From Micromanagement to Momentum: Building a World-Class Team Through Transformational Leadership

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Alex Charfen doesn’t mince words or hold back when it comes to the importance of building and maintaining a strong team in your business with transformational leadership.

“We learn almost nothing alone,” he states emphatically. “Your ability to build a team is in direct relationship to your ability to be successful in your life. If you’re one of those people who says, ‘I won’t build a team – I’m just gonna do it all myself’, I’ve got news for you. You are heading down a path of entrepreneurial hell, pain, and anguish.”

These strong words are delivered from someone who knows. Charfen has seen a thing or two when it comes to business growth and development. The Texas-based CEO, best-selling author, and business growth expert has grown numerous multi-million dollar businesses of his own. Alex Charfen is the co-founder and CEO of CHARFEN, empowering entrepreneurs to grow and scale businesses and make their greatest contribution.

An in-demand thought leader on business strategy and entrepreneurship, he regularly appears in major media outlets such as MSNBC, CNBC, FOX News, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Investor’s Business Daily to provide his unique views and insights. He has also been featured as a speaker at Funnel Hacking Live, an annual conference for one of the fastest growing digital marketing software companies in the United States.

But he hasn’t stopped there. In his 20 plus years as a business consultant and growth expert, he’s helped hundreds of businesses and corporations grow and scale to the multi-million dollar level and beyond. Over the years, he’s been on a mission to help other entrepreneurs do the same.

And he’s only 45. So how does he do it? By teaching entrepreneurs how to lead and build strong teams. Charfen is quick to emphasize that a team can only go so far without good leadership.

“If you want to build a strong team, a team of mountain movers, game changers, and trailblazers, there’s one thing you have to have. Everyone talks about best hiring practices, personality tests, and skills assessments. All of that is great, but you can hire the smartest, most talented people out there and STILL not succeed if you’re missing the most vital part – transformational leadership.”

When it comes to team leadership, there are two main styles: transactional and transformational. One leads to micromanagement and frustration, and the other leads to growth and development for the business and the team.

Transactional Leadership Vs. Transformational Leadership

In transactional management, the entrepreneur operates in the traditional “boss” role. They tell team members what to do, check that it gets done, and then repeat the process over and over again. This type of leadership exhausts everyone involved. The entrepreneur feels like they work for the company and carrying the weight of the organization on their shoulders. The team members feel like cogs in a machine where their value is only linked to results and objectives.

Shifting from transactional leadership to transformational leadership completely changes the dynamic. Instead of managing each small task and detail, the entrepreneur operates in the role of “coach”.

“Transformational leadership is a subtle shift. It feels huge, but it really isn’t,” Charfen says. “What you do is you give people clear outcomes. You tell them where you’re going, you let them ask questions until they understand, and then you have them agree- Yes, we can do that.”

Transformational leaders emphasize desired outcomes instead of specific tasks. They coach team members through achieving those outcomes, staying present and available to the team. Team members choose the process and utilize their unique skills and abilities to achieve the goal.

Transformational leadership results in team members feeling appreciated and invested in the desired outcome – and in the business itself. Amazing results occur as team members take initiative and ownership of their role in the business. Meanwhile, the entrepreneur is freed up from having to micromanage every little task. They feel supported by the team and empowered to accomplish more by doing less task oversight.

Making the Shift

Making the shift from transactional leadership to transformational leadership requires change, both in the structure of the business and in the mindset of the entrepreneur. It’s doable change, most of which occurs through shifts in three main areas: communication, consistency, and creating an atmosphere of success.

1. Communication

No business productivity system or team communication app can replace person to person interaction. Leadership is a contact sport. This is not to say entrepreneurs shouldn’t use apps like Trello, Slack and Voxer. On the contrary, these apps can be great tools – but that’s all they are, tools. Apps and systems should not be the only means of communication between leadership and team members.

Good leadership and team building does not take place through an app. Management, yes. Organization, sure. But relying on apps for all communication or having irregular, insufficient communication with team members devalues team members’ connection to the business and its leadership. When team members don’t feel “plugged in” to the business or its plans and goals, they feel like they’re just part of a machine with no reason to be there other than getting paid and filling a role.

In contrast, when communication occurs regularly on a face-to-face or voice-to-voice basis, team members FEEL like part of a team. As a leader takes a role in helping them grow and transform, both in the business and in their personal lives, team members gain a sense of momentum and initiative. The business’ plans and goals become something they are personally invested in.

