Lead change in your business

Share your vision

You have clear goals for where you want your business to be. No one else has the same connection as you. You want others to know these goals and how to reach them.

You’ll want to share your plans with:

• Your team – If you have one
• People who supply or sell your products or services – They could help you grow in the way you want
• Others who work with you – Like your web designer, marketing agency or other experts
• Your board and any investors – You’ll want them to support your goals

They’re all likely to want to know the reasons behind your plans.
So, think about how to present these in a compelling way. Your aim is to inspire others so they’re as excited about your plans as you are.

Share your goals clearly, to:

• Drive change
• Inspire your team
• Strengthen relationships
• Improve productivity
• Address concerns early on
• Achieve consistency in your team’s approach

So how do you start to do this?

Before you talk with others, take time to think about your approach. You may be very excited about your growth plans and want to share your ideas. How can you do this in a clear and appealing way? Think about the key message you want to send. Are you rallying them to action? Reassuring them? Asking them to do more or different tasks?

Think about your team and how they might respond. You’ll need to allow them time to absorb the changes they face. Be mindful of their emotions and how they might react. Even if they’re on board straight away, they may have worries about what this means to them. For instance, you may be planning a move to larger premises. Will this mean they need to travel further? This could affect their lives outside the workplace.

Encourage people to share their concerns and ask questions. Check for understanding by asking open-ended questions. This way, you’ll learn where they need support and motivation.

Questions your team may have:

• Why do we need this change?
• How will it affect me?
• What does it look like?
• What do you expect from me?

Do you know the answers to these questions? If you do, you can think about how to respond in a way that works for your team. Maybe you can’t give them the clarity they need right now. If that’s the case, be honest. It’s OK to say ‘I don’t know’ or that it may change.

The important thing is to keep the conversation going. This will help your team adjust, and encourage them to be part of the growth process.

Top tips to share your plans:

• Think through your growth plan first – This will help you guide others through the change
• Make your goals and aims clear and easy to understand
• Break down these goals into team or individual goals
• Work with your team – Agree roles and responsibilities
• Give them a voice – Encourage everyone to express their views and ideas
• Be honest and sincere
• Stay in touch – Have regular check-ins and updates

Keep talking – and listening

As you move the business forward, keep sharing your ideas and updates. Encourage an open two-way conversation. This helps to support your team to express their concerns and make suggestions.

What leadership skills do you need?

As a business owner, leadership comes with the job. What you say and do influences those who work with you, every day. You want to get this right, but there isn’t just one ‘right way’ to lead.

There are many different leadership styles, but what works for someone else may not be right for you. The skills you need will depend on you, your business and the people who work for you. The goal is to strike a balance between informing, persuading and engaging others.

To start, look at what you want to achieve. The way you lead should align to your overall vision and growth goals. Keep this in mind as you work through our list of common leadership skills.

If you're looking to gain more leadership skills, supported by Skillsoft Percipio, we have extended our business offering by giving you free and exclusive access to a collection of their business and leadership training.

With hundreds of courses and learning paths to choose from, this offers you the chance to learn a broad range of business skills from product management to productivity and collaboration. To start your learning and boost your leadership skills, sign up on Skillsoft’s website today.

Be honest and open

Truthful and sincere communication helps to build trust. Own your mistakes. Acknowledge everyone’s contribution to successes. All these things show that you lead with integrity. When people see this, they’re more likely to trust you’re going to do the right thing for the business - and for them.

Delegate and empower

Recognise each person’s skills and strengths, and let them use these to help you reach your goals. Support and encourage your team to grow and prove their skills. When challenges arise, listen to their ideas and solutions.

The key to good delegation is giving each task to the most suitable person for it. Trust them to own the task and praise them for a job well done. When things don’t go to plan, be their mentor. Give expert advice to guide them towards better outcomes.

If you do this, your team will see that you trust them to take responsibility. This will help to reduce your own task list, too.

Delegation, step by step

1. Decide what to delegate – Not every task will be suitable, so look at the tasks and see what you can give to others
2. Assess your team’s strengths – Some in your team may be creative. Others may have technical skills. Match tasks to their skills and preferences to motivate them and help them succeed
3. Explain the result you expect – Let people know what the result should look like and what you expect from them
4. Give them what they need to do the job – This could be tools, training or other resources
5. Let them control the task – Give your team the freedom to manage their work. Just remember to check in regularly and make sure they know that you’re there if they need you
6. Be patient – Give your team the time to learn and explore. This helps them do a good job. It will help you too, as they become quicker and more efficient
7. Encourage and give feedback – Let people know how they’re doing. Done in a positive and encouraging way, this helps them perform to their best ability. Give thanks for tasks taken on. Appreciate and give feedback for jobs well done and areas for improvement. This gives clear direction and helps motivate

See the big picture

Know that you and your business will experience ups and downs. Focus on your end goal and don’t let small everyday issues distract you. You’ll need to handle issues flexibly. Sometimes this involves reaching a compromise with others.

For each decision you make, ask: will this help to achieve my overall goals for the business? If the answer is yes, it’s likely to be a good choice. If not, you may need to think carefully about whether it fits in with your plans for growth.

Role-model

When others see you living by your business’ values, it can inspire them to do the same.

For example, if you show confidence in tackling issues, they’ll start to do the same. Your team looks to you to guide them through the highs and lows of the growth process.

Show commitment

Let your team see that you’re working with them, through all the highs and lows. Celebrate together. Be willing to help out to get the job done. Make it clear that you see yourself as part of the team, not separate to it. Doing this can help you earn their respect.

Get creative

Use creative approaches and encourage your team to do this too, to meet challenges and achieve goals in ways that are different to your competitors.

