Imagine that you’ve just built your startup. Your role as the leader and founder often becomes a multi-tasker who is responsible for all aspects of the business and can inevitably end up taking on more than they can manage. Naturally, you expand your business by hiring more people to take some of the burden off your shoulders.
But what does it really mean to be a leader and how do you do it the right way. We explore this
Find out how this startup founder is grooming the next generation of entrepreneurs
Being efficient
One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is being busy rather than being efficient.
As a leader, you have to be able to manage your tasks and your team efficiently. You must be able to set clear priorities and delegate tasks in a timely manner to ensure that no deadline is missed.
Leading by example will instil good habits and qualities in the team rather than inculcating a culture of working late without focusing on producing results. As the recent focus on the negative aspects of Japanese work culture has shown, the need to look busy isn’t good for business or maintaining a happy and healthy workforce.
Managing versus micro-managing
Knowing what’s going on is very different from being involved in everything that is going on. Founders often feel too attached to their business to not oversee even the smallest detail, but it is essential to trust the people who work with you.
By not allowing your staff to make educated decisions and take control of things they have hired to do, you’re creating a culture of hesitant people who often feel undervalued.
Employees need to grow with your business
If you identify a great employee, your first instinct is to keep that person close and never let them go. However, great employees often have ambitions, so giving them a reason to stay is often your best choice to ensure they contribute value to your business.
Find out how the experts say you can retain your top talent
This often means grooming employees and imparting wisdom and value where possible. A leader is often a teacher because it is important to keep employees engaged and give them an avenue to progress within the company.
Don’t give in to the entrepreneur hype
‘Everyone either seems to be an entrepreneur or an investor nowadays’
This was an interesting response to my answer to the question, “What do you do?”. I shouldn’t have been surprised, because that person has a point. There is a certain status that seems to be given to founders and entrepreneurs that didn’t exist just a decade ago.
There is a stereotype that entrepreneurs are hardworking and smart go-getters that are changing the world. This has given rise to a surge in people putting entrepreneur or founder on their LinkedIn profile or bragging about how many hours they work a week, like that should give them leave to be brash or abrasive. This was coined ‘hustle porn‘ and it is brilliant.
You started a business and if you’re successful, focus on growing your business, your team and if possible, the industry as well. What is disruptive today, may become the disrupted tomorrow.