Pamela Beaudet - Key to Success Coaching

Copreneurs: How Do You Handle Conflict in Front of Employees?

Pamela — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:09:14 +0000

Think Your Disagreements Don’t Affect Your Employees? Guess Again.

So, you have an idea for a business and think it would be great to join forces with your partner. After all, you have a happy home life, you get along great, and you’d like to spend more time together, so wouldn’t it stand to reason that you’d make good business partners?

Ummm, sometimes yes, and sometimes no.

While there are many copreneurs, or couplepreneurs as they’re also called, who easily translate a happy marriage into a happy business relationship, others have a bumpier ride as they learn to navigate their new roles.

Your marriage and your business are two different ballgames, so to speak. The success of one doesn’t guarantee the success of the other. You can choose to RUN them in a similar fashion, however. You can take the things that work in your personal life and apply them to your business relationship. There are many areas of work and home that mirror each other, and it’s helpful to take notice of the instances where they correlate.

No relationship is without conflict. It’s how you handle it that counts. If you and your partner are running a business together, and you’re having trouble dealing with conflict, you’re not alone.

One of the common reasons that copreneurs have difficulty managing conflict at work is their failure to plan and set rules. I recommend mapping out a detailed ‘blueprint‘ of your roles and responsibilities. Include some non-negotiable rules. The best time to make the rules is before you hire employees. Of course things will come up as you go, but the more things you work out before there’s a conflict, the more likely you’ll be to keep emotions at bay.

In prior articles, I’ve mentioned that roles need to be clearly defined. Being clear about your roles is a good way to keep some sort of individuality and avoid undermining each other. I work with one couple who appeared to have this all sorted out, but now they’re stepping in and out of each other’s roles and the lines are becoming fuzzy. This practice is causing conflict and confusion among their employees.

As far as non-negotiable rules go, here’s one that I implore you to enact: Never argue in front of your team. Recently I received a comment on an article from a woman named Chris who runs a business with her husband. She said that she and her husband have been disagreeing a lot and they’ve been doing it in front of their employees. This is a HUGE ‘no-no’ (she said, wagging her finger.) Never argue in front of your team. In Chris’s case, one of her best employees is thinking of quitting because the conflict makes her very uncomfortable.

The fact that she’s thinking of quitting isn’t really surprising. The ‘boss’ is the authority figure and we all want to feel that our boss has his/her act together. We also want to feel that they deserve our respect. When you have two bosses and they argue, it hearkens back to childhood. How did you feel when your parents fought? Most kids feel insecure and uncertain. Apply that analogy to your employees. If you and your partner are arguing openly in the office, what message does that send? I’ll tell you right now that you’re injecting the insecurity and uncertainty (as if you were the parents) and it will poison your staff.

Continuing with the parent analogy, I would also suggest you make sure that your employees clearly understand your individual roles so that they can’t pit you against each other until they get the answer they’re looking for. I used to have 2 bosses- one would usually agree with me on marketing expenditures and one wouldn’t. It was unclear to me who should make marketing decisions, so I didn’t really know who to ask. So, guess who I went to each time I wanted to spend money? My attitude was “let them fight it out.” And they did. All the time. The company folded and they no longer speak. Children often do this because they want what they want, and they’ll always go to the parent who will say yes. Often, this leads to discord between mother and father, and if it becomes a frequent occurrence, it can lead to the demise of your relationship.

Can you see how your personal relationship and work relationship can mirror each other?

How do you and your partner handle disagreements in the workplace? What are some of your biggest areas of conflict?

I’d love to hear from you.

Couples in Business Together: Not Always a 50/50 Proposition

Pamela — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:52:46 +0000

Accept Short-term Challenges to Achieve Long-term Success

If you’re in business with your spouse, accept the fact that, just like marriage, copreneurship isn’t always a 50/50 proposition. There will be periods when one of you will do considerably more work than the other for the good of the business. Often, it depends on whose skills are needed for the immediate task at hand. Accept it and focus on your long-term goal for success.

Okay- for those of you who will jump on me to say “of course marriage is a 50/50 proposition,” I have to argue that, on a day to day basis, it’s really not. Over the course of your relationship, 100/100 is the goal, in that each of you should be putting 100% effort into home and business. But, for this article, I’m focusing on workload. Keep in mind that, on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis, the balance of responsibility usually shifts back and forth. Understanding this from the beginning, and working hard to keep these imbalances brief, will save you headaches down the road.

