The entrepreneurial journey is full of highs and lows for every business leader. And even when a leader has considerable resources, there is no way to completely avoid encountering business challenges.
While these hurdles can completely shake a business, they can also double as valuable learning experiences that help entrepreneurs grow and develop their skills as leaders. Below, 17 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one specific business challenge they believe usually results in a great teaching experience and what lessons leaders can carry forward into the future.
1. Gaining Recognition and Trust
One type of business challenge that most new businesses go through is getting people to both know and trust the business. Many businesses suffer in the beginning because people don't know who they are, where they are or what they do. The community has to be introduced to the business and that goes well beyond the launch. - Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure
2. Balancing Profits and Affordability
Achieving a balance between generating profit from selling your product or service and keeping it affordable in order to compete with underpriced competitors has always been a challenge for successful businesses. However, with the right approach, this balance can be achieved and lead to success. - Tammy Sons, Tn Nursery
3. Hiring With a Limited Budget
We don't always have the ability to hire highly skilled candidates due budget constraints or the lack of candidate availability. For shorter term business needs as well as the development of the team, ask each candidate what they are good at and what they like to do. Leverage existing abilities when assigning work objectives and then grow new capabilities from that base. - Margie Kiesel, Avaneer Health
4. A Delay in Providing Feedback
One business challenge is the avoidance or delay in providing feedback. It's a challenging step that requires vulnerability, but when neglected, other issues like an increase in tension or a decrease in collaboration occurs. Effective leaders model how to provide critical feedback and create the space for their team members to acquire such skills. In any situation, communication equals productivity and authenticity. - Leah Marone, Corporate Wellness Consultant
5. A Lack of Communication
Lack of communication is a business challenge that usually results in a great teaching experience that leaders can carry forward. Identifying the root cause, whether it's fear, the unknown, being careless or something else, can lead to breakthroughs and solutions that help achieve future success. - Raquel Olivier, The Olivier Incorporated
6. The Absence of a Mentor
Challenges happen daily, which is why mentorship is so vital for young professionals who are just starting out. This can help entrepreneurs avoid making costly mistakes and gain insight into the inner workings of the business world. Mentorship also allows for valuable networking opportunities and the chance to establish long-term professional relationships. - Jacob Kupietzky, HCT Executive Interim Management & Consulting
7. Managing Change
One common challenge is managing change, particularly during a company's growth phase. Leaders must adapt, which often requires shifting roles and strategies. This experience teaches resilience, adaptability and the importance of clear communication. It also underscores the need to remain open to learning and open to new ways of doing things, which are vital skills for any leader. - Joseph Soares, IBPROM Corp.
8. Scaling the Business
When an entrepreneur starts to scale their business, they must hire new team members. Finding the right fit is a hard lesson, especially without enough experience, and many of us learned it the hard way. - Krisztina Veres, Veres Career Consulting
9. Hiring the Wrong Person
Bad hiring decisions demand we step back, evaluate our team's needs and have tough conversations about what we need. Examine your culture and your role in the hire not being successful. These moments require introspection and growth. You will learn a lot from these choices and carry those lessons in with every subsequent addition to your team. - Jennifer Thompson, i-tri
10. Navigating Reorganizations
Reorganizations and restructurings are the best business teaching tools. During times of change, most leaders and teams demonstrate resistance rather than radical acceptance. Accept, adapt and accelerate is the mindset resilient organizations embody. Resisting what is wastes useful energy that could be directed toward what's next. - Karen Mangia, The Engineered Innovation Group
11. Handling Minor Failures
Small failures are learning experiences. Taking action to ensure those failures don't repeat will help provide protection against big failures later on. Whenever something goes wrong, I ask the team, "What did we learn for next time?" We then make any necessary changes in advance of the next time. As Albert Einstein once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." - Tia Goss Sawhney, Teus Health, LLC.
12. Being Wrong
One business challenge to learn from is dealing with a situation where as right as you thought you were was wrong as you turned out to be. Dealing with that without blaming others or yourself or beating up on yourself is difficult. Instead, just learning from it can offer you the greatest chance for a breakthrough in your thinking. - Mark Goulston, Mark Goulston, M.D., Inc.
13. Overriding Personal Boundaries
Successful leaders often push past personal boundaries in order to achieve impressive business results. During crises, this may seem like the best approach to resolve negative situations quickly. However, the exact opposite is true. In my experience, a lack of attention to self-care can result in devastating crashes with an adverse impact on business outcomes. Leaders need to prioritize self-care. - Lillian Gregory, The 4D Unicorn
14. Creating Intellectual Safety
Creating intellectual safety when failures occur can be pivotal in fostering a healthy team culture. Fostering a mindset of "us against the problem" instead of "you against me and your problem" helps employees feel empowered. This will allow them to quickly surface problems and pull in the right stakeholders to solve those problems together and avoid a pattern of repeated failures. - Chloe Alpert, Enobl
15. Handling Criticism
Many times, leaders find themselves instinctively rejecting criticism without even realizing it. This can cause them to miss out on valuable insights. By acknowledging this reflex and viewing feedback as a tool for self-improvement, leaders will be able to identify areas where they may have blind spots. The ability to be self-aware is crucial for effective leadership. - Dr. Kira Graves, Kira Graves Consulting
16. Navigating Miscommunication
Miscommunication is a common challenge. When in doubt, have a conversation with someone face-to-face or pick up the phone and call them. Don't rely on text, email or IM services to solve problems or tackle difficult situations. - James Fox, EVBox
17. Overcoming a Crisis
During a crisis, leaders are often required to adapt rapidly and adjust their strategies to navigate the changing circumstances and unforeseen challenges. These high-stakes situations teach leaders to be resilient and flexible while acting decisively. This experience gained from making tough decisions under pressure is a valuable skill in any leadership role. - Sonja Wasden, Speaking Mental Health
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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