Emotional Stakes Versus Stakeholders: Who’s Right?
By ducking the difficult conversations, business founders often create the very conflict they are at pains to avoid.
Conflict avoidance is conflict guaranteed. It’s natural in any business for stakeholders to bump heads – it’s the grit in the oyster that makes the pearl, after all - but sometimes you need a referee. A clear thinker who will put the real-world needs of your business before the emotional needs of its founders. Who will help you hold each other to account while supporting each other’s success. Because any business matters more than the egos which created it.
In one example, WhiteCap helped coach a creative after a difficult split with his business partner. By working with authenticity to stay true to his vision of bringing more creativity into his enterprise rather than less, he went on to attract significant new business. He built an innovative agency which fused audience, content and distribution. Crucially, he got to live life on his own terms. From liberation came success.
WhiteCap works with teams to re-establish original motivations by rigorously and impartially assessing each perspective and identifying diverging ambitions within the team. By individually coaching each founder to find their path, WhiteCap helps to differentiate the green fields of opportunity from the red lines of disagreement. By bringing creativity not just to the concepts of business but the relationships within it, individuals are empowered and visions are re-established. By fostering respect we find new ways of working harmoniously and productively. We focus on the similarities and not the differences. It’s the art of war or the art of compromise. You get to choose.
“Steven is a great listener and an effective coach who understands the challenges of running a startup and scaling a business. His advice and coaching were helpful in dealing with cofounder conflict. He has coached me on how to deal with the challenges of managing difficult stakeholders and making tough decisions in a start-up environment. Steven brings a wealth of experience as a serial entrepreneur, a pragmatic investor and a creative problem solver”