Being a leader isn’t easy. Not only are you trying to manage your own livelihood, you’re growing a company and you are trying to be a good boss all at the same time. As an entrepreneur, you have to be on the ball but you’re also human, so you’re going to make mistakes. Being a boss is not an easy feat. You have to care about all your employees, while trying to train people and keep a peaceful balance in the office at all times. It’s a lot of fingers in a lot of pies, but it’s the aim of the game if you want to be a good leader.
Before you even start hiring people, you need to ensure that you are the best person in place to lead the business, which means working on you. You have to lead by example, so taking negotiation skills training courses to show your staff how to get the best deals is important. Taking your own advice about building confidence in the workplace starts with courses that can build your confidence, too. Before you can be a good boss, you have to be a good business owner. You will make mistakes along the way, but that’s okay! Below, here are three ways that you can be a better boss to your staff.
Care. When you ask your staff how they are, don’t brush off their answer. Put down what you’re holding, look them in the eye and be genuine in your question. They need to know that you actually want to hear how they’re doing. Your life as a business owner is extremely stressful, but your staff don’t need to know the internal stresses that you are going through. However, you should care about theirs; the more you care, the better they will do and the more respect that they will have for you as their leader.
Educate. You are the person in charge of everyone in the office, and one of the most valuable tools that you can give your staff is access to training and education. Everyone has goals in their life and if you can do something – anything – to help your staff to achieve those goals, then you are going to be doing something right. You gain respect and loyalty from staff when you recognise that they need more than what you are currently offering.
Feedback. How annoying is it when you are completing a project for someone and you haven’t been told whether you did a good job? It’s not like you need to be patted on the head and given a hearty wink, but it would be nice to know that you’re doing something right. Well, your staff feel the very same. Give feedback, both good and bad, and you can help your staff to grow their confidence.
Being the boss? Not an easy job, but someone’s gotta do it so you may as well do it right and do it well.