QUESTION: Share some successful tips for working on the business and not in the business, especially when it comes to time management, coping with work-related stress, and optimising productivity.
This was the second question posed to our guests at the 11th Professional Beauty Industry Roundtable, where suppliers and salon professionals got together at Bel & Brio, Barangaroo, to talk all things business.
Our group of industry thought leaders included Heather Harrison from Advanced Skin Technology, Kaye Scott from The Clinic, Mathew Green from Candela Medical, Lee Tan from Groom Laser & Skin Clinic, Michelle Doherty from Alpha-H, and Leeanne Leslie from Alpha-H Skin Clinic.
Our panel agreed that CEOs needed to foster a collaborative, nurturing, and guiding environment for their employees, not a micromanagement environment.
They stressed the importance of trusting employees to do their job and taking time to think of the bigger picture.
Lee Tan from Groom Laser & Skin Clinic said sometimes you had to physically remove yourself from the environment, because once you were on the shop floor, it was easy to get distracted.
“Don’t micromanage the staff, because you want them to grow and when they grow, it makes your job easier,” she said.
Heather Harrison from Advanced Skin Technology said it was necessary not just to work away from the business to work on the business, but also to get inspiration from the wider world.
“I joined the CEO Network because I felt that I needed to have inspiration from people who weren’t in our industry and who could guide me and sometimes see things in a more enlightened way than I could,” she said.
Kaye Scott from The CIinic said you became a mentor, but it was good to have a mentor yourself.
“I also change mentors and learn from different people,” she said.
Michelle Doherty from Alpha-H said she loved to be able to step back from the day-to-day stress and have a look at the bigger picture, but she could only do that now because they had built an amazing team around them.
“I would rather pay more money and get the right person and wait for that right person than employ somebody that you can’t delegate to,” she said.
Mathew Green from Candela Medical said leaders needed to create leaders.
“People need a collaborative, nurturing, and guiding environment, not a micromanagement environment, and it really comes down to trust,” he said.
“You need to hire people that you can trust, and I think if you create that kind of culture, then the CEO can concentrate on the big-picture business strategy.”
Leeanne Leslie from Alpha-H Skin Clinic said you had to inspire confidence in your team so that they felt trusted and could work independently.
Watch the video below to learn more.