Crucial People Skills Every Business Owner Needs

People skills are essential for business owners.?

In business you have customers, you have suppliers and as you grow you will probably need additional support;? whether that is freelancers or employees.

So what are people skills?

People skills are often referred to as interpersonal skills or soft skills.? They are important for building? positive relationships and collaborative teamwork. They are also essential for effective leadership? and include communication, delegation and motivation.

Communication

Communication is much more about listening than talking.? I believe you should use your ears and mouth in the proportion to the number you have, or in other words listen twice as much as you talk.? A lot of communication is non verbal and it is important to be aware of this.

Preparation is key to any type of communication, whether it's daily conversations with your team or a big presentation to a client. Remember how important first impressions are and think about how you are viewed by others.? A big smile goes a long way.? If you are feeling stressed before a meeting with a client or a team member, make sure you use some relaxation techniques.? I have always found yoga breathing very effective, especially when your heart is racing.

Active listening often means being comfortable with silence.? Give the other person some time to come up with their ideas but ensure you maintain eye contact and give encouragement by smiling and gestures.? Then make sure you show enthusiasm for their ideas.

Motivation

It all starts with your own motivation.? Make sure you really understand yourself first. Running a business is tough and you will need to be mentally strong, able to handle tough decisions and remain resilient. Knowing your why is key as well as rewarding yourself for all the wins on your journey; however small.? We are much harder on ourselves than we would ever be on the people we employ so build a habit of tapping into what keeps you motivated.

Everyone is different including you, especially you because as the owner of your own business you will have a very different approach to its success than anyone else.? You will have invested heavily in it both financially and emotionally and these are extremely high motivaters.? Yet on the flip side you are likely to have challenges to overcome and problems to solve which can have a negative effect on your motivation.

When building a team, motivation becomes even more important as it leads to positive engagement and productivity. Engaged employees are happy and want to get on with their job while disengaged employees are demotivated and undermine the efforts of their colleagues.? Yet the average level of employee engagement worldwide is just 22%?

Delegation

This is not just important when you start employing people, it is relevant when working with a supplier such as a web design agency or any kind of freelance work that you may outsource.

Delegation is the act of entrusting tasks and authority to others to accomplish specific objectives; fostering productivity, skill development and empowerment within an organisation. It reduces your workload, it develops skills and increases motivation within your team.

There are many reasons why delegation is so important.? The effect of poor delegation is very destructive and one of the main reasons along with running out of cash that most small businesses fail. ? When done properly delegation will free up your time so you can concentrate on the things that only you can do which are related to the more strategic side of the business and the areas that are within your zone of genius; that you love doing.

We have probably all been micromanaged at some point in our career.? I know I have, and it is incredibly frustrating; leading in my case to moving on pretty quickly.? The issue is often down to a lack of trust, and the unwillingness for any mistakes to be made.? However we all make mistakes and they are the greatest source of learning. ? By not taking any risks and maintaining tight authoritarian control, productivity will be limited, your team will be unwilling to make decisions for themselves, fearing that any failure will be criticised.? This will of course? lead to poor motivation and will? stifle innovation and initiative.??

But most importantly you will never be able to grow your business as you simply won't have the time or the team that you need to do so.

Are you starting to grow, and need some help with a few tasks?

The e-book below will show you how to grow your business by outsourcing:

1. When is the right time to outsource?
2. What can be outsourced at different stages of growth?
3. How to get the best out of outsourcing?

Outsourcing for Growth

Have you already started employing people, but feel you lack the leadership skills needed to build a team that is aligned to your vision?

The webinar below will show you:

1. How to recruit the right people first time
2. How to communicate effectively with your team
3. How to step back from the day job

How To Grow A Business That You Love

If you would just like a chat, please book a Curiosity Call here Curiosity Call

I am looking forward to hearing all about your business,