Management Styles: Are You a "Goal-Driven" Franchisor?

Becky Martin, writer

Published at 05/10/2020, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 5 min

Management Styles: Are You a "Goal-Driven" Franchisor? — Photo © goal-driven-franchisor.jpg

Are you a ‘goal-driven’ franchisor? In this article, we explore this type of leadership style, including how it can work in your favour and ways to maximise your approach.

What do teachers, sports coaches and sales managers all have in common? For the most part, they adopt a ‘goal-driven’ management style. Franchisors can thrive using many different leadership approaches, and what works for one might not work for the other. In this addition to the ‘Management Styles’ series we take a look at goal-oriented leadership and how setting clear and specific goals can lead to the long-term success of a franchise brand. By the end, you should have a better understanding of this leadership style and see if you can class yourself as a ‘goal-driven’ franchisor.

How to tell if you’re a ‘goal-driven’ manager

Looking for some clarity when it comes to which management category you belong to? We have provided some classic traits of a ‘goal-driven’ manager…

You are always looking to expand your knowledge and have a realistic outlook.
You have established a hierarchy of goals and/or a sequence of goals that you’ve put in place to help you achieve a long-term objective.
You’re highly organised. You tend to look for new ways to optimise your productivity and organise your work and desk.
You enjoy checking off tasks one at a time. Regularly tracking progress gives you great satisfaction.
You would class yourself as productive in the workplace and other areas of your life.

Advantages of the ‘goal-driven’ management style

1. Identify opportunities and limit risks

This management style helps you to identify opportunities that align with your goals and understand what could threaten them.

2. Key performance indicators

Key performance indicators (KPIs) help you keep an eye on how effectively your franchise is achieving its business objectives. By understanding and applying these goals you can:

Improve your decision making
Use them as a point of reference for making future or past comparisons
Highlight areas where the business is underperforming for accountability purposes
Keep employees motivated

3. Engages employees

A huge benefit of the ‘goal-driven’ management style is that it enhances employee engagement and improves retention rate. Employees are often eager to know the direction of their job role and the business, and if they feel undervalued or insecure they could look for another opportunity. By taking the time to make personal goals and communicate them across the board, your employees and franchisees will thank you for investing in them.

4. Employees can manage their time better

While some individuals may thrive in an unstructured environment where they have creative control, many are more productive when there are clear structures and instructions in place. The ‘goal-driven’ management style should help the latter organise their time in the workplace and encourage the long term success of the franchise brand.

How to make the most of the ‘goal-driven’ management style

1. Regularly check up on your franchisees and employees

Be careful not to let employees get bogged down with their day-to-day responsibilities. Yes, focusing on tasks that they need to achieve to meet certain goals can help keep you on the path to success, but be cautious of taking it to the extreme. Balance smaller tasks with those that come with higher responsibility and make sure that you keep the bigger picture in mind. If you fail to do this, you risk having your employees doing jobs that their skills aren’t well suited to. This can result in them feeling dissatisfied and unhappy with the direction of their personal career journey.

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2. Keep organised

Many people with a ‘goal-driven’ management style tend to enjoy organisation. Maybe you’re already a fan of creating to-do lists but want to take organising your work to the next level? Try colour coding folders that relate to specific tasks, changing your email settings so messages land in different folders depending on the sender or subject, and creating templates for repetitive projects so you don’t have to waste time starting a new one from scratch.

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3. Create a culture of gratitude

Want to positively impact your workplace culture? Encourage showing gratitude. It’s in our nature to want to feel valued, so if you facilitate more of that as part of your management style you’re onto a winner. It’s also been found that when managers show their appreciation for their team that they are more productive and loyal to the business. If you’re not doing so already you could try writing them a sincere email or messages, you could also ask them what makes them feel appreciated (and act on it) and dedicate time to share how someone in the network has positively impacted the franchise that week.

4. Keep positive

If you’re a goal-driven’ franchisor you might feel unmotivated and disappointed when you or your franchisees are not achieving your goals. But to keep stress levels low and achieve more in the long run try and keep positive. Enjoy the satisfaction of achieving even the smallest of tasks. Cross them off your to-do list and then reschedule those that couldn’t be accomplished that day. Also, to avoid burnout make sure that you take enough breaks and don’t let achieving your goals become too obsessive.

Be the best franchisor you can be

Setting goals is very important and useful in the business world. Many individuals have to actively make an effort to become more ‘goal-driven’, so if it is already part of your management style you’re in luck. Just make sure that this doesn’t have a detrimental effect on your relationship with your team. Do what you can to develop genuine connections with employees so they feel comfortable talking to you if they have any concerns.

If you don’t think being ‘goal-driven’ is your leadership style, you might want to check out our other articles in the series. You can find these, as well as lots of other articles for franchisors in one place. Or, if you're seeking a new challenge, check out our UK franchise directory.