The balance of power or responsibility is just that- balance. In your business, if you’re the partner who is carrying 70% of the workload, you can’t and shouldn’t necessarily carry that load for too long. Strive to keep things proportionate. Be present in the moment. Being present for the task at hand, within the boundaries of a long term plan, will help you maintain the flexibility necessary to make both your business and marriage successful.

It’s never too late to learn this lesson. Whether you are planning to start a business or are well into it, take the time to figure out how to best distribute the work as fairly as possible. I’m going to repeat the word “proportionate!” If you find that one partner is consistently doing far more than the other in the business, you may want to reevaluate the workload. The same holds true for your marriage or friendship. Remember, you have a common goal so work hard to achieve it.

Please don’t use ‘time’ as an issue. I often hear protests that sound something like this: “Changing course takes time and we don’t have it. We have to focus on producing.” Yes, working through any issue takes time and work. I assure you, it’s worth it. A lot of the copreneurs that I coach didn’t do this work on the front end, and it caused conflict that affected their personal relationships as well as their business relationship. That’s why they turn to me. With coaching, they worked through their issues and got on more solid ground to make their business and home life flourish.

Addendum September 6th, 2011:

I’ve been reading through some of my posts and it occurs to me that there is another scenario that I should touch upon with regard to this topic.

There are instances where, if there are children involved in your personal relationship, one spouse may work part-time for the business and part-time being at home with the kids. In this instance, you would work it out when you are planning your roles. Decide on how much time will be devoted to the business and how much time will go toward the kids. If one partner is spending 5 hours at the office, his/her role should reflect that time. In other words, you can’t expect that partner to have a role that requires 8 hours a day (or more) if they only have 5 hours to do it. It may take some trial and error to figure out the right balance.

Would the spouse that’s working part time be fulfilling their share of the 50/50? In theory, yes!

Taking care of the kids is a huge responsibility and takes a lot of work. Because one partner is filling this role, it frees the other to keep plugging away at work. In time, you may get the business to a point where you can hire someone to watch the kids if that’s what you want to do. Again, trial and error. See what works best for you and your partner.

There will always be challenges that each of you will face. Perhaps one or both of you have an elderly parent that needs attention? You may need time to take care of them, take them to appointments, etc. You will always need to make provisions for your situation. Being able to navigate the challenges and still devote the time to your business is an evolving process and will take consistent re-planning and adjusting.

Respect on both sides is essential as is teamwork.

What are some of the strategies you and your partner use to balance your workload when unforeseen challenges arise?

What steps do you take to minimize conflict?

Is Bullying the New Epidemic at School and Work?

Pamela — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:24:04 +0000

The Phenomenon of Bullying in the Spotlight After A Rash of Suicides and Violence

We used to be able to spot the bully. Now, the bully can be anyone: a coworker, a boss, a client, a boy, a girl, a mother, a father, a coach, a teacher, a straight A student, the girl next door.

If you’re like me, you’re troubled by the suicide of Rutgers University student, Tyler Clementi.

Tyler Clementi was a college freshman who jumped off the George Washington Bridge last week. While all the facts haven’t come out yet, we do know that his roommate, with the help of a female friend, recorded a private encounter with another man, without his knowledge. There was a video stream on the internet, comments on Facebook, and tweets on Twitter. It was yet another act of complete cruelty and disregard for a fellow human being’s feelings, that seems to be pervasive in our society now. Everything can be caught on tape. And, in this case, it was not only caught, it was seen by many.

How would you feel if you were in Tyler Clementi’s shoes? I know that I would be angry, devastated, and humiliated.

I heard another story this week on the Today Show. A 13 year old boy named Asher Brown was harassed in school because of his height, his lisp, his ears, his love of reading, and because the bullies believed that he was gay. The harassment escalated into physical violence and the bullies pushed him down a flight of stairs. The next day, he shot himself at home in a closet.

According to Asher Brown’s parents, they reached out to the school, to the counselors, the teachers and the coaches, but got nowhere. To be fair, the school denies this. The teen was so upset by the constant bullying that he couldn’t take it anymore and ended his life.

We’ve heard a lot of these sad stories lately. There’s Josie Ratley, who was nearly beaten to death by another teen who was upset over some text messages that Josie sent. Thankfully, she will live, but she suffered brain damage.

