That any business owner or manager can adopt 

Richard Cullen Mar 2022 

 Are you getting the results and performance from your employees that you need or expect? Do you sometimes feel like you are working harder for your employees than they are working for you? Are you concerned about hiring more employees because you cannot find good people, or are struggling to get good people to apply for the role? You can build a better business and a stronger team using Three Leadership traits.

 

If the answer to any or all the above is a “Yes” (or even a “Maybe”) then here are some simple lessons that I have seen my clients implement that have helped them hire better people, get better results and to retain and promote good employees. 

 

1.Leadership Traits No 1: Be clear about the standards

Be very clear about the standards you expect your employees to work towards. 

Some of my clients call them ‘Values’ or the ‘Team Culture’, others call them ‘Non-Negotiables’.  

One client recently engaged his team to draft up the non-negotiable standards that they expect the whole team to live and work by. Once the whole team was clear on these it made an immediate difference to how they engaged with customers and with each other. Customers noticed the uplift in standards straight away, which in turn gave the whole team a morale boost. Now they appear more as a stronger team.  

If these standards, or non-negotiables, are not written down, monitored or measured and talked about every week, then you must expect standards will drop.  

Even better, is when you have a team who are truly proud of the service they offer and the consistency they deliver. This service then it makes that team more attractive for others to want to join and be a part of. 

 

 

2.Leadership Traits No 2: Start with WHY

Find a great way to explain to your employees why their role is essential and why doing a great job every day is important. 

I have clients who call this the ‘Vision’ or ‘Mission’ for the business, others call it the ‘Purpose’ of the business or the ‘Why’ we do what we do. 

If you are not excited and passionate about your business and the difference that it makes in the lives of your customers, then how can you expect your team to be excited?  

When you talk to your team about their role and its importance to your customers notice how you are saying it. Is your non-verbal communication like tone of voice, body language showing how much you care? People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. 

Make sure the messages you give to your team about your Vision for the business appeals to Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic people. You not only need to tell them, you need to show them and you need to involve them. Check out www.dentaltech.ie and their social media channels and see how hard they work to make Dental Tech a great place to work. 

 

3.Leadership Traits No 3: Be consistent in communication process

Be consistent in your Communication process and always follow through on Commitments. 

Many small businesses struggle with having internal meetings and hence struggle communicating with their team. Remember communication is two-way (you need someone listening too!).  

A great communication process starts with everyone knowing with clarity their key role and responsibility and being accountable for their own performance. You may have had team members for a long time but it’s always important to review every year the key responsibilities with each team member. All my clients have noticed the improvement in performance, communication and clarity when they have regular (same time, same day) meetings every week. Your team need an individual meeting as well as a group meeting. For example, the Sales and Marketing Team need a weekly meeting to keep on track to the plan, goals and activities. Each salesperson needs an individual meeting to address their individual challenges, learning and performance. 

 

Getting comfortable and consistent with these three leadership traits will have a significant impact on your teams performance and ultimately your better business performance. 

 

If you’d like to know more about how to build a better business, attend my live webinars.  Click here to register for free.