Small Shifts

Make communication transformational by practicing these small shifts:

  • Step away from the computer. Schedule regular times to connect with team members face to face if possible.
  • Get to know team members. It doesn’t need to be all about business all the time. Ask about their families and their hobbies. Value them as a person outside of what they do for the business.
  • Emphasize outcomes, not individual tasks. When talking about projects, describe the desired outcome, then allow the team members to ask questions until they understand and are ready to proceed in a way that utilizes their strengths and abilities. Good leaders practice repetition, not dictatorship.
  • Encourage transparency. What do they excel in? What do they struggle with? What needs do they have or blockages are they experiencing? Find out where team members are struggling for momentum and help them achieve it.

“When leaders have regular contact with their teams, when they talk to them, spend time with them, understand what they need, they will see their business explode,” Charfen explains. “They will see everything in their business shift the day that their people feel seen, heard, and understood.”

2. Consistency

Entrepreneurs tend to crave freedom, so in the beginning, maintaining consistency can feel like a loss of that freedom. Surprisingly, instead of being constraining, consistency creates freedom. Transformational leadership shows that people will follow a leader they trust. They will work harder and do more for a leader that someone they believe in.

Guess what breeds trust and belief? That’s right, consistency. Consistency is important in business practices of course, but when it comes to team building it is even more important for leaders to be consistent with their team members.

Small Shifts

  • Create a morning routine. It might seem like a drag, but the morning routine is a great time to prioritize the day and get off to a clarity-filled start.
  • Show up, in the same way, every day. Remember, an upbeat, positive leader sets the tone for the whole team. So does a leader who’s angry, moody, or stressed out.
  • Practice self-care. Hydration, exercise, and good nutrition are important. It’s hard to set a consistently positive tone when battling poor health or a case of the ‘hangries’.
  • Stay aware. Be present and ‘dialed in’ to what’s going on, what team members are working on and what their struggles may be.

“We see the practice of consistency and discipline as constraining, when in reality the practice of discipline and consistency is exactly what will set you free,” says Charfen. “It’s circular. The more you show up present and aware and grounded with a clear understanding of what’s going on, the more your team will do the exact same thing and the more effective and efficient things will be.”

3. Create an Atmosphere of Success

What is a business? At its base level, a business is a group of people who have all decided to work on the same results. Businesses grow when the people within the business grow, and transformational leadership focuses on helping team members grow and succeed. When the team members succeed, so does the business. Person over process, always.

Small Shifts

  • Coach, don’t command. Make sure they have the information and resources necessary.
  • Give the team clear outcomes that are easy to understand – but be open to questions.
  • Make sure everyone has a good understanding so they don’t feel like they’re being set up to fail.
  • Share praise. People believe what they hear over and over again. Let them hear things that boost them up to succeed.
  • Leave room for failure and mistakes. Mistakes will happen. Use them as learning opportunities with your team. The only thing someone learns by being raked over the coals for a mistake is how to fear and avoid making that mistake again. They don’t learn how to problem solve or innovate.

“Hire extraordinary people who are obsessed with getting results and who want to work with a company that’s making a difference,” advises Charfen. “Then make sure you coach them in a transformational way. Give them the outcome and coach their success. You’ll get leveraged results, and everyone in the business transforms.”

Charfen practices what he preaches as a business coach not only in his own high-level coaching programs for entrepreneurs. But also is one of the main coaches for Russell Brunson’s 2 Comma Club X, a mastermind business mentorship program that regularly produces 7, 8 and 9-figure entrepreneurs.

The Power of Discretionary Time

When the shift from transactional to transformational leadership is made, everything for a business can change. Business will flourish. Team members will grow. Hidden talents will come out of the woodwork. Why? Transformational leadership gives team members a sense of pride and ownership in the business.

“When that happens, you start getting the discretionary effort of people, and here’s what I mean by that,” explains Charfen. “When they’re driving to work, they’ll be thinking about the business. When they’re going to sleep at night, they’ll be thinking about the business. When they’re doing their workouts, when they’re walking, when they’re running, they’ll be thinking about how to grow the business.

“Success is limited by your ability to deliver your products and services,” Charfen states. “There are only so many hours in a day. There’s only so much one person can achieve on their own. To build a world-changing business, you’re going to need a world-class team. And to get that, you HAVE to make the shift from transactional to transformational leadership.”

Internationally recognized speaker and business consultant, Alex Charfen, has helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs grow their business through his insights from consulting for billionaires, the Fortune 500 and some of the most successful people in the world.

Here are some places to find out more about Alex and growing your team;

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