The question of how to be a better boss is one that you should always be asking yourself when it comes to leading your business, because there is a lot that depends on your leadership style and ability. This is especially true in the formative years of the business when every decision counts and nothing should be left to chance. In this post, we’ll explore becoming a good leader and how it can affect your company’s development as you move things forward.
By the end, you’ll have a clear answer to the question of how to be a better boss and can use that information to take your company exactly in the direction you want.
The Steps You Can Take Toward Becoming a Better Leader
The right kind of leadership skills benefit not only your business, but you and your employees as well, so any steps that you take need to be done in a way that benefit people as much as they do processes.
Here are some of those steps:
- Prioritize – Not everything is an emergency, and not everything needs to be done right away. One challenge for many small businesses is handling the influx of work that comes in. You have to think about how and when it will be done, who will do it, and account for just why it needs to be done. A good leader will recognize the urgency with which that jobs needs to be done. It could be that you need it complete by the end of the day but, sometimes, there are tasks and projects that can wait until workflow slows down.Likewise, some tasks can be done little by little rather than in one fell swoop, making things much easier to manage over the long term.
- Know Your Goals – Nothing is worse than moving forward without knowing exactly where you’re going. You want to identify clear milestones that you can aim for. It realistically starts from day one and can be included as part of your mission statement, but it’s a process that should be developed and updated constantly as your company evolves. Part of the answer to how to be a better boss is knowing when plans need to change in order to accommodate the company’s evolution, and your goals may need to change right along with that. That’s why it’s good to have a result in mind that you want to achieve right from the beginning.
- Realize the Importance of Communication – Communication might not be something you think about much when you run a one-man operation but, as your company grows, strong workplace communication is something that will be paramount to your success. It could be as simple as spending a few minutes a day speaking with employees to let them know what the latest news regarding the company is, but it goes a long way toward ensuring that they know what to do. Likewise, the matter of how to be a better boss through strong communication can be settled by making sure that you are always visible and accessible. Your employees look to you to make the right decisions, so you want to make sure they know that you are on top of things and always be available to address any questions or concerns that they might have.
- Acknowledge That Mistakes Happen and Learn From Them – No one does everything right the first time, and that’s something that you would do well to remember when it comes to learning how to be a better boss. When you are developing your leadership style, you want to give instruction and set standards, but you don’t want to do so in such a way that the members of your business team will be afraid of making mistakes in the future. Instead of hovering over your employees, give them the kind autonomy that allows them to make their own decisions. When mistakes are made, they will be able to learn from them and improve business processes for results that are achieved more efficiently in the future.
- Improve Your Own Skills – When wondering about how to be a better boss, you need to make it a priority to learn a little bit about how every single aspect of your business works. This will not only give you strong insight into just how things run, but it will help you guide your employees if they encounter a problem and ask you for advice. You don’t need to be an expert in these different aspects of the company, that’s what the employees are for, but you should know the basics and perhaps a little more than that. Doing so will make for a much more efficiently run company that will better at retaining customers and expanding as time moves forward.
You wanted to know how to be a better boss and these are just five of the many ways for you to do it. It’s all about establishing a foundation by building a leadership style that benefits everyone involved. Do that and you’ll be doing just what a growing company needs to excel.
Remember, running a business successfully does not need to be complicated. Keep it simple!
For more valuable articles to help you successfully manage the challenges of growing your business profitably, please search our blog at our website www.portalcfo.com.
Manny Skevofilax is a consultant and speaker that helps his clients successfully navigate the challenges of growing their businesses profitably. Since 2003, Manny helps businesses enhance their results by using his experience in strategic planning, financial statement analysis, operations, organizational development, and team-building. His consulting firm, PORTAL CFO Consulting, Inc., has attracted clients from diverse industries in the United States and abroad.
Manny can be reached at 410-808-3441 or via email at manny@portalcfo.com.