Leadership Lessons Blog

Leadership and the Small Business Owner.

  

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I spent 25 plus years in a very traditional corporate structure. For 15 years I was a manager in a large corporation.   I was given a certain level of autonomy for decision-making and I was held accountable for meeting certain goals and objectives.  We had a very structured performance management system and company leaders worked collectively on goal setting.  A huge infrastructure supported our efforts which included access to human resources support, trained facilitation for problem solving and a wealth of experienced colleagues to call upon for an opinion or for help.    It wasn’t until I left “Corporate America” that I realized how much the infrastructure helped me to learn the skills I needed to learn to be a successful leader. 

 What happens when you find yourself the leader or manager in a small company that can’t afford the overhead expense for in-house trainers, and human resource specialists?  What happens when you suddenly find yourself the sole provider of leadership needs for the company?  The reality is the small business owner has MORE at risk by putting leadership skill development at the bottom of the “to do” list.  Small business owners must be strategists, operationally skilled and above all great leaders.  The result of poor leadership in a small company can have devastating affects!  Employees flounder with lack of focus and the values of the company and dealings with customers suffer!  

My consulting work with small business owners continues to drive home the importance of leadership development and skill building.   Small business owners seem to share very common concerns ranging from poor performance by employees to scattered results.   I often hear “I am wearing so many hats in my company; I don’t know where to focus my energy!”   Small business owners are tired!  They are tired of fighting the same fires every day.  They are tired of feeling as though the company is an albatross around their necks!

As a small business owner, we know that you got into business because you believed in your product or services and because you wanted to be in control of your own destiny and financial future.  Innately, you believed you had the right set of skills to venture out on your own, but is this enough in today’s competitive landscape?  Is desire enough to make you successful?  In my experience, sadly no!  Without demonstrating strong leadership skills to accompany your passion for the business, many small companies fail.   Without developing employee and customer trust, most small businesses suffer from marginal growth.

What do you need to do to ensure that you make your own development as a leader a priority?  What do you need to do to ensure that your employees and customers find strength in your decision-making skills and your ability to solve problems?  What do you need to do to recover from leadership mistakes?  Here are Five “to do’s” for leadership success as a small business owner.

 1.  Admit that you need help.  So many small business owners believe they have to do it all themselves.  A good leader knows when to reach out for help, expertise and council.  If you are having difficulty focusing then hire a qualified consultant that can assist you with business planning.  If your marketing is not yielding client results, then look for appropriate marketing support. 

2.  Create a focused business plan.  Clearly, a small business owner does not have an unending supply of cash to hire every expert.  It is important to start with a much focused business plan.  A business plan helps you decide what your critical business objectives need to be and where you want to spend your money. 

3.  Develop success metrics.  What are the things that will make you successful as a leader?  What are your customers telling you?  What are your suppliers telling you?  What are your employees telling you?  So often, as small business owners, we don’t put metrics in place to monitor how we’re doing.  We typically act on impulse or a gut feeling that we are going in the right direction.  If you measure success by repeat business, set repeat business goals.  If you measure success by gross profit, set realistic measures for achieving those profits.  You can’t expect to be a good leader without a barometer telling you how you are doing.

4.  Find the appropriate networks.  Knowledge is power to a small business owner.  Regardless of your success rate, small business owners need a support structure.  Do you belong to the appropriate networking groups that can provide a mechanism for you to confidentially share information on your company, leadership issues or problems you are trying to resolve?  Oftentimes, your instincts are correct, but you need validation.   Strong leaders surround themselves with successful people that can impact their own success.  Look for viable networking groups within your industry or those that compliment your industry.

5.  Be willing to change.  As sole providers it is difficult to know when to change if you are only focused on what’s going on inside your company.   Strong leaders look external to their own companies to find out what’s working, what’s new and what is on the horizon.  Being myopic only promotes a stagnant business environment.  Read business journal, pick up Executive Summaries and read about what is happening in your business or in the business of successful companies.  Be willing to bring new ideas into your organization.