Beverlee Rasmussen CEC PCC It’s not easy being the boss. At the end of the day, the responsibility for your company’s results rests on your shoulders and it can be a heavy burden. Here are some business leadership skills you can incorporate to have an easier and more fulfilling experience as the boss!
1. Vision
Go back to the time when you first dreamed of owning your business. Think about how you felt. Did you write any of that dream down?
Your vision, when written down and repeated over and over, is a foundational tool to inspire, motivate and lead others.
2. Style
A common challenge for small business owners is not being aware of their leadership style and the impact this has on the entire organization.
How would you describe your leadership style? How do you make decisions? Do you think your mood might impact your leadership? How do you solve business and people problems?
3. Communicate
Your greatest leadership strength is your ability to communicate. Do this well and everything else will fall into place. Communication systems start with learning how to listen; to employees, suppliers, shareholders and, of the highest importance, the customers you are serving.
Understand that humans respond best when they feel seen, heard and understood. Develop a communication style that is based on listening first.
4. Delegate
Delegation is a communication skill giving others the authority and responsibility to act on your behalf. Along with delegation comes accountability for the results.
Effective delegation allows you to get work done by your team. Delegating to your team builds valuable experience and skills. It also helps reduce your own stress of always feeling like you have to do everything yourself.
How do you practice effective delegation?
5. Motivate
When individuals feel like they are making a difference in the world, they are more motivated to work harder because the work has meaning.
What stories are you telling your team? What is important to them that is also important to you? Why does your company exist? (And it better not be just to make you and your family rich). Understand that the role you play as a leader (both what you say and how you act) is of extreme importance to motivating your workforce.
6. Manage
Want the secret to managing people? Don’t even try!
What? You know as well as anyone that people don’t like to be told what to do. Trying to manage another human being is difficult at best and likely impossible. Sound familiar?
Most of the time, the people aren’t the problem—it’s the business they’re brought into. You can change the people, but if you haven’t fixed the problem, the same thing will happen again. Managers need to focus first on systems. What system are these people working within that’s causing the problems?
7. Develop
Make sure employees are fully trained and offered ongoing training and education. People are at their best when they are learning and feeling like they are contributing with their effort.
Offer ongoing and specific learning. Allow your team to stretch and grow and feel good about what they have accomplished.
Some companies offer higher pay once courses are completed, or pay for courses as they are completed. It feels good to learn; this provides loyalty and of course, motivation to want to do a good job.
A well-trained employee, confident in what they are doing, is a happy, motivated employee.
Business leadership skills
Do you feel confident in all these business leadership skills? What are you going to work on next?
Until next time, enjoy your Entrepreneurial Journey!
The Small Business Field Guide
This blog highlights only a few of the skills small business leaders need to run a successful business. If you want to learn more, grab a copy of the Small Business Field Guide.
This guide covers everything you need to know to be an inspiring small business leader!
