Inside My Business #7

Hi Reader,

Last week, I attended our team meeting for the first time since my surgery.

I was actually quite anxious about it. I normally chair these meetings, and after six weeks recovering from major surgery, I genuinely wasn’t sure I’d manage to sit through a couple of hours with the usual level of enthusiasm.

But I did, and I was rather pleased with myself! 😊

I absolutely love our face-to-face team meetings. We bring everyone together during the staff break, put on some food and drinks, and the atmosphere is always buzzing. People who don’t see each other often get to catch up, and you can feel how much they enjoy it.

This one was particularly special for me. There were familiar faces I hadn’t seen in weeks, and a few new ones I’d never met before!

Because while I’d been away, life at S&P Care had carried on

The business had been running remarkably well without me.

New staff had been recruited, inducted, shadowed and signed off.

No serious incidents. No complaints. New clients onboarded safely.

The rotas were working. Payroll had been processed. Audits were completed. Even mandatory training had continued.

And here’s the bit that really made me smile.

Some of our carers didn’t even realise I’d been away! 😂

Now, I'm not suggesting everything was perfect. I’m sure my beady little eye will still find a thing or two as I settle back in. But I couldn’t have been prouder of the team.

So I’ve been asking myself: what made everything hold together?

This Week’s Lesson

I think it comes down to three things we’ve been building into the business over the years.

Don't wait for a crisis to start building

Start planning now

1. The systems were already running

Every morning, our management team has a daily huddle. We look at what happened yesterday, what’s ahead today, and anything that needs attention.

While I was away, one of the team simply took over chairing it. Our admin carried on sending out the daily and weekly stats, and our Friday weekly review carried on as usual. So the managers always had the information they needed to make decisions.

Nothing had to be invented in a crisis. The systems were already there, and they just kept running.

2. Clarity, coaching and trust

This is the approach I use whenever I’m handing something over.

Be really clear about what needs to be done. Coach the person so they have the knowledge and confidence to do it. Then trust them to get on with it.

That last part isn’t always easy, especially when you’ve built a business from scratch and you’re used to having your fingers in everything! But if we keep stepping in, correcting or taking things back, our teams never learn to manage on their own.

Because that foundation was built long before my surgery, the team already knew what to do when I needed to step away.

3. They’re bought into the vision

For me, this is the most important part, and it’s the bit you can’t write into a policy.

Our management team really believe in what we’re building at S&P Care. They understand our values, where we want the business to go, and why outstanding care matters.

Casey and I have always been open with them. The more they can run things day to day, the more time we can spend on strategy and growing the business. They know that’s in their interest too, because their growth and the company’s growth go hand in hand.

In fact, they keep joking that they don’t want me back! 😂 I’m taking that as a compliment, because that’s exactly what we’ve been working towards: a business that doesn’t need me to make every decision or solve every problem.

📌 This Week’s Takeaway

The real test of your systems and leadership isn’t how well your business runs when you’re there. It’s how well it runs when you’re not.

I didn’t choose to take six weeks away from my business. But it showed me that the systems we’d built, and the people we’d trained and trusted, were doing exactly what we hoped they would.

Your Turn:

If you had to step away from your business for six weeks tomorrow, what would happen?

Would your team have the systems, information and confidence to keep things running without you?

And perhaps more importantly, would you trust them to?

If the answer makes you a little uncomfortable, that’s a good place to start. Pick one thing, maybe a daily huddle or a weekly stats report, and get it running while things are calm.

P.S. Ready to build a business that doesn’t depend on you?

If this has got you thinking about your own business, I’d love to help.

I’m offering a complimentary Care CEO Strategy Call, where we’ll look at where your business is today, what’s keeping you tied to the day-to-day, and the first steps towards building a team and systems that give you more freedom.