Congratulations you are in Business, well done, it takes courage and determination to step up and take on a Business. If you are familiar with my work you will know that I am passionate about helping Business owners use their Communication strengths to succeed in business.
We have spoken many times about the cost of poor communication. It shows up in many ways but the bottom line is it costs. It has been shown in research to cost up to 32% of profit. For a business making $500K pa, this is $160K, that’s not small change.
One of the issues can be a negative culture. This is where your team are not on the same page, perhaps there is negativity and stress. Perhaps there is relationship tension between the team (people not getting on), there may be gossip, backstabbing and tearing each other down.
I spoke with a team recently and the CEO was all about their culture “ we have your back”. No matter what, as long as the team member was following the agreed process the rest of the team had their back. So if mistakes were made, first thought, we have your back. They were creating a culture of excellence and honesty where issues were raised quickly and respectfully. This will create a very positive team culture.
The opposite of this is where no one takes responsibility, a team member may see a mistake being made and turn a blind eye “that’s not my job”. Perhaps there is nitpicking and backstabbing. Perhaps there are negative team members. Perhaps management are not providing the leadership and support the team needs.
The bottom line is if a team is not performing the responsibility of addressing it lands on the Leader. In most small businesses this is the owner.
It has got to start with us. If our team is confused, struggling, poorly performing we need to ensure that the right environment for success has been provided. We need to ensure that the team knows what is expected of them and are given the tools to do their job well.
Once this has been provided if people continue to underperform this needs to be addressed again. If it is a skill issue then skill can be developed. If it is an attitude issue then the team member may need to find a better fit for them. Regardless something has to be done and it falls on the leader / owner of the business.
As Business owners we must take complete responsibility for whatever is happening in our business good bad or ugly.
As you can see, it starts with us as the Leader. We are essential to our business running well and we need to understand the effect we have first on the business. A great way to understand your strengths as a Leader is to understand what makes you tick, what do you bring to the table, what is your Communication DNA?
Once we understand this we can then begin to look deeper into understand your team in the same way. For years I have been helping business understand their Communication DNA so they can see what makes each member of the team tick, what strengths they have, how they work best and how to bring out their strengths.
If you would like to know more you can learn more about Communication DNA here.
If you would like to learn what your Communication DNA is you can do so here
If you know you need more support to unravel what is happening in your business we offer Coaching and Training services as well as our very popular online Master Communication in Your Business.
We are here to resource you so that you can create the business of your dreams, kick those goals, create a highly productive team and future-proof your business.
Until next time Care, Connect and be a Courageous Communicator.
Lets grow your business one conversation at a time.
