Small Business Training And Leadership


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Leadership can also mean ongoing learning. After all, these days, most businesses are in a constant learning mode or should be. This means that as a small business leader, you are also perpetually in training. We’re hoping to inspire your path of learning with the next few posts and resources. Your training has begun.

Creativity & Leadership

How to get creative: Stop trying. This article stresses that you can’t schedule motivation and/or creativity. There is a natural rhythm to motivation and productivity. You must learn to feel it and sense it and deal with it with your self. With employees the best that you can do is to discuss it with the employee and try to redirect him. Showing concern and that you are trying to work with the person can be a great help. Inc.com

A single hire is a big deal to a small business. When you have a small business of around ten people, you know how important hiring one new person is. First, you must take the time to thoroughly interview the person objectively to make sure you’re hiring the right person for the job opening. Have you defined the need in writing? Does this person fill the need? This new hire will increase your labor costs probably by ten per cent. Have you determined what that figure is both in labor costs and in equipment costs? What additional revenue will be attained by adding this person? Hiring one new person is a big thing for a small business. npr

Management Metrics

Putting off dealing with underperforming staff only makes things worse. Dealing with under performing staff can be one of the most difficult and disliked part of the job of being the one in charge in a small business. Too many times the small business owner will not face the problem and hopes the situation resolves itself. Unfortunately, the rest of the staff sees this and the morale of everyone suffers. The small business owner must sit down with the under performer and tell the person exactly what he expects. If the employee does not comply, you must let him go. You should then review your hiring policy to check whether this unfortunate situation could have been avoided. CBC News

Anger is not a leadership skill. You can’t scare a person into doing a good job. Fear does not motivate. People do not do well when they are constantly put down. They only look for a way out. If this is the way you run your small business, you should be taking a hard look at where those non-motivating outbursts are coming from. There are some key questions presented and some thoughts for you to ponder. Small Business Trends

Self-development

Seth Godin says you should date your customers. Too many small businesses create their product or service and then try to attract customers to buy it. The author of this article suggests another approach based on three principles: get permission from your customers, support the notion of “tribe”, and ultimately failure is essential. Mr. Godin presents some interesting ideas worth thinking about. Inc.com

Seven ways to boost employee morale. Check the mood in your workplace lately? With the uncertainty in the overall economy and the pressing economic hardships many employees are facing, it is not difficult to understand workplace morale going down. When morale goes down, so does cooperation and productivity, and turnover increases. To prevent this requires thought and a concerted effort to overcome the morale problem. The author mentions some very interesting actions to try. Entrepreneur

Leaders & Followers

How to become your own boss. Starting a small business requires many things but the first and probably the most important is that you have a real passion for what you want to do. There are a number of steps to follow and discussion of each step. The last step is also very important. Get counsel and advice, but learn to discern objectively between what is good advice and what is not. Entrepreneur

Why your employees need goals. You know you need to motivate your employees. But did you know that defining goals for them may be among the most important things you can do in this respect? If you want to figure out how to get your employees heading in the right direction, start by setting the right goals first. Expert Business Advice

Relationships & Change

The relationship you need to get right. Sponsorship and mentoring can be extremely helpful in developing new talent. However, it appears that this type of development works best when there is something to gain by both sponsor and and trainee. Harvard Business Review

Sometimes leadership requires change. There’s an old saying. The more things change, the more they stay the same. But this may not always be the case when it comes to companies that know how to stay ahead of the competition. Indeed, it’s possible that those companies that know how to change also know best how to lead and survive. Business.in.com

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  1. Getting up early every day with a positive attitude and taking small action steps in improving your business is one more useful technique from a leadership tool box.

  2. Fantastic read. My favorite points were the importance of a single hire and employees needing obtainable goals. The first one hits home because if you’re a small-knit company, the beginning hires can play a role in how fast or slow the company could grow. The second point on employees needing goals carries significance because without set deadlines, an employee wouldn’t know how to properly multitask or keep a productive work ethic afloat.