Mentor Your Way to a Stronger Team

Throughout my entire 20+ year career, I’ve observed and experienced an ongoing struggle in small businesses that creates predictable inefficiency–the owner or other leader(s) of the company don’t have time to mentor their team. 

More often than not, mentorship opportunities are missed by the owner/leader(s) of small businesses because:

1. They’re busy working in and on the business, and literally don’t have the time

2. They’re not strong in areas where the team needs mentorship

3. They aren’t “wired” to teach or mentor others

4. They didn’t know it came along with owning a business and having a team

When this happens, the team is left holding the bag. Meanwhile, the owner/leader(s) grow more and more frustrated by the team.

One area we see this happening in a lot is with foundational business skills like being organized, creating + following processes, and using software. The truth is that team members in small businesses tend to have extremely varying levels of these skills.

This means that it’s critical for owners/leaders to:

1. Provide structure

2. Set clear expectations

3. Establish a culture of process documentation

4. Provide mentorship on how to live up to these standards  

This mentorship and structure were missing from many jobs I held when I worked as an employee. It’s actually one of the main things that inspired me to start For the Love of Systems—I got frustrated and knew there was a better way.

Another area we see this happening in a lot is with foundational interpersonal skills. People also tend to have extremely varying levels of ability when it comes to how they behave and interact.

However, structure, clear expectations, and SOPs can’t fully help with this.

So, what's the solution for developing interpersonal skills with a team? 

Our solution is to provide mentorship around habits + behaviors using the Habit Story assessment. 

The non-judgmental insights that arise, combined with the mentorship we provide during the debrief, empower team members to understand how they’re showing up and how to change, if necessary. This work is critically important because of how often small businesses have to pivot to stay competitive when the market shifts. 

These pivots are a necessary part of doing business, but they are also a disruptive force that can create stress. This stress often causes the best and worst in people to come out.

That’s where mentorship comes in, whether it comes from the owner/leader(s) of the company, or from an outside source. 

If we want our team members to be organized, create processes + follow them, use software tools the way they’re intended, and show up as their best selves, we have to show them the way and hold them accountable. 

If you’re not sure how to do that, let’s chat.