On my recent Gazelles International re-certification summit in Melbourne, I was joined by all the Australian and New Zealand GI business growth consultants for three days of training, sharing and learning. During the summit, I was humbled by the quality and experience of the GI business Business Growthgrowth coaches in our region – who are all working to build the business leaders of tomorrow. Leadership development was a major theme, with a focus on how to bring out the very best in business leaders and their teams.
Leadership Development And Business Growth
A truth often side-stepped is that a business will only grow as fast as the CEO grows themselves and their senior leadership team. Leadership development is the key to a successful business growth plan. It’s the concept that if you want to grow sustainably, you need knowledge, tools and support.
We refer to this as the “client journey to mastery” and it’s part of the Scaling Up process. We see it as our responsibility to guide business leaders in a bespoke learning program that equips them with what they need to learn when they need to learn it.
How to Build Business Champions
During the Melbourne summit, I was reminded that the way to build business champions is to probe and ask questions that open the eyes and minds of business leaders. There are two critical questions that must be asked to develop a leader so that they unlock the keys to business growth.
#1 – How do I know I’m right?
The first is a simple quality management question all leaders should ask themselves. Instead of aiming to be right, instead of knowing what to do in any situation, be humble and ask yourself: “How do I know I’m right?” This is how you stress test your assumptions, conclusions and solutions. GI Business Growth Consultants are encouraged to challenge senior executives by questioning, probing and interrogating.
#2 – Should we change this?
People who know me know that I’m a great lover of the process of iteration. There are a series of questions that challenge senior leaders to think outside of their box in the areas of process, strategy and execution. The process is called Guerrilla Iteration and begins with a simple question: “Should we change this?”. This then leads executives through a process of innovation thinking and leading to a higher level of iteration. The quality of thinking this unleashes continues to amaze me.
Business Growth Model with Leadership Development at the Centre
During the summit, I was reminded why I chose to become a GI Business Growth Consultant and why we are recognised as the best mid-market management consultants globally. Not only are we expected to undergo rigorous training and continuous education each year so that we are across the best practice models and business frameworks; but we are also taught how to build the business leaders of tomorrow.
Being a Gazelle’s Business Growth Consultant is an entirely different model with leadership development at the very centre. We spend proportionally more time growing the capacity of business leaders, challenging their thinking to levels of rigour that will benefit them and their company in the future. We trust and respect our client’s ability to grow and learn to scale their businesses. Using a proven business framework to drive and manage growth and continually questioning and probing to build capability, stimulate teams and manage company culture is what creates business champions leading exceptional businesses.
