Tips to building credibility as a leader

Quite often, an employee’s level of satisfaction can be traced back to his or her leaders. Indeed, research shows that only 49 per cent of employees trust their senior managers.

As all leaders should know, trust goes hand in hand with credibility. Credibility is something that all leaders must aspire to obtain, as it positions leaders as highly dependable sources of expertise and information.

Here are some suggestions new leaders can use to build their credibility:

Engage in active listening
When you’re responsible for managing people at work, tuning out of what they’re saying can be dangerous, as you risk missing important information like feedback or updates. If your staff also believe you’re not listening to them, they won’t confide in you in the future, which can prevent them from producing their best work.

Actively listening isn’t an easy task at first, but can be learned with a few healthy habits. Keep distractions to a minimum or move the conversation away from computers or mobiles when colleagues are speaking to you.

Get straight to the point
With studies now showing that humans have shorter attention spans, as a leader, when you speak to your team, cut to the chase to ensure they remember all the important parts. While you’re keeping things brief, make sure your team knows that you’re also receptive to questions and feedback.

Remain consistent
An important thing for leaders to think about is consistency. When you are consistent with your staff, you gain credibility. Therefore, make sure you can do what you’ll say you do. Before making any promises, consider if you can take it on. Knowing when to say no can create a balanced sense of priority among your team.

Making most out of your LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn is usually the most important social media platform for B2B marketing which can also be a valuable way to recruit and network. It is also a great educational resource, as small business owners and entrepreneurs can learn from interacting with other business owners.

Like all social media sites, LinkedIn is a pretty crowded platform, so putting in a little extra effort to stand out can go a long way. Here are some tips for making the most out of LinkedIn:

Get your photo right
Your profile picture should be current, high-definition, and representative of your business persona. You should not use a photograph of you in a social situation if it does not accurately reflect what you do in the business world.

Make sure your recommendations accurately depict your achievements
Do not be shy about asking people for recommendations; that is what LinkedIn is there for. Similarly, going out of your way to give people deserved recommendations will help you to boost your network.

Be vocal
Write posts or start groups to talk about the things you are interested in. An active and presence is the best way for you to increase your exposure, and it is likely that you will learn something in the process.

Reinventing your business

Small businesses should always be open to the idea of reinventing themselves to stay relevant to today’s customers and marketplace.

Business owners who resist change and leave it too late to reinvent risk stumbling behind and at worst failing. Instead, businesses should focus on a proactive approach to growth for optimal business performance and success.

Making a commitment to reinvention before the need is obvious does not come naturally; it requires planning. Here are a few ways to make sure your business does not get left behind:

Continually forecast
Industries are continually shifting – competitors are introducing new products, customer needs are ever-changing and technology is transforming the way business was traditionally performed. Forecasting changes is essential to be a competitive leader in your industry. High performing businesses exploit existing businesses that have not yet peaked and recognise untapped markets. High performers also understand that remaining competitive means some form of risk taking is necessary.

Focus on strategy
Strategic planning is imperative to make reinvention possible. Businesses need to detect shifts in their industry ideally before they happen. The best way to predict these shifts is to involve line managers, frontline employees, store managers etc into the strategy process, as they often pick up on insights business owners can easily miss. For a business to reinvent itself, it needs a permanent strategy which continually scans the market for unsolved problems and untapped customer needs.

Invest in top talent
Successful businesses need teams of talent to run and grow the business effectively. Business owners need not only hire the right type of candidate but they must strengthen and prepare individuals for the challenges that will arise when reinventing. Businesses need to invest time into developing their employees to enable them to succeed in their work. By first looking at what their employees are required to do day to day, business owners can assess what factors are fueling (or limiting) their success.

Understanding constructive dismissal

Constructive dismissal, in effect forced resignation, occurs when the behaviour or conduct of an employer is so harmful, adverse or unfriendly to their employment relationship with an employee that the employee cannot be expected to deal with it.

Examples include an employer:

• expressly suggesting that an employee resign

• actively making it difficult or impossible for an employee to fulfil their role

• failing to provide a safe or healthy working environment

• imposing unauthorised and detrimental changes to the employee’s contract, such as a demotion, change of working hours or relocation

Employees must be able to prove that their employer’s actions were the primary contributing factor that resulted in their resignation and that the employee would have remained employed if the alleged conduct did not take place.

The employee’s resignation must occur immediately after the conduct complained of. Otherwise, the employee could be said to have accepted the continued existence of the employment contract.

