Running a successful business requires good leadership. Unfortunately, not all of us are natural-born leaders. The good news is that leadership skills are something you can learn. As a small business owner, honing your leadership skills will help you develop a clear vision for your business, while at the same time motivating your employees to excel.
Below, we set out what it takes to be an effective small business leader, including knowing when to bring in the experts, how to be an effective listener and communicator, how to delegate, and when to use Bartercard’s B2B networking to your advantage.
How to Be an Effective Listener
Given the amount of listening we do, you would think we’d be great at it! In fact, most of us are hopeless listeners, with research revealing that we only remember between 25-50% of what we hear. Clearly, listening is a skill we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener, you can improve your productivity, as well as your ability to influence, persuade, and negotiate.
As a tip, try to respond to the speaker in a way that will encourage them to continue speaking, so that you will get the information you need. Remember, active listening is designed to encourage respect and understanding, as you gain more information and perspective.
How Good Are Your Communication Skills?
Communicating effectively is vital for you to succeed as a leader in your workplace. Effective spoken communication requires that you express ideas and views clearly, confidently, and concisely. Leadership doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Leaders only achieve results by working through others, which requires great communication.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking communication is about the sender (you). It’s the opposite; effective communication must be focused on the receiver. Good communication occurs when the audience gets the message, not just when they are impressed!
Be Willing to Delegate
It makes sense to delegate, as surrounding yourself with smart and talented people is pointless if you don’t let them do their jobs. If you’re unwilling to give up any control, your company will never grow to its full potential. Realise that there is only so much you can do on your own. You must allow your team to do the things they do best; you hired them for a reason, after all.
You should also consider bringing in an expert, who will take the time and experience to understand what your business needs. Our eBook is designed to allow you to identify points of weakness, to clarify end goals, even if that means taking a step back and calling in the experts.
Bartercard’s eBook Your All-purpose Resource
To truly be effective as a small business owner, it’s time to start working on your business rather than simply in your business. We wrote the eBook The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Small Business Owners to bridge this gap, to help you with solutions to manage your business more efficiently while still growing a solid customer base and keeping your team members happy.
One of these solutions is Bartercard, a business-to-business (B2B) trade exchange, helping New Zealand businesses to grow and achieve financial success through bartering unfilled capacity through the Bartercard network. Become a member today and discover why Bartercard was the network your business needed!
