Being a Better Leader
There’s a significant difference between being a manager and a leader, indeed, there’s an even bigger difference between being a good leader and a bad leader. See, the ability to manage others is an incredibly important skill that all female entrepreneurs must endeavour to master, yet leadership is multifaceted and requires much more than many people think.
The main difference between a manager and a leader is that a manager has to manage a particular project or team of people, whereas a business leader has to inspire, direct and empower her team whilst simultaneously managing other aspects of the business such as financial operations.
This can be stressful, as it can feel like a juggler having to juggle multiple balls or a plate spinner keeping her eye on multiple plates, wherein one moment, you’re having to deal with a staff dispute and the other, look into the best invoice finance for your unique situation, whilst simultaneously preparing for a women’s networking event in just a few hours time!
Life can be stressful as a female entrepreneur, and when the world feels like it’s on your shoulders it can be hard to keep your cool and lead those in your employee.
In that vein, let’s take a look at two principles to empower you to become a better leader in order to have a smooth running operation where your people manage themselves.
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BE THE CAPTAIN OF YOUR SHIP
Of course, there’s a fine line between being a leader and that of a dictator, but it’s an important quality for budding entrepreneurs to possess, as it’s important you take the reins and steer your team in the right direction with enough assertiveness to ensure people listen.
That said, your assertiveness should be directional rather than dictatorial, as nobody likes being told what to do in the sense of having orders barked at them.
It can be a difficult balancing act, as on the one hand, you don’t want to be so assertive people lose motivation and feel henpecked, yet it’s equally important people respect your requests and take the required action.
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DON’T MICROMANAGE
It’s important you allow people to “own their task” in the sense that everybody values having the sense of autonomy and purpose with regard to their work, but similarly you do need to provide enough direction and structure for your team to follow.
The challenge, if you start micromanaging, is that your team will quickly get fed up and deflated; they will feel disempowered and disrespected in their ability to get the job done and it will come across as if you don’t value or trust their contribution to a task.
Indeed, micromanaging is one of the quickest ways to lose the support of your team. There are, of course, times when you do need to be on people’s back, such as in matters of continual absence, yet there are automated time and attendance management systems that can take of the bulk of this, meaning you only need to interact with people on this front when issuing a warning or checking everything is okay.
This is a collaborative post.
