As a functional trainer, you know how to design and deliver effective workouts that challenge your clients and help them achieve their goals. But what about leading a team of trainers who share your passion and vision? How can you develop your leadership skills to manage a team of trainers better and grow your functional training business?
The first step to becoming a better leader is to have a clear and compelling mission and values that guide your actions and decisions. Your mission and values should reflect your purpose, your philosophy, and your standards of excellence in functional training. They should also align with your clients' needs and expectations. By defining your mission and values, you can communicate them to your team and inspire them to follow your example and direction.
Developing & maintaining a growth mindset, not only as the leader but for the team. Allowing people to grow through real work, active learning & encouraging self awareness / reflection. These areas can lead to some impactful insights - helps create meaningful PDPs & having productive, informed 2-way conversations / developing EQ / building relationships - trust, honesty & collaboration.... Leading hopefully, to stronger performance & achievement of goals consistently, whilst feeling job satisfaction.
Even better - co-create your mission and vision with your team. Have confidence in their ability to contribute and guide them towards a solid collaborative process!
1) Vision Alignment: Ensure your team shares your vision and values. This fosters a sense of purpose. 2) Empowerment: Encourage autonomy and decision-making within guidelines. Empowered trainers are more motivated. 3) Continuous Learning: Promote a culture of ongoing education and skill development. It keeps the team at the forefront of the industry. 4) Feedback Culture: Regular feedback sessions help trainers improve and align with the business's goals. 5) Inclusivity: Involve the team in decision-making to enhance commitment. 6) Recognition: Acknowledge and celebrate achievements. It boosts morale and loyalty. 7) Lead by Example: Demonstrate the qualities you expect from your team.
Here's 2 good suggestions: 1) "Be what you want to see first!" The best way to get the buy-in of what you are asking others to do starts with us as leaders understanding that we "create" what we "demonstrate". 2) We have a great vison, however are we as leaders communicating this vision as effectively as we could? Consider more creative training designs (get help/feedback) or delegate a leading champion on your team to be the mission/values "spoke person" which creates empowerment (autonomy) opportunities and possibly a better outcome.
CEO The Value Company | Principal @ DG.C | fitness ? wellness ? healthcare x fintech
In my experience, I look at being a good trainer, manager, or individual of influence starts with self assurance. Self assurance is when you’ve supported the assortment of surfaces that launch a confident trainer-manager, or individual of influence. The real difference is experience… Self Confidence is primarily vested in your training, and ability to translate, communicate or perform based on training. Which is fantastic.. Self Assurance quite simply — and frankly is experience. Failure. Having some patina. Which has depth.. This is why I won’t hesitate to hire an aged professional if I really have to get sh** done quickly—effectively … Which would you listen to after hearing both present their position on an opportunity?
The second step to becoming a better leader is to delegate and empower your team to take ownership and responsibility for their roles and tasks. As a leader, you can't do everything yourself, nor should you. You need to trust your team and give them the autonomy, resources, and feedback they need to perform well and grow. By delegating and empowering your team, you can free up your time and energy to focus on the bigger picture and the strategic goals of your functional training business.
Great leaders understand delegation is key for progress and growth. Build a mastermind group of individuals who excel at what you aren't necessarily great at. If you looked after, listen and let make your staff feel valued, they will move mountains to help you succeed
Delegate and empower, absolutely and no argument there. Yet also you need to trust but verify. When we are specifically talking about leading trainers, you must have a system in place to train and certify then continual check-ins to ensure standards are being met. When I lead trainers, I would randomly sit in the classroom and assess my folks as they worked through a lesson with the students then provided them timely feedback.
The third step to becoming a better leader is to communicate and collaborate with your team regularly and effectively. Communication is the key to building trust, rapport, and understanding among your team members and with your clients. Collaboration is the key to leveraging the diverse skills, talents, and perspectives of your team and creating a culture of learning and innovation. By communicating and collaborating with your team, you can foster a sense of belonging, engagement, and commitment to your functional training business.
