Be a better leader for your business

Leaders and rulers build and bring down companies. This goes for your small business too. 

As a small business owner, your business is your empire and how you lead your people (workforce) determines your journey to success or failure. 

Your business cannot succeed without your people and your people (workforce) cannot succeed without an effective leadership from you.  Effective leadership is learned mostly through experience. It’s a learn from the job type of thing. 

Good leaders build relationships with their employees by encouraging open communication, employee growth and development. They are not the only ones to be listened to but encourage two way communication between them and their employees providing and receiving feedback. 

Employees working under great employers are more productive, connected with their workplace and happier in their workplaces. This ultimately reaches your business as a whole.

Employee growth is one marker for great leadership. Growth is marked by making every employee under you better in all ways possible. If your team is growing, that’s a good sign. However, if they are disengaged or stagnant in their work, you need to make some changes. 

1.Communicate openly and honestly

Creating an open line of communication with your team members is one of the most critical aspects of successful leadership. You should set an example for your team members by being truthful and transparent.

Different situations call for different solutions and processes. You should tailor your interactions and communication styles to each situation. 

Your employees have their preferred modes of communication and it’s important for you to figure out these modes. Additionally, different employees will prefer different modes from text, phone calls, email or face to face. 

Effective communication skills and openness will help you build your team’s trust and boost their motivation.

2.Build a relationship with your employees

You are a leading people and the only way to be a better leader for your business is connecting with these people. Building relationships with your employees is key to your business success. 

When leading a group of people, a shared sense of confidence, trust and understanding between the leader and their team members is required. Underneath the trust and understanding is communication. 

Focus on getting to know each of your team members’ personality, interests, strengths, weaknesses, hobbies, and desires to create a bond with them. This will help you understand their motivation and goals.

3.Encourage their personal and professional development

A great leader puts their employees’ success a priority. Therefore, you should look for ways to push for your employees’ personal and professional growth. 

Budget for online training from industry  experts as they work from home. Look for loopholes in your business operations and look for ways to equip your employees with skills that would smoothen those operations. 

There’s plenty of opportunity to learn new skills or develop existing ones with choices as diverse as on-demand, virtual and in-person options considering the times we are in (Covid-19 Pandemic).

Encourage your employees to learn something new every opportunity they get. Give them challenging opportunities that will help them learn new skills, grow and learn new ways to handle things. 

4.Set specific goals and priorities for the employees

Setting specific goals and priorities for the employees is critical to their success. Encourage employee questions and suggestions when setting these goals. Including them in the process will help them feel more involved.

When employees know what they are working towards and what’s expected of them, it makes it easier for workers to grasp the end goal they’re aiming for as a team. Everyone can monitor progress and recognise accomplishments when priorities are clearly defined.

Review your goals on a regular basis to make the necessary changes or rearrangements. This will show the team mates that you are present and paying attention to what they are doing.

5.Provide direct performance reviews

The best way to steer the team in the right direction is to give clear, truthful input – even if it’s criticism. You must also be aware of the future direction of your company in order to provide them with sound advice.

People will only change or improve if they know what you really think about them and their work directly from you. 

Let your employees know when they do something outstanding and thank them for their efforts and celebrate their victories.

6.Be willing to try new things & ideas

Change is unavoidable. Embrace change and creativity rather than attempting to uphold the status quo for the sake of familiarity or consistency. Be receptive to new concepts and ways of thought. 

Everyone brings a different viewpoint to the table and you should be open to these viewpoints. 

When Employees feel like their views matter, they become more engaged to your business.