Multi-Unit Strategies - Lead More, Manage Less

The need to grow from hands-on management to influential leadership is a challenge every franchisee must overcome on their way to becoming a successful multi-unit operator. Though the journey is different with no one-size-fits-all approach, there are well-trodden paths to making the transition from day-to-day management to strategic leadership. Successful multi-unit operators understand that the path to great leadership never ends.

We recently interviewed a number of operators who shared their secrets to making the transition from managing to leading. Here's some of what they had to say.

Kimberly and Angelo Crowell operate 29 Jersey Mike's Subs locations

Navigating through the transition to leadership is both a personal and an organizational process. Along the way, Kimberly and Angelo Crowell had to learn to let go, set expectations, find the right people, and provide them with the tools they needed--and then trust them to do their jobs effectively. And like all good leaders, they're always learning.

"I have to ask myself, what is the best and most effective use of my time?" says Kimberly Crowell, a lawyer who specializes in corporate transactions. "Angelo is constantly reminding me not to get caught up in the weeds. If that happens, then I need to determine what systems we need to implement. It is important always to remember that people manage the systems, and the systems manage the process."

On the path to growth, there is no need to dwell on mistakes, she says, just to learn from them. "There is always something you can do better and figure out to streamline the process so that it doesn't happen again.