Do you want your business to be set apart, to be different? If you don’t own a business but are an employee, would you like for your store, your district to be set apart, to be different? Do you want to be number one in customer service, number one in sales, number one in training? Here’s how. It begins with leadership. Fire your managers and rehire them as leaders.
I find that in today’s business world we hold to a great misunderstanding. That misunderstanding is that for people to do well leading in their occupation they must be trained and then they will be fit to manage their team. I do agree that training is very good and very necessary; however, that is not all that should be taken into account for a person entering into a positional leadership setting. When that person enters into her new position he may have the title of leader and be equipped to perform the assigned job; however, he will not have the leadership skills needed to lead his employees. We equip people to perform a job, such as teaching somebody how to run a slicer to cut meat. If somebody was to teach me how to run a slicer then I would be equipped to do that job. We develop leaders!
A new manager may have the skills needed to perform all the task but they also need to be developed as a leader or they will run into problems when trying to lead their team or shift. Instead of the employees working to help the new manager, they will be, more than likely, working against the manager. They might even try to get away with everything they can as the manager reacts by trying to bring the team under subjection by using his positional power over them. This is why it is so important that leaders are developed through time and teaching so when they are finally put in a position of power, they do not have to use that positional power but instead lead through influential leadership as the team becomes unified under their vision and goal.
1. Instill Vision
It is important that you understand that you can lead from anywhere in a company with influential power as you develop as a leader. John C. Maxwell states in his book, The 360 Degree Leader, that,
“The reality is that 99 percent of all leadership occurs not from the top but from the middle of an organization.”
These people in the middle can lead effectively throughout an organization by developing leadership skills and then applying them to their job. Goal setting is one of the most important leadership qualities that one might develop. Being able to clearly see a vision and then break that vision down into goals can literally transform a persons life. When working in a cooperation you should set yourself goals that you would like to reach. Goals come from vision and the Bible states that
“without vision people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18)
Without vision people perish, or better put: without vision people go bankrupt, waste their time, waste their life, and fail!
Instilling vision is important to make it as a leader. You can be in the middle of the company and still learn to effectively communicate the vision of the company up and down and across the board as you reach toward that vision. Let me break this down right quick. A dream becomes a vision when it starts to have meat on it. Dave Ramsey puts it this way,
“Visions are dreams with more clarity.”
The company has an overall dream that they have converted into a vision. Usually stated within their mission statement. As a member of that company you take that vision and help turn that vision into reality. Helen Keller once stated that,
“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”
Vision truly is the life blood of a company and a manager needs to bleed with that vision and that vision needs to be effectively communicated throughout the entire organizations. Habakkuk 2:2 states
“Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”
If you want people to be able to move with your vision then you need to make it clear and written down so that people can run with it!
2. Establish Goals
Once the vision is clear it is time to make goals. Goals break down the vision into manageable parts. When you set a goal it needs to be accomplishable, measurable, have a due date set, and have tactics involved. It will not be wise for me just to state that I would like to lose weight this year and then call that my goal; however, I could put it this way: I am going to lose 30 pounds by May 5 by running each day and working out twice a week. The difference is that I stated what I wanted to accomplish in a measurable way, 30 pounds (not just lose weight), and I gave my self a time limit and a way to accomplish that goal. I know this all seems very elementary but I have been astounded at how many people I have come across that does not understand simple goal setting. Goal setting is extremely important in the life of a leader. James Cash Penny or better known as J.C. Penny put it this way,
” Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.”
3. Repeat
Now that you have instilled the vision of the company in your employees and have established goals for the company to accomplish. Repeat the process. This is not a one time event. Continue to instill vision and continue to establish goals. An amazing transformation occurs when managers become leaders. Try it. Start developing leaders instead of hiring managers.
List the steps you’re going to take to develop your leaders? List your goals with your business, your store? Write your answers below.
