With the new year rolling in many people are taking a look in the mirror and deciding what they can do to improve themselves. For small business owners becoming a more effective leader should be among your top priorities. Quality leaders tend to get the most out of their employees which greatly influences the success of their business. Taking steps to recognize where you need personal improvement will help you to better motivate and communicate with your workers. This can also help to improve employee retention and morale. Here we’ve outlined some things to take into consideration when determining what type of self improvement you should focus on.
Take Constructive Criticism
If you are going to run a successful business, it is important that you realize you won’t always have all of the answers. No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes, if there’s a part of your job that you’re not particularly good at and someone points it out, you need to take that criticism to heart and not react in a negative fashion. If you expect your employees to take instruction and corrections the right way, you need to set the tone by doing so yourself.
Be Personable
Having the ability to communicate with your customers and employees on a personal level can go a long way. This will get your employees to work harder for you and pick up extra work when needed. It also helps you to retain quality employees. This is also a great way to drive business. If your current and potential customers feel a connection with you, that relationship can lead to continuous business.
Set Expectations
When your employees know what is expected of them, they will feel a sense of accomplishment upon completion of set tasks. It can cause tension and sour a relationship if an employee is being disciplined for not doing something they didn’t realize was their responsibility. Setting the right expectations for your customers is also very important. You want to make sure they know exactly what you’ll be delivering to them in order to ensure customer satisfaction.
Know your Team
Getting to know what makes your employees tick is key in your ability to motivate and engage your employees. Know their goals and life aspirations will help you to develop their job skills and place them in the best position to use those skills. Having your employees look at you like a regular person will help you to gain their respect. This does not necessarily mean becoming their friend. You will still want to make sure your authority is known. Being able to relate to your employees on a personal level will encourage them to work hard for you and the company.
Share Company Objectives and Goals
Communicating clear company objectives and goals will help your employees understand their purpose and what your company is working towards. Sharing these objectives and involving your employees in their development will make them feel like they are a part of something. This not only gets them to work hard, it improves employee retention as they will feel like they are a factor in the success of your business. As the owner of a company, you need to show that you have the vision and direction to make your company successful.
Remain Humble
Nobody wants to work for a boss who is full of themselves and makes their employees feel inferior. Remember where you came from. Most small business owners did not start out with stacked bank accounts. Keep in mind what it took you to get to your current level of success and respect the fact that you have employees that are still in those early stages. Encouraging employees by sharing stories of your own hardships will show them that you care and that you look at them like an equal.
Acting on your vision and making moves to help your company grow is one of the best ways to display your leadership skills. If you’re looking to lead your business successfully into future, consider a merchant cash advance from Quikstone Capital Solutions. Whether you have a new business or an established business we can provide the business cash you need. 
