We have been faced with enormous hardships this year, and leading your business through this all will test you. The main focus should always be to keep a fun and safe place for people to show up to work. But how do you do that when you when, it seems like the odds are stacking against you. Here are a few tips that should steer you in the right direction so that your company not only has the leader it needs but the workspace they desire during these challenging times.

Communication

With anything in this world, your business is no different in the desire for effective communication on all levels. As a business owner, you need to make sure that no message is falling through the cracks or left for interpretation. This creates the opportunity to really get to know your people and see how they best receive information and pass it along. Because what might work for you may not work for the majority of your business. It will take some adapting to if the styles are different, but making sure the company understands and is able to communicate its goal with one voice is extremely important and will pay off in those tougher times.

Open Door Policy

The people in your business should have no problem walking into your office with a question or concern. You may be a business owner and feel like you have a million things going on at once, but you need to make time for your employees. Your business is solely resting on those who work with you to achieve a goal, and giving them an avenue to feel heard and valued will pay off when the times get tough not only for the company but also for them as well. This approach is so much more than business, and it’s about the people who keep pushing your business forward.

Lead By Example

This speaks for itself. When you have an expectation of your business or how something is supposed to get done, make sure you are doing it too. Too often, you will hear a business owner say one thing and then see them do the opposite. Take this time to check yourself, and if you display the leadership your business and its employee's desire, they are more likely to follow through with what is asked of them. It simply boils down to just doing the right thing, and that will build trust, and through tough times that is something you cannot buy.

Seek Feedback

Listen to those around you and seek their feedback so that your business is always improving. If you want to focus on a particular area of your business, make sure to seek those who will have the most impact, and listen to their input for improvement. This will show them you respect them enough to seek their feedback, and they will have more buy-in that they had a hand in there change that is coming down. The respect this will build in your business will help immensely when the times are or get tough.