Have you ever wondered what would happen to your company if your C-suite was no longer around? That’s the wake-up call some project managers posed in a workshop recently.
One senior project manager said that if for some reason their company’s C-suite disappeared, they wouldn’t have a clue how to keep the business running. They’d have to shut the doors.
That’s not a scenario any business owner wants to consider, but it’s one that could occur if you don’t educate and equip your project managers to become business leaders.
I’ve observed through my work with engineers that many businesses are strapped by generational gaps that were created by the recession. For example, baby boomer business owners are now able to retire, but there are few engineers in their 50s to take the reins. Those engineers left the field when they couldn’t get (or lost) jobs during the recession. Younger engineers — experienced project managers — are being asked to step up and become business leaders. And they’re not equipped to make the change.
If you are a small- to midsize business owner or executive, here are areas your next-generation leaders need to know now:
Few people in your company understand how the whole company operates.
I equate it to the alphabet: The letter “B” knows its role, just as the letter “P” knows how it operates within a word or phrase. In most cases, however, B has no clue what P (or the rest of the letters) do and vice versa.
Your next-gen leaders need to be familiar with your accounting system, purchasing system, who handles human resources, who can negotiate what contracts, where to find your legal adviser and more. Tell them about which key performance indicators they need to track to make sure the business stays on track.
I’ve found that very few professionals — other than salespeople — have a clue about business development. Furthermore, few people want to even hear the word “sales.”
Your next-gen leaders need to understand that business development is about building relationships. They also need to know all the services you sell, which markets you sell to, the cost of a sale, who your clients are and what services they buy.
Teach them your business development process. Help them understand that your clients need and want something and that your firm can provide that “something” in exchange for money. This also provides work, which keeps your staff busy.
Your people are a big investment for your firm. You pay to find them, you pay their salary and provide benefits, you pay to train them and provide them the tools they need to do their job.
The last thing most owners want is to lose staff, particularly top achievers. In my experience, when a top project manager leaves, he or she usually takes the clients with him or her. Clients’ loyalty is usually to the project manager they work with. Their loyalty is seldom to your firm.
Your firm can’t afford to lose your people. Make sure your next-gen leaders know that. Educate those next-gen leaders on what it takes to recruit and retain your staff. Teach them how to compute the cost of employee turnover.
A well-run company has strategies and goals for its future. These forward-thinking tools are the road maps that tell employees where the company’s going.
Can your next-gen leaders name your firm’s values? Do they know your growth goals and how to get there?
As our tagline says, “Numbers may drive the business, but people drive the numbers®.” Teaching your people how to replace you is critical to your firm succeeding now and in the future.
Copyright by Pamela A. Scott, MentorLoft.com, Sept. 2019
This article originally appeared on Forbes.com on Sept. 5, 2019.