We asked business coach Sarah-Beth Cleaves from the Local Business Network Paramatta to give readers an insight into how to lead your team in uncertain times after feedback that morale is low in many shops around the country.
Leading your business through a time of uncertainty requires strength. We know that if we do nothing then our staff will continue to feel powerless, succumb to the negative media hype and as a business you will lose one of your greatest opportunities to create a positive change in your workshop.
For owners navigating what to do next and how to motivate their team I have few simple guidelines that will help. It is up to you as a leader to change the narrative towards positive action and take on the hurdles we are all facing as a team.
Here are 5 leadership insights that will help you as an owner change thing within the culture and teams you are managing.
Focus – “Focus on things you CAN control, and don’t waste time on things you shouldn’t.”
This may seem obvious; the reason I love it is because it is also instructional. People are craving clear instruction and decisive leadership right now. We can’t control the environment, but we can always choose our response.
If we let our team meetings start down a rabbit hole of ‘what if this happens’ ..it will dominate your meetings and your team’s focus ( and generally derails the purpose of the meeting altogether) Make this an opportunity to write a list of things you and your team can control. Your job as a leader is to keep your team focused on things they can control and not to waste time talking about things they cannot. We can’t control the boarders, we can’t control whether the government will shut everyone down, we can control our response to it. We can control a lot of decisions within our business that we focus on every day. Your job is elevating the focus.
Information – “Don’t tell me what’s NOT working, tell me what IS working so I know my resources…”
This quote comes from crisis management. In a crisis there is often a lot of information that a leader is being bombarded with. At some point you as a leader need to decide how to decipher that information. Crisis management states don’t tell me what isn’t work, tell me what IS so I know my resources. I need to know what I have to work with. If it’s not working, then it’s no longer part of your decision-making process. Give me the resources that are working because they will ultimately determine my decisions moving forward.
Circumstances – “We are all dealing with the same circumstances, some will see opportunity and others see crisis.”
There are those in our teams who will be looking for the crisis to turn out negative - the glass half empty people. You will either have already had this conversation or be going to have it with staff members. Circumstances at home for most people are difficult. If we don’t find the way to see the good or positive in your new situation then you will always be a victim to it.
Opportunity. “the next 100 days will shape the next 10 years in your business – act accordingly!”
Respect these next 100 days for what you do and don’t do will determine how strong you are as a business. If you choose to see every day as an opportunity to make a dent towards something positive you want to change or accelerate within your business. If you have wanted things to be more positive, to get your team focused on what they can control and how they can be better then now is the time for that to happen. The smart operators and owners will use this an opportunity to pivot towards the positive culture they are looking for or to further deepen the good culture that is already at play. The opportunity (and I don’t say that word lightly) you all have as owners right now is huge. We learn best by our mistakes, but we also learn our true character in times of crisis. Some workshops might not make it, there might be more opportunity to acquire a new business or you could find more skilled labour available than before this situation started.
If you can guide and coach your staff through adversity, uncertainty and ultimately the next 100 days then they will grow individually, and your business will grow and prosper as a result of that. As an owner your role is to empower through self-resourcefulness.
Success
“75% of the success a business has is due to the internal factors that can be made every day”
It seemed appropriate to end with success. Success is linked to all of the above four factors being actioned positively. Positivity in the face of this can sometimes seem overwhelming. The best way to combat this is to take a step towards gaining some kind of control back.
For those looking for extra support or a plan of action for your next 100 days then access this free online mini 3 step plan to access all areas of your business to combat this.