Business Tips from SCORE: Local bosses offer ideas on how to be a great leader
Cape Cod Times
5 min read
As we start the new year, we thought we would ask local business leaders their advice on leadership. This is a two-part series.
Kim Mead Walters, MD, Executive Director, Sharing Kindness
Set clear goals. It helps everyone on our team, or in a work group with other community partners, stay on task, with a focus on a shared vision. Find a mentor(s). As a newer nonprofit we have had the good fortune to have a number of mentors — some business mentors here on Cape that have shared both regarding the growth of their nonprofit organizations, and points of connections with ours. And off Cape, two bereavement centers that have shared with us their successes and challenges when they were in a similar development phase. Practice being a good listener. Active listening is a critical skill. Maintaining eye contact, putting down distractions and listening attentively shows that you value what your employee or volunteer has to say. Stay calm under pressure and demonstrate clear, thoughtful decisions and flexibility. Three weeks after we furnished and moved in our first rental space there was a flood. We were out of half of our rental space for 6 months. We stayed calm, made thoughtful, not impulsive, decisions - and this helped our grief group participants, and our staff, stay calm too.
Lisa Oliver, Chairman of the Board, President & CEO, The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod
Never assume you are the smartest person at the table: Just because you have the biggest title, or in the case of small business, the most personal capital at stake, doesn’t mean you know everything. Surround yourself with great talent – sales, marketing, human resources, donor development, technology – and then become the most curious person in the room. Ask questions and listen. It’s very difficult to motivate someone who is not motivated. But you can inspire through story-telling and painting a picture of the future to create greater success. Use the phrase “Imagine if …” to create a tangible view of the future which will galvanize a team. Be an authentic and humble leader. No one wants to work for someone who exists behind a façade or for their own personal moment of stardom. You want someone who shares their wins and owns their losses in a public and humanizing way; who makes a point of showing appreciation for even the smallest of contributions; and let people know that you rely on their input to inform your decisions. Be the boss you have most admired and avoid the pitfalls of the lousy bosses you endured. People generally don’t leave a job because of money. They leave the leader.
David Troutman, Co-Owner, Scargo Cafe
Express your gratitude, (with words). Everyone wants to be appreciated. They want to be wanted and needed. They want to be recognized for their efforts. Express your appreciation and they will strive to do more things that warrant further recognition. By being specific in your praise, you are communicating what you value. They will know better what pleases you. Listen attentively. Humans want to be heard. They want their perspective to be valued. Even if you don't agree, there may be an element of what is shared that is valuable to you. They may represent a popular sentiment of the larger staff for which you may need to deal with. Even if you are not going to act on their message, you can later address the reasons you chose not to. You can't fully address their concerns if you haven't fully heard them. Avoid being reactive. People will avoid being the bearer of bad news if they are going to be punished with a tirade. Often the news is something you need to know. Everyone is human, they make mistakes. Mistakes are teachable moments. Help them avoid repeating a mistake by processing calmly how it might be handled in the future rather than criticizing in the moment. Trust your people. They will live up to what you expect from them. Cameras and controls are great but nothing is a better hedge against theft or abuse than a loyal staff that feels appreciated and trusted. They'll do anything to protect what they have. Invest in your team. Give them an opportunity to learn and grow. Cross train to strengthen the team. Give them a better understanding of how things work. Keep them from getting bored or stagnant. Allow them to see a future to strive for. Give them even more opportunities for praise (see suggestion #1).
Tony Shepley, President, Shepley Wood Products
None of us are born leaders, we develop as leaders and it takes time, experience, dedication, and effort. We believe the best leaders are evolving leaders who stay flexible enough to learn from their experience and can use lessons learned to improve their effectiveness along the journey. We have been working on asking more questions rather than just giving orders. We want to pull people in to develop their leadership skills. The challenge of a question can be more effective than simply executing a command. Generationally speaking, we believe younger workers want to be more informed and included. Years ago, it was more of a “do it because I told you so” but today, people want to understand the why and want to feel included in the process rather than just standing on the sidelines. We need to take the time to inform and include Lastly, in the spirit of the holidays, don’t all of us want to be appreciated? As leaders, it is really important to connect with people emotionally and to show our appreciation for what they do. We have to work on being approachable and to put others before ourselves. Leaders should eat last!
Contributed by Marc L. Goldberg, Certified Mentor, SCORE Cape Cod & the Islands, www.score.org/capecod, 508/775-4884. Free and confidential mentoring and educational webinars. Sources: Thanks to our community leaders for their contribution. Stay tuned for next week’s column.