Building the mastermind to support a thriving culture. People appreciate being listened to and feel valued when their voices are heard A rich pool.of talent, thoughts and ideas is always superior to a one track mind approach
And don't forget, providing an agenda and having purpose driven meetings help communication thrive in that employees will be confident and prepared when it comes time to collaborate in a group and individual setting. Nothing quite sets the stage for effective communication and confident behavior like being prepared and knowing what's next.
The fourth step to becoming a better leader is to recognize and reward your team for their achievements, contributions, and efforts. Recognition and reward are powerful motivators and incentives that boost morale, satisfaction, and loyalty among your team members and clients. They also reinforce your mission and values and demonstrate your appreciation and respect for your team. By recognizing and rewarding your team, you can strengthen your relationships and retention and attract more talent and clients to your functional training business.
Not all rewards have to be monetary either. Just giving people recognition for the ideas they shared that led to efficiency improvement, or a new way of working. Openly share their successes. Showing gratitude can go a long way to keeping the best work culture, the best staff and prevent toxic spaces forming
Your team of trainers should each have attributes and skills that make them unique, giving them chances to shine and adding diverse facets to your business. Aside from financial incentives, give your team recognition by giving them more freedom within the business, which will allow them to have more responsibility. If and when your team of health coaches wants to go out and start their own business at some point, allowing them freedom and more responsibility will set them up for success should they decide to become entrepreneurs.
The fifth step to becoming a better leader is to develop yourself and your team continuously and consistently. As a leader, you need to keep learning and improving your skills, knowledge, and mindset in functional training and leadership. You also need to help your team do the same by providing them with opportunities, resources, and support to learn, grow, and excel. By developing yourself and your team, you can maintain your competitive edge and adapt to the changing needs and demands of the functional training market.
There is always a space for improvement and continual investment in training, courses or skills is always a good idea. If spending x will return xyz in efficiency, offering services noone else is yet or keeping ahead of market trends then it's a no brainer. Not investing costs you far more then just saving a few ￡￡￡
The sixth and final step to becoming a better leader is to lead by example and with integrity. As a leader, you need to model the behaviors, attitudes, and values that you expect from your team and your clients. You also need to act with honesty, transparency, and accountability in all your interactions and decisions. By leading by example and with integrity, you can earn the trust, respect, and admiration of your team and your clients and enhance your reputation and credibility as a functional trainer and a leader.
Have you ever been in a fast food restaurant during a morning rush and noticed the store manager literally rolling up their sleeves to get on the production line? What you're seeing is "leading by example" in practice: The manager is showing that they're willing to help to relieve their staff in whatever way necessary, promoting good rapport with their direct reports and solidarity amongst the team. Any manager of a team of individual contributors could take inspiration from this. Whether you're a sales manager stepping in to work a queue of hot leads, a nursing manager drawing blood, or a training manager running an L&D team. Learn the curriculum. Chip in where you can. Understand their pain points. Lead from the front.
Never ever ask someone to do something you are not willing to do yourself . Good leaders lead from the front and set fine examples on whatvis required.
Leading by example, leading from the front, never get people to do anything you can't do yourself. A leader must be strong at all times
Sometimes, the hardest part of leading by example and with integrity is handling the failures of team members uniformly. People are not carbon copies of each other, and some add greater value to a team; but if they are allowed liberties or extended grace that others are not, they will also do more to destroy your team than the lower-value employees, because their transgressions -- and yours, in dealing with them -- will not go unnoticed. If what your star player does would get a third-stringer benched, you'd better bench the star player. That is integrity, and exercising it will make both the star and the third-stringer better.
Experience is an important tool for leaders to have in their toolbox. Unfortunately, most organizations will no place future leaders with little or no experience in such a position. That begs the question “So, if you’re new and have little to no experience, how do you get it? My suggestion is to join a Toastmaster club. Toastmasters is an organization devoted to teaching leadership and speaking skills. By becoming an active member, you will have many opportunities to be in positions of leadership, and will develop the skills and knowledge to take on more advanced leadership roles. To find out more, go to www.Toastmasters.org.
Observe and identify next potential leaders, put them through tests of hard work and sacrifice to see who strives to be a better individual, let them take further decisions and make them build a team.