In many industries, aspiring leaders join the lowest ranks of a business and rise to management because they WANT to be leaders. But in the home service industry, there’s a different phenomenon going on: often, tradespeople join a company because they they like the work of the trade they’re in. Many times they want to become better at their trade but they may not all aspire to be managers or owners of a service business.
If you’ve found yourself reluctantly tasked with the role of being a leader (either for the company you work for or you’ve started your own company) then this blog post is for you.
Leadership brings a whole new set of challenges that you may not have faced in the field. So here are 4 strategies to help you be a leader even if this isn’t something you ever aspired to do…
1. Rely On Your Strengths.
As a skilled person in a trade, you are a problem solver – much like an engineer who thinks through problems and can identify cause and effect to discover a solution. Well, those same skills apply to humans just as they do to plumbing and electrical systems. Sure the problems and causes and effects might not be mechanical or electrical – they’re often psychological – but the same thought process and problem-solving skills apply. So first, feel confident that you have navigated many problems and solutions before and you can navigate this one too! And second, rely on your problem-solving expertise to dig to the root of the matter (even if it’s a person and not an HVAC system!).
2. Set The Standard.
True leadership is not telling people what to do. Yes, giving instruction is part of leadership but the more fundamental part of leadership is setting the standard in everything you do. All too often, leaders are disrespected or ignored because they adopt a “do what I say, not what I do” approach to leadership. But if you set a high standard and adhere to it always, the people you lead will notice your authenticity and they’ll respect you, and that will give you the authority to direct them.
3. Communicate Clearly.
One of the most important skills of a leader is communication. As a leader, you need to communicate with many people at all levels and in different ways: you’ll need to report to the owners (if you are a manager), you’ll need to direct your people, you’ll need to talk to vendors, and you’ll need to talk to customers. Each of these groups requires different information communicated in different ways. Your success as a leader is dependent on your ability to communicate effectively by relating information, giving direction, and negotiating. Your target of every interaction should always be for clarity, understanding, and alignment.
4. Multiply Yourself.
You cannot lead alone. You’ll need others to lead with you. So start identifying potential leaders that you can train under you to help take on some of the leadership burden. Remember that they, too, might share your reluctance so your job is to encourage them to step up and take responsibility as a leader to begin leading others.
You may not have dreamed of a leadership position but now you have the privilege of stepping into this honorable yet challenging role. These 4 strategies won’t be the magic pill to make all aspects of leadership easy, but they will give you a strong start and make this new position more successful.
P.S. – Are you SERIOUS about no longer treading water and MOVE your business forward WARRIOR STYLE? Find out more about Mike’s Warrior FAST TRACK Academy!
P.S.S. – Ward says it’s simple. If you follow his advice, you make money.
