Running your service business means working with your team. And for many service business owners, this is often one of the biggest areas of struggle as you run and grow your business.
Sure, you’ve worked with others before you were a business owner but now you’re the boss and these employees look up to you and depend on you. You’re running a business to support yourself AND them (and their families)… and all the while, you’re trying to motivate them and build your business and keep each team member working together.
Being the boss is not just about interacting with others anymore, it’s about leading your employees. Leadership is one of the key skills that every service business owner needs to master.
Here are 4 ways you can instantly change your leadership style to help you lead your team more effectively:
Stop trying to be their buddy.
You can be friendly with your staff but always remember that you are not their buddy… you are their leader. Keep the relationship friendly and professional. Adopt the language and stature of someone who leads. You will gain their respect and that respect will transform how they work for you.
Find out what motivates them.
Your employees are motivated by money but it’s rarely money itself that is the true motivator: Chances are, they work to earn money so they can pay for something else. That “something else” is the true motivation. It might be family or travel or lifestyle or a hobby. Find out what truly motivates your team and show them how their hard work for you can help them enjoy that true motivation even more. (For example, working well for you can lead to promotions, which will give them more money to buy their family a nicer home).
Reward publicly.
It’s easy to take your team for granted and to assume that the job you provide should be reward enough. But your team will appreciate rewards that go above and beyond and publicly recognize each team member’s value. Rewards don’t have to have a financial value, either. Simple recognizing someone for their work is a simple, no-cost/high-value reward that employees love.
Set challenging expectations.
Good employees want to rise to the occasion. So you should set challenging expectations every day that will inspire you employees to excel. Challenging expectations should be possible but should also inspire an employee to play at a higher level. Don’t just tell an employee to do a task – tell the employee to do the task and give your challenging expectations. Instead of saying, “go to Mrs. Jones’ home and fix her furnace,” say, “go to Mrs. Jones’ home and fix her furnace and find 2 other ways that we can help her in the near future.”
If you own your own service business, you are a leader. You’re not “one of the guys” but rather the person who leads the charge each and every day to drive your business forward. Lead your team and use these 4 strategies to change your leadership style. And if you want more powerful strategies about how to inspire your team, check out my book Secrets Of Leadership Mastery.
