The Small Business Owner’s Ultimate Guide To Great Leadership
This weekend we saw the rise of a new leader, as America decided that Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States. But what does it take to be a great leader?
With a great business comes great responsibility. And if you are going to navigate these responsibilities successfully, you will want to have finely tuned leadership skills.
Luckily, we have put together the business owner’s ultimate guide to great leadership, to ensure you hit the mark, and that your business doesn’t get trumped.
Have Vision
For others to believe in you, you must first believe in yourself. Work to develop a strong and detailed vision for every aspect of your business. Understand exactly why and how your product or service is going to change the lives of your consumers, and make the world a better place.
Have a clear picture of where you are, and where you want to be in a month, 6 months, a year, 5 years. This kind of dedication and commitment will help you stay motivated, your passion will inspire others, and your employees will remain energised.
Successful Strategy
To ensure that you are always working toward your overall vision, you will need to be able to successfully develop and implement a strategy.
This means setting small and focused goals that contribute to the greater cause. Each area of your business must have, and fully understand, its own measurable goal(s) at any given time. Use KPIs (key performance indicators) to gage your success and stay on track.
For example, if one of your main aims is to grow the subscription side of your business, you may want to set a goal of ‘X amount of new subscribers by 2021’. That way, you have a quantifiable and calculated projection by which to measure your success.
Communication Is Key
In order to earn and uphold the loyalty and respect of your employees, you must be a great communicator. Of course, this means being clear and concise. But more importantly, it is about being authentic, honest and approachable.
Your workforce will be infinitely more cohesive and efficient if your employees identify with you as a person, not just as their boss. The way to achieve this is through open and consistent communication.
If you can communicate frankly and comfortably with your personnel, you will find that they are likely to be more sincere with you in return. Being a good communicator also means being able to listen. This encourages a collaborative environment and ensures that you don’t become disjointed as a team.
Feedback To Move Forward
If you are to succeed as a leader, you will want to create an environment that welcomes and encourages mutual feedback.
Just as you would want your consumers to provide constructive feedback on your product or service, you will also want to gain feedback from your employees about what they feel is working well, and not-so-well within your business.
Being a business owner is a constant learning curve, and there is so much to be learned from your employees. Be sure to have systems in place that cater for honest and confidential opportunities for feedback. This allows you to acknowledge your weaknesses and play to your strengths.
Accepting feedback from your employees also means that they will respond more positively to any praise, advice or criticism that you give them. If everyone is working together to be at their best, this will reflect in the performance of your business.
Ask For Help
In business, you cannot be too proud to admit that, occasionally, you will need help.
No business was ever conceived, built, and operated without any outside influence. In fact, many of the most influential business leaders owe their success to the guidance of their mentors.
A great leader knows when to step in and when to take a back seat. Accepting guidance and lending the reigns to someone with more experience in a certain area, can steer your business into directions that you may not have been able to navigate on your own.
