Like it or not, as a business owner, you are a leader, and what’s scary for some is that you are expected to act like one. You may feel like you never really prepared yourself to be a leader, much like becoming a parent for the first time. One day you were an employee, a manager, a technician and it was all about you. But the day you opened your business, you took on another role. A role perhaps bigger than you planned on. Now you’re an employee, a manager and a technician, plus you have to lead people. You’re the boss! And now that you’re the boss, it’s not about you anymore; it’s all about the employees you lead. When asked what they do, how many business owners respond, “I’m a leader”? Probably very few because many of us don’t think consciously in those terms. But actually, it’s the most critical role we play in our company, or at least it should be.
Modeling the Best
So what does a good leader do? Leadership Success begins with your personal growth and reaching out to others to learn how good leaders behave, think, and do. Modeling the best leaders is a great place to start. If you speak with enough leaders and read plenty of books written by leaders to learn how they behave, you’ll begin to see some common denominators. Jack Welch, the former long-time CEO of General Electric developed his rules of Leadership:
What Leaders Do:
1. Leaders are team builders, constantly upgrading their team members and using every encounter with them to evaluate and coach.
2. Leaders clearly communicate to the team their direction and how they want the employees to behave and get them to buy in and live the vision.
3. Leaders energize others and exude optimism.
4. Leaders deal frankly with team members and establish trust with honesty and candor.
5. Leaders make big decisions that oftentimes can be unpopular. They are courageous.
6. Leaders are curious and are asking as many questions as they have answers. They reach out to team members and make them feel really special.
7. Leaders encourage risk-taking and personal growth with their team and do so by setting an example.
8. Leaders celebrate and recognize achievement.
Becoming a good leader takes time and practice and requires so much of you. A great leader is all of the above and more. Your role as a leader is something that never changes. One day you may be a marketer, another day a bookkeeper, and yet another day a caregiver trainer, but you are a leader at all times. So it stands to reason that you should become an avid student of Leadership and work on emulating the very best leaders. Over time you’ll improve your leadership skills and further develop a way of leading that works for you. Leadership is an art form and there are as many ways to lead, as there are leaders.
Looking to Improve Your Home Care Agency?
There’s so much more you can do to increase your leadership skills; this article only covers the basics. If you would like to learn more, please contact us here at The Senior’s Choice. For over 20 years, we’ve helped home care agencies like yours, create a better work culture, grow their business and increase patient satisfaction.
Want to learn more? Go ahead and give us a call or send us an email to learn more.
