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Coaching is a great way for small business owners to develop leadership skills, build strong teams and grow their organizations. In this instalment of the small business interview series, I speak with leadership and learning specialist Tammy Dewar, Ph.D., Principal at Calliope Learning in Victoria, B.C.

The Evolution of Your Small Business Fuels Leadership Learning

Can you explain how the evolution of a small business might lead to a need for coaching or team building?

“Most small business owners possess a skill set related to whatever type of business they are starting. As their business develops and grows, the skill set shifts from early start up mode (where everyone does everything) to creating an environment in which jobs might become more specialized. As this happens, the need to focus on creating an overall vision to keep people engaged and working together becomes more important. As a small business matures, the shift to a team culture also becomes more important.

It’s at this point that small business owners may recognize the need to provide people with these skill sets. This can vary from hiring a consultant to do a team building workshop to hiring an individual executive coach to help the owner develop those skill sets.”

Challenging the Status Quo

How will small business owners and teams be challenged during the development process?

“While people may come to coaching and team development with an open mind and willingness to learn, often they are surprised by how this process upsets the status quo and unsettles people. It’s normal for a bit of resistance from co-workers as people try on new behaviors. It’s also normal for individuals themselves to hang onto their old way of doing things as that’s comfortable and predictable. What usually helps people move forward is a clear vision of how they want things to be different as this vision can pull them along.”

Not Just for Big Business

Coaching and team development might be viewed as something that only larger organizations get involved in. Do many small businesses engage in this type of leadership learning? What are some of the benefits of coaching and team development for small business?

“In our experience, more and more small businesses are investing in this type of development – their employees are demanding it and owners see the need when they realize they have reached a plateau in their business.

We work with several organizations of 50 employees or less. Small businesses can get even more benefit than larger organizations because they can offer the learning experience to everyone in the company as opposed to a limited number of people (which typically happens in larger companies). Taking your entire staff to an offsite retreat for a day or so can help engage and energize your team – leading to a common vision for the business and facilitating a cultural shift that will help everyone move forward constructively.”

What to Look For In an Executive Coach or Leadership Consultant

What should small business owners look for in an executive coach or team development consultant? Is it important that a coach be in the same city as the client?

“While location might be important in terms of cost, finding someone who relates to the business owner and shares some common values and philosophy is perhaps more important. Look for someone who has a blend of theory/academic preparation in leadership, learning, teambuilding and practical experience in these areas. Probably most important is personal fit … how do you think the person will relate to your staff and build trust quickly? In my experience this is what contributes to a successful relationship overall.”

Investing in Your Small Business

Do small business owners see the value of leadership learning or are they hesitant when it comes to investing in executive coaching or team development?

“Small business owners can sometimes be reluctant to invest in employees for fear they may leave. We often ask small business owners the question: What if you don’t invest in your employees and they don’t leave? How will that impact your business?

It’s often a leap of faith to invest money when you are still trying to build the business. We have faced that ourselves as a small business and have been amazed at how our own business grew substantially when we actually invested in our own learning. It paid off in a more diverse skill set and perhaps more importantly, additional confidence to take on clients and business we didn’t feel comfortable with prior to the learning experience.”

About Tammy Dewar and Calliope Learning

Tammy Dewar combines an academic background in learning (Ph.D. in Adult Learning) with practical leadership and team expertise in a variety of sectors. Her independent consulting practice includes over 15 years of experience in leading and coaching face-to-face and virtual teams. She has designed and facilitated a variety of workshops on leadership, visioning and strategic planning, team building, and individual and organizational learning. More recently, she has been working with organizations to address leadership and employee turnover and morale issues utilizing action research, learning strategies and coaching. The other third of her time is spent teaching with Royal Roads University in their MA in Leadership and Training (MALT), the Master of Business Administration (MBA), and the MA in Distributing Learning (MADL).

Calliope Learning is a leadership and learning company. As “pracademics”, the Calliope team combines sound academic research principles with grounded professional practice. They utilize action research and learning to help individuals and teams enhance their engagement, enjoyment, resilience and performance, thereby realizing workplace potential, and contributing to the overall bottom line of the organization. Calliope facilitates provocative conversations, meaningful learning, and breakthrough changes using high tech and high touch methods.