Learn and grow

Having a growth mindset is key to becoming a good leader. If you’re endlessly curious, this is a good sign. So keep learning.

Bear in mind that your leadership skills will develop over time. 
Take situational awareness. A good leader is able to foresee potential issues and handle them before they arise. They can see opportunities that others may miss.

Sometimes it’s only after a particular setback that we can see how we could have achieved a different outcome. So it’s important to keep reviewing your approach and adapt it where you need to.

You’re not on your own

Hopefully, these have given you some ideas on how to lead your team as you grow your business. You may find some are easier to adopt than others. Note the ones you need to work on. Being self-aware and knowing your own strengths and weaknesses will help you become a good leader.

It may seem rather lonely being a leader, though. Others look to you for guidance. So where can you find this, too?

The good news is that there are plenty of people who can help.

Support networks

It’s good to build a support network, as you grow into your role as leader. You may already have one, that you can extend to meet your changing needs as your business grows. These networks can be a mix of online and face-to-face contacts.

Your network could include:

• Others in your sector
• Local business owners – For instance, the local Chamber of Commerce
• Partners, suppliers and other contacts – People you work with, who know your business well
• Online networks – Use forums like LinkedIn, Enterprise Nation and the Local Enterprise Partnership network

Mentors

If you need support that’s more personal to you and your business, a mentor might be the answer. They can help you learn more about yourself and your goals.

Mentors can:

• Share knowledge and experience – This can be invaluable if you’re struggling with a new or tricky challenge
• Expand your outlook – They may help you look outside the ideas you already have, and inspire creativity
• Show opportunities – They’re likely to have a wide network of contacts to tap into

When looking for a mentor, pick someone you can trust. They should be open with you and give you useful feedback.

Look at people who have leadership experience. Who do you respect? It could be someone you know who motivates you and can push you to grow. Maybe it’s a local business owner with a good reputation. You may want to research influencers or experts online. If you have a few people in mind, think about how close you feel to this person. You’ll need to feel at ease talking to them.

Whoever you pick, meet them with an open mind and be willing to learn from them.

One option is to connect with volunteer mentors through Digital Boost. They can connect you with volunteer experts in strategy, marketing, digital, finance and more. Their platform can help you match with relevant business mentors.

Business consultants

As you grow your business, you’re likely to be busier than ever. Business consultants can share the load by giving expert help.

They can:

• Find potential issues – They may spot these early so you can deal with them
• See opportunities – They’re aware of market trends and have wide networks to help
• Check you’re compliant – Legal consultants can do this and tell you about any changes you need to make
• Improve your finances – This could include cost-saving ideas and solutions

Usually, you’d hire one for a short or fixed period of time. They can help with one or more aspects of your business. Some are experts in a particular area, like Human Resources or IT. They tend to work by spending time with you to see how you run your business and to learn your plans for growth. Then they’ll come up with ideas and solutions to help you grow.

To find someone who meets your needs, speak to others in your sector. They may have recommendations. You could also check online reviews.

When you meet them for the first time, ask questions to check they are right for your needs. They’ll be working for you, so it’s important to set expectations up front. Agree rates, what you want from them and timescales. Tell them your growth goals, and how you’d like them to help you reach these.

Virtual assistants

When you run a business, there’s so much admin to do. It’s tempting to save costs by doing this yourself. As your business grows, you may find yourself bogged down in these day-to-day tasks. They might even be stopping you from moving forward as quickly as you want. If this is you, virtual assistants can be a good source of help.

Virtual assistants are there to ease your workload. They can take on some of the more mundane jobs so you’re able to focus on your growth plans. Some specialise in certain tasks. This can be a low-cost way to improve efficiency.

They can:

• Field phone calls and send emails
• Plan meetings, travel and events
• Manage your calendar
• Follow up on sales leads
• Manage social media and blog posts
• Update documents and web content
• Run reports and keep records
• Send and follow up invoices
• Process payments

You can find virtual assistants directly or through a marketplace like Upwork or TaskRabbit. Costs will vary, depending on the service you need and how much demand there is. It’s always good to ask around for recommendations.

When you find someone you think meets your needs, look at their earlier work and vet them carefully. Agree their rates, what you expect for this, and timescales. Be aware that some will be overseas. This means they may not be around in your own working hours. So plan your meetings with them at a time that works for you both.

Build your skills

Whether you’re a sole trader or have a large team, you’ll need certain skills to grow. These will depend on what your plans for growth are. If you have others working with you, they’ll need to build their skills too. You may already have a few ideas about this. Maybe you’ve started to note down tools to learn or articles to read.

This chapter shows you how to work out what skills you and your team need. We’ll start, though, with the skills you already have.

Complete a skills audit

Listing the skills you and your team have is a good starting point. Focus on the skills you’ll need to achieve your growth goals. This will help you delegate tasks and identify any areas where there are gaps.

There are many ways to do this. We’re suggesting you start with a skills matrix and carry out a gap analysis.

Step 1 – Create a skills matrix

You can use a spreadsheet or do this on paper. This is a table with a list of skills across the top and names of your team down the left side. For each person, note the skill level for each of these skills. Keep this simple. Something like 0-3 where 0 is ‘no knowledge’ and 3 is ‘expert’.

Step 2 – Skills gap analysis

Now you have a list of skills and can see who has these. It’s a good idea to check you’ve listed all the skills you need. Maybe review your growth goals and methods with someone else. A second pair of eyes can be really helpful here.

Once you’re happy that you’ve captured everything, look for the skills gaps. What tools or areas do you have no or little knowledge on? These are where you’ll need to learn. This could be a training course, online tutorial or speaking with an expert.