“Whatever your true values as a person are should be the values leading your business.”
Recently, our founder, Margo Crawford, sat down with the Championship Leadership Podcast to discuss the road she’s taken, how she has been shaped by other leaders, and what it means to take tough decisions. We’ve highlighted some key points and you can also listen to the full conversation through the link below.
Being A Leader
Margo’s career has taken many different routes since graduating from university. Right out of the gate she says she had an interest in management in business, and how owners navigate difficult decisions. Her first time in a leadership position came in 2000, when she was approached by two engineers to launch a tech company. The launch, succinctly followed by a period of economic turbulence caused by the tech bubble burst, helped Margo grow her “leadership muscle”, having to make tough decisions through challenging times.
This tech company survived and grew in the early 2000’s, and Margo and her team were able to sell the company in 2008. From there, Margo launched Business Sherpa Group, having realized during her time with the tech organization that there was a need for small businesses to have quality operational support at fractional cost.
Leading Through Values
Margo says a lot of her values as a leader come from a former COO she worked with, who led with empathy and transparency. “There was no bottleneck of information” Margo says on the podcast, “he had a clear head, he was very nice and curious about the people he interacted with, and he remembered who they are.” If there was one person who influenced her leadership approach, it was him.
When asked what is important for a leader to do, Margo says it’s to bring your personal values into the place you work. Whatever your values as a person are should be those of your business. If you do that, you’ll be comfortable in your work, you’ll engage with passion, and you’ll lead with ambition.
She also encourages people to take risks, and not to hunker down when things get tough. Through the pandemic, Business Sherpa Group continued to grow, continued to invest in its people and its marketing, and found itself in a stronger position when the downturn ended. Leaders who recognize the value in embracing turbulence will ‘Champion Leadership’.
Summary
This easy, 20-minute listen is great for any individual who is thinking about taking a business risk but is not sure if it’s worth it. Margo will almost surely tell you it is! (With the right foundation in place and using a level-headed approach of course).
If you’re looking to learn more about leadership in a small business, we can help build and execute workforce plans through our human resources solution, facilitate professional development via our Developing Leaders Series program, or provided tailored, strategic support via our Executive Solutions.
