What Makes A Great Leader? Business Tips For New Entrepreneurs
What Makes A Great Leader? Business Tips For New Entrepreneurs. If you want to be an effective leader, you need to excel in communication. In fact, the success of your business relies on it. Effective communication is vital to gain trust, align efforts in the pursuit of goals, and inspire positive change. When communication is lacking, important information can be misinterpreted, causing relationships to suffer and, ultimately, creating barriers that hinder progress.
1. Ability to Adapt Your Communication Style
Different communication styles and can lead to more significant issues, such as unclear priorities and increased stress. It’s essential to identify your leadership style, so that you can better understand how you’re interacting with, and perceived by, employees across the organization. For example, if you’re an authoritative leader, you likely have a clear vision for achieving success and align your team accordingly. While an effective approach for some, it might fall flat for others who seek more autonomy in their role. Every employee’s motivations are different, so knowing how to tailor your communication is essential to influencing others and reaching organizational goals.
2. Active Listening
Effective leaders know when they need to talk and, more importantly, when they need to listen. Show that you care by asking for employees’ opinions, ideas, and feedback. And when they do share, actively engage in the conversation—pose questions, invite them to elaborate, and take notes. It’s important to stay in the moment and avoid interrupting. Keep your focus on the employee and what it is they’re saying. To achieve that, you also need to eliminate any distractions, including constant pings on your cell phone or checking incoming emails.
3. Transparency
Transparency can go a long way in breaking down that communication barrier. By speaking openly about the company’s goals, opportunities, and challenges, leaders can build trust amongst their team and foster an environment where employees feel empowered to share their ideas and collaborate. Just acknowledging mistakes can encourage experimentation and create a safe space for active problem-solving. Every individual should understand the role they play in the company’s success. The more transparent leaders are, the easier it is for employees to make that connection.
4. Clarity
When communicating with employees, speak in specifics. Define the desired result of a project or strategic initiative and be clear about what you want to see achieved by the end of each milestone. If goals aren’t being met, try simplifying your message further or ask how you can provide additional clarity or help. The more clear you are, the less confusion there will be around priorities. Employees will know what they’re working toward and feel more engaged in the process.
5. Ability to Ask Open-Ended Questions
If you want to understand employees’ motivations, thoughts, and goals better, practice asking open-ended questions. As leader in your organization you can use the Society of Human Resource Management acronym TED, which stands for:
- “Tell me more.”
- “Explain what you mean.”
- “Define that term or concept for me.”
By leveraging those phrases when speaking with your team, you can elicit more thoughtful, thorough responses and ensure you also have clarity around what they need from you to succeed.
