Collaborative Leadership

Careful and deliberate organization of leadership in a company is a vital asset in helping each division of the company run more effectively. For example, our company is organized into business units set up according to the markets which they serve. The head of each business unit is the key person that drives the profit center. The Strategic Business Unit heads are responsible for the top line revenue and the bottom line. This means that they control the pricing, direct expenses, development and delivery of services. They do not make decision on policies like accounting, revenue recognition, new markets, financing or corporate marketing. The second most important person then would be the head of sales for the Strategic Business Unit.

Likewise, my individual management style is very collaborative. However, its important to set crisp and clear direction by having a series of meetings with the individuals to whom you delegate responsibility. This ensures that they remain on the course set by regular reviews; I let each leader run their own unit as long as they deliver and stick to the agreed upon plan.

Exception reviews are important when things go off plan. I hold these monthly business reviews where we track the progress against plan. If the revenue, EBITDA or the expenses vary more than 10% from plan, an exception review is called. This review revisits the whole plan: the assumptions behind it, expenses, pricing, business model, market attack plan, direction and people. In other words, everything is challenged. If the issues are systemic, a new plan may result but usually it is modified to include new details learned during the review.