Published January 19, 2025

This column is the second in a series of what Cape Cod business owners and nonprofit leaders advise when it comes to leading their organizations.

Marty Bruemmel, President / CEO, Greater Hyannis Chamber of Commerce

• Understand the community’s needs by engaging business owners and community leaders to understand their challenges and opportunities.
• Analyze economic trends by staying informed about Hyannis tourism,
• retail and service industries, vital to the Cape’s economy.
• Set priorities by addressing the specific needs of the community such as workforce development, tourism protection and business networking.
• Build partnerships, fostering collaboration with the LC3 (Lower Cape Chambers Collaborative to leverage resources.
• Use social media, newsletters and the Chamber website to share updates, events and success stories.
• Developing a strategic plan that includes objectives, timelines and metrics for success.

Chrissy Ryan, Owner, Good Friends Café, West Dennis

• Never ask a staff member to do something you wouldn’t be willing to do yourself. You are not above any job—especially within your own business. Lead by example.
• Understand the difference between being in a position of authority vs being in a position of leadership. As the authority they will listen to you because they have to. As a good leader they will listen to you because they want to.
• Create a culture where everyone’s successes are highlighted more than any criticisms. Help people feel supported, appreciated, and respected for the work they do.

Todd Marcus, President & Brewmaster, Cape Cod Beer

Transparency – While not every last detail needs to be shared from top to bottom, keeping everyone in the loop as to the state of the union can go a long way to making employees not feel isolated in their roles. Having an understanding as an employee as to how your actions have an impact on the bigger picture provides some insight as to the answer to the question, “why am I doing what I am doing the way I’m doing it?”

Be a chameleon – Every employee is different and typically when initially put into a role of ownership or management you are just you and usually behave the same with everyone. Everyone doesn’t react the same way to one style of management. You have to adapt. Quickly I learned, the very direct approach of “what’s going on here?” doesn’t allow for the human element of communication and you have to “change your colors” depending on which of your employees you are communicating with. Even just starting with “good morning” or “how’s it going?” before jumping right into getting the answers you need can go a long way to keeping the channels wide open.

Two ears/one mouth – Listen twice as much as you speak, and you will be surprised as to how much you can learn from people.

Delegation – this is the hardest for most. Especially for those who exhibit a craftsperson mentality. The ability to pass off to someone else a task without a constant feeling that the task won’t get accomplished as well as if you were to do it yourself is a big challenge for many. With clear instructions and expectations, these feelings can be mitigated. With delegation comes compromise. I apply the classic 80/20 ratio by telling people that this is the 80% that has to be done exactly this way for a good result and this 20% can be done a certain way but if you have a better way let’s try it and see what happens. It gives an employee empowerment to think about the task at hand and if you’re lucky find improvements that can be put in place to make the process more effective. Without mastering the art of delegation, anyone in a management role will eventually fail by spending more time working in the business than on the business.

Kim Marchand, CEO,

MarchandCFO and President of CapeSpace

• Leadership styles - It’s important to use different leadership styles depending on the situation. Being able to identify when to flex is a key characteristic of a good leader.
• Big picture - Leaders need to think about the big picture: inspire an organization towards a common goal; keep the big picture in focus, guide strategy, identify business risks.
• Understand details - Leaders also need to understand the details: how does everything work together, understand the numbers, take care of and develop your people, lead by example, and show up.
• Courage - Leaders need courage and aren’t afraid to take risks, aren’t afraid to fail and try again. “Stuff” happens, life gets in the way. Recovery is everything — is one of my mantras.

Jacob Stapledon- Community Engagement and Education Program Manager, Children’s Cove

Empower through listening — In nonprofits and small businesses, we work with people who have needs, making them vulnerable. When someone expresses vulnerabilities, they need to feel heard, respected, capable and in control. Empowerment demonstrates you understand their needs and they are taking a step in the right direction.

Build relationships through authenticity — Demonstrate trust by being authentic and present in your community to build relationships. Relationships demonstrate your organization is a two-way street. You have as much to gain (or lose) as your clients do.

Provide choices — Give individuals choices and examine the good in all of them. There are often benefits to change, however we often misunderstand the benefits of staying the same. Regardless of the end result, whether you gain or lose a client, supporting their decision is something everyone will remember in a positive way.

Contributed by Marc L. Goldberg, Certified Mentor, SCORE Cape Cod & the Islands, www.score.org/capecod, 508-775-4884. Sources: Thanks to our community leaders for their contribution.