Business Builder Versus Protector: How Do You Maintain Balance

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The swaying tide between building a business and protecting a business is ever changing. Economic conditions, growth and evolving management teams can often shift the complexity and psyche of an organization. As the leader navigates the changes of their organization, the builder to protector ratio skews in one direction or the other, ultimately determining a company’s ability to meet and overcome its challenges.

As leaders, we must consistently consider that the builder/protector ratio is ultimately a blend between confidence and caution that changes depending on the company’s current stage of growth. But first these two characteristics must be defined in order to be measured:

  • The Builder Mindset creates new ideas, takes on new initiatives and finds ways to expand the revenue and profitability of the company. They are confident.
  • The Protector Mindset is careful and prefers to slow down the pace of change. They are risk adverse and highly suspicious of growth. Protectors are cautious.

Too many builders and you’ll run the company off the cliff. Too many protectors and the company’s growth will slow down, stagnate, or die. Establishing the optimal ratio for your stage of growth improves your insight into your company’s ability to meet and overcome its challenges and its willingness to take advantage of opportunities. Have you measured the ratio between builder and protector lately?

Need help with this topic or leadership coaching? Contact Mission Critical Teams.