In the past, we’ve talked about how hiring the best and focusing on the things that matter are among the 7 leadership keys to startup survival. Having good leadership and management skills can really help you navigate through the challenges on the market as well as help your startup grow at a steady rate.
Gaining the right leadership and management skills is not a difficult thing to do too. There are several things you can do to be the best leader for your team and we are going to review them in this article:
Get Everyone Involved.
Instead of maintaining a one-way, top-to-bottom communication, one of the best ways to improve your management skills is by getting everyone involved. Before you make critical decisions, let employees and members of the team pitch their ideas.
Employees have insights and knowledge you don’t always get as a manager or CEO. They are involved in the day-to-day operations of the business. They also deal with customers and often have knowledge on how customers interact with your products.
All you have to do to tap into these insights is provide the environment for employees to contribute more ideas. You’ll be surprised by how much you can learn from them; you’ll be a much better manager at the end of this process. Let them tell their side of the story and learn from them.
Learn New Skills Formally.
Another great way to improve your management skills is by going back to school. Sometimes, the best skills are learnt from formal education. Fortunately, you don’t have to leave your business and be a fulltime student to be able to pursue a master’s degree in business administration.
You can now apply for an MBA course online. Thanks to the best online courses available, you can get an online MBA in Portland – from Concordia University nonetheless – from the comfort of your office. The course will help you learn new skills on general business management, risk management, financial management and various other critical subjects.
Finish the course, get the MBA degree and you’ll be ready to tackle more challenges. The MBA means you have what it takes to be more efficient with project management as well as be a better leader in general.
Jump Right In.
One last thing to keep in mind when you want to improve your leadership and management skills is your level of involvement. Most startups owners and CEOs are too busy with meetings and trying to make the right deals; they often forget about the thrills of actually running a startup and getting involved in the day-to-day operations of the business.
To be a great leader, you need to start doing the opposite. Spend a few days a week at the office and get involved with the projects your business is handling. You don’t even have to lead the projects or take big responsibilities. You can simply tag along and observe, provide ideas whenever you have them and be a team member.
The more you know your projects and operations, the more you will understand the essentials. Once you do, becoming a better leader and management will be very easy to do.
