BUSINESS
How to Improve Your Leadership Skills as an Entrepreneur
WORDS: Peter Minkoff PHOTOGRAPHY Supplied
One of the most useful properties of every entrepreneur is their desire and motivation to improve their skills and get better and better at what they do. The best way to become a better entrepreneur is to work on your leadership skills so you can be sure you’re pushing your business in the right direction. If you think your leadership can be improved, here are a few ways to do so quickly and successfully:
Master communication with digitalization
In this digital world, communication can be quite complicated, so in order to boost your leadership skills, make sure to work on both online and offline intrapersonal skills. Invest in communication channels and platforms and check up on your remote workers regularly without having to waste anyone’s time. And communication goes both ways, meaning it’s necessary to listen to your staff and show them their opinions are valued.
Practice discipline
Good leadership often equals discipline, so make sure to develop discipline in your professional life in order to inspire others to do the same. In most cases, workers judge their boss’ ability to lead by their exhibit of discipline. Try to always be the first at meetings, keep all the appointments, meet deadlines and respect people’s time by finishing work days and meetings on time. If you’re a person that thrives surrounded by chaos, then you might have a serious task in front of you, but if you start small, you will quickly adopt many good habits and develop discipline.
Take a leadership class
If you feel like leaders around you are changing and you’re not, it’s necessary to look into professional help to boost your leadership skills. Check out practical leadership courses to advance your skills in communication, collaboration and negotiation. Through professional improvement, you can expect to keep up with the times when it comes to entrepreneurship and leadership and boost your skills in a fun and easy way through games and interactive tasks. Leading by example, you’ll motivate many members of your team to pursue education and be hungry for learning.
Let others lead
Sometimes, being an entrepreneur leader means leaving the spotlight and letting someone else have it. Every good leader knows when to listen to other people’s ideas, suggestions and feedback and use it to their advantage. When appropriate, feel free to give up control without feeling threatened. It’s also important not to exhort your power when someone questions your decisions or disagrees with you. Letting others lead and voice their concerns will bring you a lot of respect from your team, making them ready to step up every time that’s necessary.
Avoid micromanaging
Micromanaging is a fast and sure way to ruin your reputation as an entrepreneurial leader. Be confident enough to delegate work to your staff and let them work in peace. If you decide to micromanage every little thing in your company, your team will choose to distance themselves and reduce their chances of development. Plus, if you delegate tasks to other people, you’ll get to focus on your goals and maintain strict discipline. It’s best to be smart when assigning tasks, establishing clear roles and responsibilities and setting up good deadlines for your projects then having to micromanage every little thing in order to reach your objectives.
Motivate your team
A good leader is a positive influence on people. When you notice that the energies are low in the office and people are being drained of their passion and ambition, try your best to motivate them. The best way to energize and motivate your staff is to recognize their work, talk to them and offer rewards for their dedication. Positive reinforcement is always better than any punishment, every true leader knows that.
By working on the skills above, you’ll manage to elevate your leadership to a whole new level and experience the business growth of your dreams. With a leader like yourself at the helm, your business will thrive and you’ll get to enjoy an honored title of a true entrepreneur leader.