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Business owners like us can tend to be control freaks, am I right? I mean, we want to know we can trust the end result, and someone else might screw it all up with a simple mistake.
That kind of thinking will NOT grow a successful business! Leadership is all about making sure we teach others to do what needs to be done. Business owners by their very nature are called to be leaders – in their places of work, involvement in the community, and even in their families.
Leadership sometimes gets a bad rap. Depending on your background, it’s easy to mistake leadership for overbearing, brow-beating and finger-pointing, and scolding, but that’s not it at ALL.
Real leadership empowers your team to do what you do, and think independently to improve your original ideas. When you’re truly leading, you’re leading by example. What does that even mean in business?
Does that mean the file goes ‘here’ and the system is ‘this’ and if someone doesn’t understand that, they’re morons??
No. It means your diligence can be mirrored. I’m not telling you not to teach your team to be mindful of your well-thought-out processes; I’m saying you that if they have a good idea and a good reason for that idea that adds value and efficiency, you need to know about it and be willing to implement it – and be gracious about where that idea came from. They need to know it’s okay to share it with you and get objective feedback.
Our team has one goal in mind whenever we train a new member: learn so that you can teach it. It’s a different kind of learning. All that energy into training over and over again is not efficient. Whether or not you have a training department to set the standards isn’t even the issue. If you want your company to grow, you need to enable natural leaders within your organization, and empower the rest to at least grow in that area to some recognizable degree.
The leadership qualities that they need to see in you are:
- True diligence. Get those billable hours managed and require them to also.
- Have a good attitude about differences in opinion, with respect for authority.
- The ability to take notes and visually think through a scenario for the best outcome – rather than base a decision on a presumption.
- People skills, manners; the ability to speak clearly and convey clearly. Friendliness.
- Human decency. Don’t bad-mouth someone behind their back for fun. It sets a tone for disrespect that will ultimately come back to disrespect YOU. You can’t get as much done with a disgruntled team, and if they’re going to eventually lead, they need to see decency modeled for their own good.
- The ability to make the best decision, not necessarily the most popular, for the good of the company.
Your own company already has it’s own standards for whatever it is you do. We work with manufacturing companies, plumbers, computer repair companies, salons, attorneys and more – every company has some safety regulations to comply with. Make sure you never ignore regulations just because of familiarity. When others follow that example, it could cost you BIG.
How do you empower your staff to be independent, without screwing everything up?
Adapt an environment of dialog. Good communication will show you exactly where you can start letting the leaders shine, and take some of the load off of you! Be prepared that some things may not go as planned as your proteges begin taking on more responsibility.
Get in the habit of writing down the questions you develop, and building systems that address holes that, trust me, will emerge! No growth happens without growing pains. The trick is adapting to your new situation as gracefully as possible. Have objectives in place, hold your leaders accountable for those objectives, and praise. That will prepare them to do it right when it’s their turn.
So, what if you had a company staffed with empowered, independent-thinking people? Could you leave them in charge and go on vacation once an awhile? Could you volunteer more often? Would your company make more money?
Hmmm …
Grow your business in such a way that you can enjoy the benefits of business ownership.
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