By Chelsea Ellis
Studying business, leaders, and different industries I've noticed the trends that take place when you have amazing leadership. & I realized the strategic moves that they make in order to keep everything fresh, new, and exciting for those involved. I also realized what could take place when you don't have the right leadership in charge when trying to run an organization. Or even cases when you don't bring in fresh new people that relate to what's going on in the advancement taking place in the world. As a leader in our asphalt company Jim Reynolds Asphalt Contractor, Inc. I've always tried my best to study how to be of service to our employees, customers, and community. I realized that the more I gave positivity and leadership skills to the people around me the more we could all work better together. A lot of times we get stuck in our leadership roles and don't realize when it's time to bring in new leadership or change our roles in order to just NOT LOSE THE LOCKER ROOM. For example, Jeff Bezos just stepped down as CEO of Amazon to transition to the executive chair. This simple switch had headlines talking all day! It also probably has the employees at Amazon wonder what's next since we have this new leadership? If presented well it can make for an exciting time for the company to realize that this is a new chapter for them! You could be a company with amazing employees but if your leadership team doesn't know how to control the "locker room" aka their team or employees the amazing skills they possess could go unnoticed. I want to share with you the different things I've learned and observed that works when trying to keep your business flowing in the right direction without losing the "locker room".
1. New Leadership When Needed As leaders in your company, you should pay close attention and study other successful businesses.
Ask yourself:
- What has Mcdonald's done to stay relevant this long?
- What has Walmart done to make sure they built a strong business that could continue for so long?
- Why would Jeff Bezos step down as CEO of such a successful company?
It takes studying business, people, industries, and more so that you can know what to do and when to do it.
& Sometimes when you do your research you may realize it's time for a new fresh face to your business.
For example, I am the third-generation owner of my family's asphalt maintenance company. I could've stayed an employee only and worked for the company for the rest of my life and not been in a leadership position if I wanted to. But after studying the market and the changes we knew would take place in the industry and world we knew it would be of benefit for our company to have a minority and woman owner.
Due to that my father Samuel Ellis and I began strategically planning how I could make the transition to leadership not only to benefit the company in regards to getting more work but also knew it could benefit our employees too.
We've built a culture of "if I can do it, you can do it too"
So instead of our employees having an older male leader only telling them what to do, they have a 25-year-old African American woman who's in the construction industry. We use that to our advantage to let them know "If Chelsea can do this you can too". That positive view allows me to uplift the guys who come to work and feel like they truly play apart in the success of the business. They also realize that the same way I was able to advance within the company without a college degree they can grow and advance as individuals in whatever stage of life they are in.
2. Communicate
Regular communication can help you make sure you aren't losing the locker room as well. I recommend having daily, monthly and quarterly meetings with your employees individually and as a team. This communication can help you to get to know your employees and their goals. Once you know their goals you are able to make mental notes on what you and your company can do to help them reach their goals. The goal could be something simple as getting better at a certain work task, learning how to budget, or saving up for a new car.
If you come up with a game plan that helps them reach their goals I promise you it will help you keep more loyal employees. Not only will it help you keep employees it can also help them learn the skills they need to advance in your industry! We all thrive to have a career or job that adds to our life so it is up to you as a leader to make sure your company is providing those opportunities to its employees.
3. Be a Coachable Coach
The moment you stop being coachable is the moment that energy can trickle down throughout your company. So always find new ways to learn strategies that can help you and your team grow. The best way to lead is by example so when you show your employees that you are coachable that will make them even more comfortable taking advice from you consistently as a leader.
Even if you know a lot always remember no one likes a "know it all". So be okay with leading from the front or putting others in a position to lead your company from the front for you! I promise structuring your leadership in that way will lead to consistent growth and your business reinventing itself as needed.
When speaking on the topic of not losing the locker room it truly can relate to anything. A coach on a sports team, a CEO of a company, or even a parent trying to raise their kids.
So my question to you is, what will you do to not lose YOUR locker room? For more information contact us here.