Constructive dismissal often creates the basis of dismissal-related claims in Australia and New Zealand, such as unfair dismissal or a breach of the Fair Work Act.

Dealing with unhappy customers

Dealing with unhappy customers can be challenging but with the right approach you may be able to resolve the situation and improve your overall relationship with them.

Here are five tips for dealing with dissatisfied customers:

Don’t take it personally
When dealing with an unhappy customer, set aside your own feelings and do not take their criticism personally. Remember the customer is displeased with the performance or quality of your product or service, not you.

Listen actively
Listening to your customers’ grievances is crucial. Instead of jumping to conclusions or trying to solve the situation straight away, give the customer a chance to tell their story and vent. Pay close attention to their problem and summarise their compliant when they are finished talking to show you were listening and acknowledge their concerns.

Empathise
Expressing empathy for their problem will go a long way in demonstrating your understanding and care for their issues. Body language is especially important here; maintain eye contact, good posture and keep your arms uncrossed. It is important to apologise for the problem regardless of whether the complaint is legitimate or irrelevant.

Offer a solution
Present your customer with a solution; if they resist your proposed solution ask them what would make them happy instead. In most cases, customers will be happy you have tried to correct the problem.

Follow up
Once the problem has been resolved, follow up over the next few days to ensure they are still happy with the resolution.

Hiring the right person

Finding the right workers can be a challenge. Since much of a small business’s success depends on the quality of the people they hire, this is a crucial task.

Here are five things to consider when hiring that should increase your chances of success:

Write a clear job description
It is difficult to recruit the right person if you are not sure what job you want them to do. Start by writing down all the tasks you need done. Next, think about the attributes, skills and experience needed. Be realistic. It is unlikely that you will find a great salesperson and bookkeeper in a single person.

Allow adequate time
Start the candidate-hunting process as early as possible. The more time you have, the less you will feel pressured to hire an unqualified candidate just to fill a position. Generally, it is better to leave a job open than to hire the wrong person.

During interviews, don’t do all the talking
It is appropriate to explain the job, and in many cases, to try and sell the job to the candidate, but most of the time the candidate should be talking. Most candidates will be a little nervous so have a few questions prepared in advance that ease the candidate. Consider asking what about the job appealed to them, what particular skills they have, and what they did not like about their last job.

Understand the person
Ask questions that help you get a feel for the applicant’s personality and attitude. Be careful not to ask questions that are or may be illegal, for instance, asking whether a candidate is planning on having a child or asking their age. It is acceptable to ask about hobbies, interests, where they grew up and what their long-term goals are. Diverse interests usually mean a candidate brings more life experiences to a job.

Check references
Even if you have no reason to doubt the honesty of an applicant, you can learn a lot by checking references. Use the reference check as a way to learn how to work more effectively with your new employee. Do not just ask about how hard they worked. Try questions like: What kind of training would you suggest to make the applicant an even better employee? What type of tasks required greater supervision? What duties did the candidate particularly enjoy or do well?

Simple ways to make meetings more effective

Business meetings can often be a drag. Some go longer than they are supposed to and others involve people talking so much that the meeting ends up completely off topic.

But not all meetings have to be boring or time-wasting. When conducted properly, meetings can make everyone’s job much easier. Including breaks, having a short ‘walk and talk outside’ and following a tight starting schedule are all ways that can make meetings more efficient, productive and even a little bit of fun for those in attendance.

Here are five simple ways to regain control to have more productive meetings in your workplace:

Set a clear schedule ahead of time: Since it is always helpful when people are fully prepared for a meeting, those in charge of organising a meeting should send out a clear outline of the meeting well in advance to those attending to give them time to prepare.

Assign who will be in charge: It is important to pick someone to lead the meeting who is comfortable and will be able to keep the meeting on track. Those who are trusted and respected by employees often make the best candidates.

Have a device-free meeting: Make it a rule to have a ‘device-free’ meeting to put distractions like emails, phone calls and notifications to one side.

Keep the meeting small: Having too many people at a meeting can render it ineffective. Only invite those who will make an important contribution to the meeting.

Take your meeting outside: If there is no paperwork involved, try having a ‘walk and talk’ meeting outside. Alternatively, you could organise the meeting to take place at a local cafe for a relaxed, comfortable setting to talk.

