businesses thrive, like invoice factoring. Small businesses, startups, businesses in a turnaround phase and businesses growing rapidly are just a few of the business types that successfully use Security Business Capital’s invoice factoring services.

To learn more about how our invoice factoring services work and how they can help your business grow, get in touch with us today for a free quote and/or consultation.