Weekly Edge

Running a business can be tricky business, especially as all eyes are on you to be a leader.  So, this week we bring you a quote from John Quincy Adams that we think sums up what leadership is all about.

Our little boy loves playing with his Dad. It’s different to playing with Mum. Sometimes it’s faster, more exciting, louder. Is it better? At times, we guess it is. Sometimes Mum’s way is best.
 
We’ve watched with interest as a Dad at our local play ground does the exact same exercise with his little boy that his Mum does. Only where Mum swishes the little boy side to side in a rhythmic calm fashion, Dad swooshes fast left – right – left suddenly. The little by calmly enjoys Mum’s interaction and giggles with glee at Dad’s.
 
As business coaches working inside businesses every day we’ve seen the same thing with staff in their work environments responding differently to each different leader.

 
Some interact as friends, others as confidants, others are the go to person when something needs fixing, others are the expert in different areas, others are feared (slightly!) and some are respected more or less on different topics.
 
Everyone has their own leadership style. Both of ours have certainly evolved over the years and are completely different to the 21 year old versions of us when we were both so desperate to prove that we were old enough and experienced enough to lead.
 
Interestingly, there are people who are leaders in our clients workplaces who aren’t business owners.  They’re leaders because of the open and honest way they communicate.  They’re leaders because of their knowledge. They’re leaders because their opinion is respected.
 
What’s your leadership style? More importantly- what do you wish your leadership style was?
 
Pick a few words from this list that you wish people through about when they considered you as a leader:
 
Accountable, Dependable, Ethical, Moral, Honest, Trustworthy, Respected, Knowledgeable, Helpful, Compassionate, Caring, Experienced, Wise, Expert, Dreamer, Vision, Leads by Example, Involving, Well Planned, Fair, Integrity, Gives Credit, Humble, Open, Creative, Dedicated.
 
Now – why not ask your team to anonymously list up to 5 words they think relate to you as a leader. Is what’s coming back to you representative of what you would like to be putting out?

Until next week,

Heather & Marcus

Is the tail wagging the dog in your business? By this we mean are you running around mad trying to keep your customers happy, listening to your team’s problems and going to bed at night with business on your mind?

Well if any part of this is true, your business may be wagging you. And you know what, most business owners we speak to are experiencing the same problem. This happens because the Cycle of Business is mixed up in their business.

That is, until they meet with a business specialist to get it sorted out.

So what is the cycle of business? Simply it is a way of looking at your business to deliver the greatest results in terms of generating more profit and freeing up your time.

Below is the cycle of business, take a good look and think about the flow.

Now for a business to really thrive the number one thing the owner should be doing is looking after the team. What we mean by this is to provide leadership, direction, mentoring and training.  If your skills are lacking in any of these areas then it is time to improve them.  Also as the owner you should be developing systems that help your team look after the customers. 

As the owner you should be involved with your customers, but it is your team who should look after them. Your team should provide the solutions the customer wants. They should also be who your customers come to see. If you are better than your team at looking after your customers you are not doing your job as the owner. Your job is to train and improve your team so that they look after every customer the way you want them too

If your customers feel valued by your team, then they are more likely to buy from you, not your competitors.  Your customers will look after your business by providing word of mouth advertising, referrals and suggested improvements. But most importantly they will keep coming back, this year, next year, the year after and the year after that.

Once the Cycle of Business is working well, the business will support you as the owner. You will have more customers, more profit and more spare time

Isn’t it time to step up and stop the tail wagging the dog?

Cheers

Heather & Marcus

Today we have one of our favourite Napoleon Hill quotes to share with you.

‘One of the most wonderful things about life is that we are all unique with different levels of intelligence, interests, aptitudes, and desires.

How dreadfully dull it would be if we all wanted to be nuclear physicists-or bakers. But, regardless of the gifts we may have received at birth and whichever skills we may have since developed, we all have the capability to be the best at what we do.

Being the best is strictly a reflection of your attitude and your desire. Whether you are a salesperson, an executive, a secretary, or an assembly-line worker, you have the capacity to be as good as you choose to be.

When you become outstanding at what you do, you will discover greatly increased demand for your services. When you become the best in your line of work, you may be asked so often to help other "sheep" that you will soon own your own "flock."’

Napoleon Hill