It’s almost impossible to define leadership, yet it’s one of those things we undeniably know when we see it. Any definition of leadership is contextual. Leadership must take on many different forms when rising to the occasion. Growing effective at leadership through growing a small business has been my lifelong pursuit. One of the ways I’ve come to view leadership is a spectrum between two different types of leaders – the Change Agent and the Leader at Scale. This framework is very helpful in successfully growing a small business long-term. It also lends a perspective to “the right people, in the right seats on the bus” in many organizations.
The premise is, navigating change and managing growth at scale require very different leadership. An analogy of these two types of leaders might be the Wartime General vs the Peacetime General.
The Change Agent. Managing change requires a leader to be directly in touch with the front line. Kaizen/Lean Six Sigma calls this “The Gemba.” Real-time information and quick feedback loops allow for more frequent pivoting as information and experience are learned and uncertainty becomes clearer. A Change Agent Leader needs the experience, communication skills, decisiveness, confidence and charisma to rally the team behind their vision. The vision is days/weeks/months in horizon, and the next steps are clear. They lead from the front, gain quick wins and build confidence within the team. These leaders often “are” the small business. Everything is uncertain in a small business as they start with little more than the entrepreneur’s idea and energy. When the future is uncertain, putting forth a minimum viable product and then decisively pivoting and improving in real-time will outperform the best strategy any day. A fun quote that embodies the Change Agent Leader: “Logic is the greatest deterrent to awareness.” The Change Agent Leader thrives on feedback and momentum.
Leading at Scale. Scaling a business is doubling down on what works and focused on building processes and infrastructure that deliver a high-quality outcome consistently. The Leader at Scale is focused on the long-range vision, strategy and leadership development within their people. Developing effective leaders is key, and requires many small failures, coaching, tolerance and tension. It is a slow process but the only way to win the long game. The Leader at Scale is constantly repeating the vision and reinterpreting it in different situations with the team. They embody the values and drive the culture of the organization. These leaders don’t solve problems as much as they elevate the thinking and problem solving within others. Scaling Leaders are focused on talent recruitment, talent retention, and roadblock removal.
The challenge with small business can be seen in the differences between these two types of leaders. Small businesses must start with a Change Agent. But, without transformation to a Leader at Scale, the Change Agent will not create the foundation needed for long-term stability and will hold the business in a mild form of chaos because that’s where they thrive and are most familiar.
While small business was the framework for describing these two types of leaders, you can readily see examples of them in every organization. Established businesses encounter turbulence, governmental organizations encounter demand for change, and sometimes the market just shifts under our feet. Also, we see organizations that have a good thing going but struggle with consistency, or struggle under the weight of a larger operation (lack of additional effective leaders). The Change Agent Leader and Leader at Scale are really a spectrum of leadership skills, and in the long run, success in any organization will inevitably require both types. Success as a leader long-term is to know yourself well enough to know where you naturally show up on the spectrum, and then learning how to effectively transform into the other leader when the organization needs it.
Mike Schraepfer is the president of Heairloom Property Management.
