As the owner of your company, what steps do you take to allow your employees to be leaders in their various positions? How do you take your position of leadership and inspire others to blaze a path for themselves, smash goals and keep moving into new and exciting territory?
Shanita Akintonde
President, ShanitaSpeaks LLC
Employee engagement is often a counterintuitive process for my company, a global media enterprise that heavily relies on freelancers and a virtual assistant to ensure my workshops, keynotes, retreats and published material on branding, communication, diversity and leadership reach my primary audiences of fellow CEOs, women and young adults.
As president, my primary responsibility is to empower my team who, in turn, energize clients. But my entire employee base is never simultaneously assembled in a brick-and-mortar space. So, how does my company maintain momentum? I have distilled our winning formula into The ShaniTada! Tips for Company Success:
ShaniTaDa! Tip 1: Treat Employees like they have influence, and they will.
Everyone wants to feel appreciated, and employees are no different. Empower their personal perspectives and watch your entire organization thrive. “You don’t build a business. You build people, and people build the business.” –Zig Ziglar
ShaniTaDa! Tip 2: Remove the “Queen Bee” bonnet.
Some CEOs lose perspective when they reach the top. They forget who helps them maintain their current level of success. Do not let that be you! Approach every employee, from cleaning staff to C-Suite members, with the same caliber of respect. You can’t motivate and belittle others at the same time. Leave the “Queen Bee” bonnet on the shelf. While it might generate some honey, the sting from its adornment is often more than your company can recover from.
Cheryl Grace
Founding CEO, Powerful Penny LLC
I have more than 17 consultants and freelancers I depend on to keep my company competitive. One method that works well while reviewing and renewing annual contracts is to ask each person, “What work do you love doing the MOST? Which assignments would you like more of? Which assignments would you prefer I hire someone else to do?” This positions each person to operate from a point of passion. Since passion often fuels excellence, my team is more likely to pour more of their heart and soul into ensuring their deliverables are executed with excellence.
I inspire others by walking the talk in my own business by sharing my company’s goals, wins and losses. I divide big audacious goals – I call them Pink Elephants – into mini tasks with milestones. We celebrate even the most minuscule of wins by doing a “Happy Dance, Happy Dance!” Demonstrating the power of a positive mindset during the good and not-so-good times is the best way to keep everyone motivated toward success.
Sherri Jordan
Founder, Envision the Ladder
One of our core values is growth. This is important because we pride ourselves on the responsibility to bring out the best in others. As a leader, I transition from managing to mentoring and coaching to further enhance and improve each employee’s skill level, problem analysis and strategic thinking. This helps to promote their professional and personal growth.
Being a good leader is allowing others to lead as needed and use their voice. It’s important to lead by example and continue to learn and grow as a leader, which I encourage my employees to do as well. This not only allows them to continue to contribute to the growth of the organization and take ownership of their own journey but to also visualize limitless opportunities. We want to invest in employees to help them prepare for their next career opportunity, even if it’s not with Envision.
Jennifer Masi
Co-owner & COO, Torque
I really value and appreciate employee ownership, ideas and thoughts. One of the most satisfying times for me as an owner is when an employee takes the initiative and comes to me with ideas. Collaboration and partnership are values I hold in high regard, which helps employees feel they have support as they are growing and taking on new challenges.
I also delegate to employees so that they have opportunities to learn, grow and make something theirs. I am not a micromanager; I value mistakes and regularly let my employees know that making mistakes is a way to learn and grow. Weekly, we have an all-team meeting where staff can address issues and talk about any concerns they have. As a company, we also have weekly 1-on-1 sessions with all employees to talk about issues, concerns and areas they would like to grow into.