How to build a successful leadership team

Nothing drives business success better than a top-tier leadership team.

But for business owners looking to scale up, building that team can be a daunting task, says Pascal St-Jean, co-founder of business advisory group STAND Advisors.

“Making the transition from entrepreneur to CEO can be difficult if you aren’t surrounded by the right people,” says St-Jean. “For many entrepreneurs, this is the first time they’ve had to put a team together, and it’s hard to know where to start.”

STAND Advisors helps clients across the country navigate this foundational period by applying its “10 Ts scale-up framework,” which helps leaders learn how to be accountable, delegate responsibility and – most importantly – find and develop the right talent.

Here are three common questions STAND Advisors get when helping a founder assemble a leadership team:

How do I start building my team?

Before hiring any leadership staff, it is important to have a vision for how you want the company to grow to properly measure what resources you’ll need to get there, says Robert Rudy, co-founder of STAND Advisors.

Setting specific sales goals for the next one to three years is a great way to attach a number to each scale-up progression, and can ensure a founder isn’t over-hiring or under-hiring from the beginning.

It’s also key for executives to have a set of corporate values and a sense of the workplace culture they’re looking for to help assess whether a job candidate is likely to be a good fit at the company.

In the early stages of a business, the entrepreneur is the culture, so being self-aware of your own expectations, values and habits can help avoid any future roadblocks.

“There are always going to be people who know how to do a skill, but we want the leaders we work with to find employees who are going to add value to the business and align with its growth trajectory,” says Rudy. “You gain a competitive advantage by having a focused and well matched team.”

What roles do I need?

Some business owners may assume they need to hire full time, in-house managers and directors to build out a leadership team. But that isn’t always the case, says St-Jean.

While some businesses may need a full-time team of C-suite executives, not all companies have the resources to support that level of staff.

Fractional executives or service providers can be a great middle ground for smaller, growing teams, as it allows businesses to benefit from the leadership and expertise of an experienced executive without having to hire them as a permanent employee.

“The goal is to mentor existing employees to bring them up to C-suite level by blending in outside, experienced professionals,” says St-Jean. “It creates quite a powerful dynamic without breaking the bank.”

How do I support my team once they’re hired?

Managing a leadership team is a full-time job in itself – something a lot of entrepreneurs often forget.

Both Rudy and St-Jean say it isn’t uncommon for founders to struggle with delegating tasks to their executives, since they are accustomed to taking a hands-on approach to running their business.

“We call it delegating without authority,” says Rudy. “CEOs think they’re handing over a task to another manager, but they aren’t giving that person the authority to make decisions or really take ownership of that task, which can foster distrust in a workplace.”

To ensure a leadership team is thriving, Rudy says it’s vital to communicate clear objectives and levels of responsibility, as well as provide staff with development opportunities to further their skillset.

Working with a team such as STAND Advisors can help businesses with those key foundational elements to ensure they are set up for success.

Every company STAND works with has a dedicated advisor to guide them through the scale-up process.

And, with opportunities to connect with other STAND clients during learning workshops, businesses are given the toolkit to not only reach the top of their sector – but stay there.