How to be a Team Leader in a Small Business

Effective leadership is just as important for small businesses as it is for large companies. Many people believe that leadership is even more vital for small businesses because small companies can fall apart at a much faster rate without effective leadership. Use the following tips to maximize your leadership potential and help your business strive for success.

Communication

Whether you are communicating with clients or staff, effective communication is vital to any business and is an important skill for any manager, supervisor or leader to have. Key factors for maintaining effective communication include the following:

• Create clear goals, expectations and guidelines for every task and process to avoid confusion.
• Open the lines of communication.Create an environment where every team member feels comfortable communicating their ideas and opinions. Closely monitor how team members interact with eachother to ensure that cliques are not forming.Constantly look for ways to unite and uplift your team.
• Create opportunities for one-on-one communication with team members. By speaking with individuals alone, you are showing them that you value their time and talent.
• Remember that listening is also an important component of the communication model. By listening, you can figure out how to tailor the way which you communicate with each person by learning what motivates them. This will ultimately help you begin to build stronger relationships.

Empowerment

In small businesses, team members rely heavily on each other, making it extremely important that everyone respects and appreciates each person’s opinions and talents. Constantly motivate your team and provide positive feedback even during challenging times. Try to view problems as potential for growth.

Give everyone on your team the opportunity to make their own decisions and encourage them to create innovative solutions. Employees who feel appreciated are more likely to respect those in the leadership position and ultimately will enjoy their job and perform better.

Lead by Example

Embody the characteristics that you want to see in your team. By serving as a role model, your team will develop trust in your leadership abilities and will be encouraged to emulate the behaviors that you exhibit.

Successful leaders develop strong teams.Remember that good leaders are not born overnight. Understand what your strengths are and the areas in which you can use improvement to better yourself and your company.

This article was brought to you by Dale Carnegie Training, a company founded on the principles of the famous speaker and author of “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Today, the company offers sales training and helps businesses and individuals achieve their goals. Visit Dale Carnegie Training online to learn more about leadership training.

Image courtesy Adam Grabek

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