Did you know that every owner manager is three people rolled into one? Allow me to explain…
Firstly you are the owner. It was your idea and your money that made it all happen in the first place. And most likely it continues to be your ideas and money that make it all happen.
Secondly you are the MD. You as the owner have effectively appointed yourself to run the company. Lucky you – although I bet you don’t get paid an MD’s salary. You should have a word with the owner about that.
And finally you are a human being. Just like everybody else you get stressed at work, you stay in the office late and you miss family and other social gatherings because you are ‘too busy’. Sounds like the MD is working you too hard – you should speak to them about that…
So why is any of this important? Because those three ‘personas’ will always be in tension with each other and you’re the one who has to deal with that tension. Here’s a quick example…
A staff member has serious health issues and is often off work. Let’s see how your three personas view this situation…
- As the owner it’s not your problem – in fact you might not even know about it. All you care about is your Return On Investment – your annual dividend and the eventual sale of the business.
- As the MD you’re concerned for your team member but you are also on the phone to your HR lawyers. This absence is costing you a fortune in temporary staff and you never know from one day to the next whether this staff member will show up. You need to know what your rights are as an employer and how you can resolve this.
- As a human being you sympathise with the employee. Everybody can get ill and this person seems to have a serious chronic issue. You hope they don’t lose their job – you happen to know their family situation and you know they need the income.
And it’s this internal tension between these three different personas – who all have entirely different interests and agendas – which is one of the unseen challenges of the owner manager. Some days you’ll feel like being the detached owner, at others the business-minded MD, and at other times the compassionate human being. But your success in business requires you to be the right person at the right time and to navigate between them effortlessly.
