Leadership is important because without it your company will either just be the proverbial one man show, or it will fail as you try to hire people and scale out the whole operation.
Now admittedly, I was pretty bad at being the leader of my company when I first started out. I mean, I worked hard, but there is a lot more to being a leader than just working hard.
So needless to say I learned a few lessons about leadership and what steps you need to take to become better at it. Ok… so now let’s talk about how you can be a better leader of your company AND your employees. Here we go…
Rule #1 Think Serve….Not Leadership
Many people think being the boss means yelling and screaming to get things done. But the fact is that does not work. People tune you out after a while. It’s for this reason you need to view the relationship with your staff the other way around. You are there to SERVE THEM. You are there to find a way to make their job more efficient and productive. So make sure you listen to them, incorporate their input where possible and never belittle their suggestions. They are on the front line, they are the soldiers that are fighting your battle against dirt and grime. Never forget that.
Rule #2 Companies Don’t Succeed….People Do
The people you hire and have working for you REPRESENT YOU and your BRAND. This is an extremely important fact to remember when you send employees out to work for you. So make sure the people you hire have the ability to make you LOOK GOOD. Think of the first impression they made on you and remember that a similar impression will be made by them to your customers.
Rule #3 Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
This rule is one of the most important. You need to have open lines of communication that goes BOTH ways. Not just from you to them but also from them to you. And you need to always foster that openness, because without it you fall out of the loop leaving you blind as to what is going on in your company.
Rule #4 Commit To Excellence
You didn’t start this company to be like all the other cleaning companies out there did you. No… you started it to be the best. At least I hope you did, because the best companies get the best clients and they make the most money. So in a nutshell, commit you and your staff to being the best and the rest takes care of itself.
Rule #5 Take Full Responsibility
The days of passing the buck are over. As the CEO you now OWN every issue in your business. You own the good, the bad and the ugly. Don’t run from this responsibility, because if you do your customers and your staff will take notice. When they do nothing goods comes from it. So in a nutshell, fess up to yourself that when mistakes happen, they happened because of you in some way shape or form. Don’t cry over it, just put policies and procedures in place that prevent it form happening again.
Rule #6 Your Example Is Most Important
This may be the Holy Grail of all leadership rules. So please don’t go around preaching one thing to your staff and then DO ANOTHER. You will not only be viewed as a hypocrite, you’ll staff will follow your lead do and as you do, and not as you say!
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