Finding your target market

Who’s your customer? That’s one of the most important questions any business can answer, but it’s particularly important for small businesses. Why? Because only by having a clear definition of the exact type of customer you’re trying to reach can you make the most of your limited marketing dollars and have the biggest impact on your bottom line. You need to know your “target market.”

Narrowing the type of customers you’d most like to reach — and the kind that are most likely to be willing, eager and able to buy from you — is a key building block to success. Defining your target market gives focus to all your marketing and sales activities, helps you craft your advertising messages and images, choose where and when to advertise, influences which distribution channels you use and perhaps even helps you decide the colour of your employees’ uniforms or the music playing in your store.

When defining your target market, keep the image of an actual target in mind. The outermost ring of the target is the universe of potential customers — everyone who might ever possibly be interested in your product or service. As you get closer to the centre of the target, focus on customers who are more likely to actually make a purchase. The group at the centre should be those you would most like to have as customers, who you can reach and sell to affordably, and who are most likely to buy.

Some of the factors to help you close in on the bull’s-eye:

• Features and benefits of your product or service. Which group is your product/service best suited for?

• Competition. Is there a segment of the market that competitors are not reaching or underserving?

• Market trends. Is there one part of the market for your product/service that is growing?

• Most motivated buyers. Which part of the market has the most immediate need or desire to buy your products/services?

• Most ability to purchase. What type of customer is most likely to have the disposable income to spend on your products/services?

• Ease of reaching your prospects. Is there part of the market that is easiest to tell about your products/services because of trade shows, media such as magazines, or other communications directed specifically at them?

• Ease of selling to your prospects. Are there any existing distribution channels, such as specific stores, websites, wholesalers, that make it easier or less expensive to reach one part of your market?

Planning your exit

When you’re busy trying to build your business, you don’t spend much time thinking about how you’ll eventually end it. Sure, you might think that one day you’d like to retire. But while you can envision yourself golfing or gardening, what’s happened to your business? You need an “exit plan.”

An exit plan is the long-term strategy you have for transferring ownership of your business to others. Your thoughts about an exit help shape decisions you make now and give you a clearer direction on how to grow your business.

 Why bother developing an exit strategy? First of all, you may want to exit in the not-too-distant future. It used to be when someone started a business, their intent was to build a business, make money and perhaps leave it to their children. Today, many entrepreneurs hope to start a business, grow it and then have it acquired by a larger company.

Even if you hope to run your business for 20 years, it’s important to consider what you’d eventually like to do with it. If there is more than one partner in the business, it’s imperative you all discuss your eventual exit. Unspoken exit assumptions can cause a great deal of friction. Here are some of the most common exit strategies:

Sell
All types of companies can be sold, not just retail or manufacturing enterprises. Typically, professional businesses, such as doctors’ and dentists’ practices, are ‘bought into’ by new partners.  Even a one-person consulting business may be able to be sold if you find someone who wants a built-in customer base.

Be acquired
Your company may be a good fit for a larger company. Perhaps they want a product you’ve developed, your customer base, or your visibility and connection in the part of the market you serve.

Have family members take over
Many people dream of leaving their business to their children. But you still need a plan. After all, your family members might not want to or be capable of running the business.   

Employee Buy-Out
An excellent way to keep your business together and to retain the jobs you’ve created is to structure a way for management or employees to buy the company. But your company still has to have intrinsic value.

Close, retire.
This is the simplest way to end a business, but you also get the least financial reward. But sometimes, you just want to get on with the rest of your life.

Choosing the right office space

Choosing an office space for a business is a big decision; not only do owners have to consider what size space they require, but they also have to factor in things like the budget for rent and office proximity to public transport.

Remaining focused on the essentials is key to finding the perfect office space. Here are three factors to consider:

Travel and access for your workers
A top priority when finding an office space should be proximity to public transportation or roads and parking spaces that will allow your staff to commute to the office. Offices spaces that are too far away from access points makes it difficult for employees to get to work and may even reduce the size of a talent pool when you’re looking to make a new hire because of the difficulty to get to the office.

Time your purchase
Rent and purchase prices always increase and decrease in the real estate industry, so keep an eye on the market to find the prime opportunity to buy an office space. Make a plan based on real estate market fluctuations to sign a lease or mortgage agreement at the right time.

Plan for size
One of the most overlooked aspects of choosing office space is how much space you’ll need. Business owners should visit office spaces for rent or sale with a tape measure and a list of the office furniture that they’ll be using. It is key for owners to be thorough about the exact needs of their office space, rather than using a rough estimate.