How Can a Management Team Function? How to Break Free from a Company Where the President Does All the Work

"In the end, I'm the one who has to do it."

This is a phrase I often hear from successors and second-generation business owners.

There are employees.
There are executives.
Meetings are being held.

Yet, in the end, the president makes the decisions,
the president takes action,
the president provides follow-up,
and the president takes responsibility.

As a result, the business owner gradually becomes exhausted.

And then,

"Employees don't grow"
"Executives don't take initiative"
"I can't delegate"

is what they begin to feel.

However, when you enter the workplace,

it is not necessarily because of a lack of ability in the employees or executives.

Rather,

the fact that there is no structure in place

to function as a management team is more often the case.

One successor was struggling with the same problem.

The company had excellent managers.
They had experience.
They worked diligently.

Even so,

whenever something happened, they would come to the president for confirmation.
Even in meetings, the final decision was up to the president.
Improvement proposals were also waiting on the president.

The person said,

"Everyone is excellent. But it won't run without me."

When I actually participated in the meeting, the reason became immediately clear.

The person in charge is reporting.

However,

they are not analyzing. They are not proposing. They are not organizing the information needed for decision-making.

The president listens to the report,

thinks on the spot, and makes decisions on the spot.

In other words,

the meeting was not a place for decision-making, but rather a reporting session for the president.

It had become that.

In the fourth session, I talked about how ownership arises from structure.

The same applies to the management team.

Giving someone a title does not make them an executive.

Giving someone the title of person in charge does not make them think like a manager.

What is important is

the opportunity to think and the opportunity to make decisions.

It is.

So, the first thing we did was not a major organizational reform.

We changed the way we hold meetings.

For the person in charge, not just reporting, but

issues,

causes, proposed solutions, and necessary decisions.

I had them organize it and bring it to me.

At first, it didn't go well.
It was just reports of "What should we do?"

However, as we repeated it many times,
gradual changes began to occur.

One manager,
who previously
would have just said,
"Sales are down" and left it at that.

But a few months later,
they started saying,
"The gross margin for this customer segment is declining,"
"I propose a price revision,""Here is the impact if we implement it."

That is how they started speaking.

Another manager also,
instead of saying
"We don't have enough people,"
started saying,
"If we standardize this process, we can reduce the workload."

At one point, I asked all the managers to give a short presentation.

Five minutes each.

Regarding their own areas of responsibility,

current status,
issues,
and action plans

I had them explain these.

At first, they were nervous.
But with each repetition, they changed.

Their presentation content became organized.
They started using numbers.
They became able to answer questions.

And above all,

they began to take responsibility for their own areas

of work.

Seeing that, the business owner
said something like this:

"Everyone is growing, aren't they?"

That remark left a lasting impression on me.

This is because,
rather than the employees changing,

it was the moment

the president's perspective changed.

Companies where the management team does not function have one thing in common.

The president is too talented.
The president thinks.
The president decides.
The president follows up.
The president takes action.

As a result, the organization becomes comfortable.

However, at the same time,

employees stop thinking.
Executives do not develop either.

As a result,

it becomes a company that stops

when the president is not there.

Of course,

the ultimate responsibility lies with the president.

This does not change.

However,

the president does not need to think about everything.

Rather,

increasing the number of people who think

is an important job for a manager.

There is something I feel while being involved in over 400 management consultations a year.

When a company grows,
the first thing that changes is not sales.

It is not equipment.
It is not the number of employees.

What changes first is,

meetings.
conversations.
the statements made by those in charge.

In other words,

the quality of the management team.

that is what it is.

If you are currently feeling,

"In the end, I have to do it myself,"
"Executives don't grow,"
"I can't leave things to my employees,"

if you feel that way,

what you need might not be grit or determination.

First of all,

it might be a mechanism to change from a company where the president works hard,
to a company where the management team thinks together.
that might be it.

The next installment is finally the last one.

"A successor's management begins with taking ownership of their own management."

I will share the story of how to move the company forward with your own judgment,
rather than following the correct answers of your predecessor.

For first-time visitors

I mainly provide support for,

successors after business succession,
executives in the second founding phase,
and those in charge of new business ventures.

I provide support for them.

Rather than presenting the correct answer for management,
I focus on organizing thoughts,
clarifying decision-making criteria,
and creating a state where the management team functions effectively.

Only the president is working hard.
There are meetings, but nothing gets decided.
I want to develop executives.
I want to build an organization that can be entrusted with tasks.

If you are in such a situation, please feel free to consult with me.

*Case studies have been partially modified. They are not related to actual companies or individuals.

▼ For first-time visitors

▼ Self-introduction

▼ About consultations

Atsushi Kumagai
Practical Management Advisor / SME Management Consultant

I provide hands-on support in the fields of business succession, second startups, and new business development to create a state where business owners can make their own decisions.

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