What does it take to keep a business going for 30 years? The Muffin Break cafe chain is this year celebrating three decades in business.
“It is a story about flexibility and change. I think the inability to change is actually more costly than taking risks, and again if you take a risk, it is your ability to change quickly if that risk is not positive,” says GM Natalie Brennan.
“You have to go in to it knowing nothing stays the same, but you have to keep moving forward, good and bad and then react to that as well.”
Muffin Break GM leadership tips
Natalie was crowned the first number one franchise executive in the Top 30 Franchise Executives report in 2019.
So what does leadership look like? Natalie highlights a few key points.
“Delegate, empower, trust is really big thing in leadership. Allow the team to do the roles you’ve brought them in to do. So let them do that and let them create.
“Innovation is really important, innovation isn’t necessarily that big one idea, it really is perpetual forward motion. It’s important to keep moving forward, keep learning, keep creating and inspiring people on that journey of creating.
“As a leader you are a little bit like a pied piper, you are the one who stands out the front and has to convey the vision, the direction and inspiration and you really have to have passion for that yourself, and being accountable to that direction and showing an honesty and a fairness will create that culture.”
Natalie took part in a 12 month advanced leadership course and learned how to adapt her leadership style in a changing business environment.
“It gave me a really solid awareness of what’s important to me, and what’s important to those around me. So how my leadership would impact not just the people that I had direct contact with but also particularly through the culture I create it has a ripple effect above and beyond the direct people that I am in contact with.”
Listen to Natalie’s views on leadership, franchisee profitability and sustainability, on the podcast…
Hear more from Natalie Brennan and other franchise leaders sharing insights on Inside Franchise Business podcast channel.