As a franchisee, the people you have in your team look to you as a leader for direction. Your interpersonal skills and overall leadership ability will dictate much of the success of your enterprise, so how is yours? In this blog, we look at the qualities you’ll need to strengthen to do just that.
Why Is It Important To Have Good Leaders?
All businesses need good leaders, as someone needs to dictate operations and how everything is run. The leadership provided can resonate throughout your business, helping to provide direction and purpose while also motivating your team to share your passion for success. Without good leaders, a business is invariably rudderless and adrift.
What Does It Take To Be A Good Leader?
You may have heard the term ‘born leader’, which suggests that leadership abilities are somehow innate and in a person’s DNA. Studies suggest that this is only partly true, with 30% of the talent being genetic and 70% being through learning. This means that it’s a skill that can be taught through tafe online courses or experience.
So, now it’s time to delve into five personal traits that most great leaders will have. Let’s dig in.
Trait #1 - If A Leader Is Decisive:
Want to develop your leadership abilities to propel your franchise forwards? Unsure about what area of yourself you should concentrate on? If so, this article is for you as we examine the aspects of your development that need to be focused on to achieve your professional ambitions.
As a leader, you’ll be required to make decisions that affect everyone in your business. Whether deciding on your online recruitment strategy or which products to sell, it’s on you to make those critical calls. The thing is, it’s often not an A vs B choice, with a multitude of options to select from.
What you need to develop is an ability to assess what’s available and make an informed decision quickly, whether it be on your feet or otherwise.
Trait #2 - If A Leader Is Empathetic:
To lead people, you must first understand them; to do this; you need empathy. When you can put yourself in another’s shoes and see the world as they do, you’re better equipped to respond to their needs and support them. This allows for stronger relationships to be built between you and your staff, often making them work harder because of the respect they have for you.
Trait #3 - If A Leader Has Awareness:
In order to make wise decisions as a leader, it requires one of the most overlooked interpersonal skills - is awareness. This includes being aware of yourself, the actions of others and the general state of play within your franchise business.
Also, knowing how your staff are feeling (motivated, unmotivated, aggrieved, valued etc.) will allow you to take any necessary steps. If you don’t know about a problem, you won’t be able to fix it.
Trait #4 - If A Leader Optimistic:
Things can get tricky sometimes when you’re running an entire franchise, so when this happens, you have a choice about how you’re going to react. You can either let it get you down and sour those around you or take it on the chin and remain positive in your work.
Great leaders can rise above adversity, regardless of how hard things get. This isn’t an ability you can learn from short courses online - it’s just a state of mind that it pays to have.
Trait #5 - If A Leader Is Honest:
Another leadership quality that can’t be learnt from a textbook is honesty. The trust between an employer and their staff can be a fragile thing, especially if you’re not honest with people. It’s something that also applies in real life. Good leaders will aim for transparency consistently.
Why? Because it’s the only sensible way to run a business. You have enough on your plate as a leader without having to constantly cover up the mistruths you’ve told.
Be A Strong Leader! Study With A Short Course Online:
Don’t fret if you feel that your leadership qualities aren’t where they should be because, as we’ve seen, they can be developed. Moreover, the easiest way to do that is through CPD Endorsed short leadership courses online from OCA, like our excellent value Leadership Skills Bundle.
Delivered in easily-digestible video modules and coming with 1 to 1 mentoring and 24/7 tutorial support, ours is next-level learning. Need convincing? Just take a look at our Student Study Demo, which offers an insight into the highly-stimulating experience we offer.
Alternatively, to see the entire course library that covers 20+ industries visit us today at www.onlinecoursesaustralia.edu.au. There you’ll also find our flexible payment options that allow you to spread the cost in a way that suits you.
To get in touch with us about enrolment or anything else, call us on 1300 611 404 or email us at [email protected], and we’ll be happy to assist in any way we can.