In South Hadley, Massachusetts, Phoebe Prince was bullied by so-called mean girls and committed suicide. They called her all kinds of horrible names and constantly harassed her to her face and in the cyber world. Although allegations haven’t been substantiated, sources say that Phoebe Prince was harassed in the presence of a teacher, who did nothing about it. Again, her parents say that they reached out to school officials who did nothing.

Bullying isn’t anything new. There have always been bullies. The methods of bullying are changing and expanding. Cyberbullying is yet another way to torment people, young and old. It’s far reaching and the bully has the ability to humiliate and harass their prey to a much wider audience, sometimes hiding behind anonymity.

Is the phenomenon of bullying more pervasive or are we just hearing about it more?

Let’s look at bullying in the workplace.

It happens all the time, unfortunately. You can be bullied by a superior, a peer, a subordinate, and even by a demanding client. I’m not a psychologist, so I can’t explain why bullies do what they do. Suffice to say it’s about power yet it usually stems from insecurity, which sounds like an oxymoronic statement.

One of my friends (I’ll call her Cathy) is an account executive and is responsible for only one client. She is, in a word, a nightmare. A classic bully. She causes trouble because she can – the customer’s always right. Right? She’s never satisfied with anything that Cathy or her staff does until she has nitpicked them to death. It’s usually something very trivial. Cathy happens to be very strong and doesn’t let this woman get the best of her. But she has people working for her who are younger and just starting out. This client chews them up and spits them out on a regular basis. This costs Cathy valuable time because she has to spend time rebuilding her team’s self esteem! One of her favorite account reps even quit because she couldn’t take the abuse anymore.

You might be asking why Cathy’s firm doesn’t get rid of the client. It’s because the company that the client works for is SO big, that they can’t afford to drop the account, and the bully knows this. That’s their typical M.O.. Most of them do what they do because they know that their target isn’t in a position to fight back.

Bullies like this woman cause so much damage and probably don’t even realize it and most likely wouldn’t change their behavior even if they did realize it. That statement is very ‘un-coach-like,’ and I know from my years in the corporate world that it’s true, so I will say it unabashedly.

Think about your experience in the corporate world. Have you come across bullies? If you own a business, do you have any clients/customers who are bullies?

How do you handle it?

I’d love to hear from you.

In Business With Your Partner? Clearly Define Your Roles!

Pamela — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:32:12 +0000

At Home And In Business, Divvy Up The Tasks

In your home, how do you divide the tasks? By ability? By likes and dislikes? By availability? By default?

If you’re like most people, you probably use a combination of the above to figure out who does what around the house. In my house, we divided up our roles a long time ago. We’ve swapped a few times, too. Some of the things we do are based on our abilities, some are things one of us likes to to more than the other, and some we each get “stuck with” by default. It’s not always a 50/50 proposition.

When I work with couples who want to balance home and work, I find that many of them are frustrated because their roles aren’t clearly defined and relatively balanced. Naturally, neither of you wants to feel as though you’re doing all the work at home or in your business. Resentment can build in both the boardroom and the bedroom when the work isn’t fairly divided. Although I encourage my clients to maintain healthy boundaries between home and business, feelings carry over- we’re only human.

Before you and your partner start a business together, hold a brainstorming session. Write down everything you can possibly think of that needs to be done to start and maintain your business. Figure out what each of you does best and define your roles in as much detail as possible to avoid overlap and unwittingly undermining each other.

What do you like to do? What are you better at doing than your partner? What are you available to do? And, what do you have to do, by default?

Start with the important roles, and then work your way to down to the administrivia like who buys the office supplies! One of you may be better at marketing and social media, while the other is better with technical end of the business. Who is better with money? Perhaps they should pay the bills and do the accounting. Who is better at handling clients? They should be the ‘face’ of your business.

Go with your strengths first, and divide the tasks as best you can. Then go back and see what’s left on the list. You’ll probably have plenty of things that neither of you enjoy doing, so split them. Avoid the temptation of ignoring those things because they’ll only come back to bite you in the end.

When you’re in the right role, things naturally flow better in the board room and the bedroom!

How do you and your partner go about dividing the work at home and in your business?

Risk Tolerance: Figure It Out Before Starting a Business

Pamela — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:25:00 +0000

For Couples in Business Together, Knowing Your Financial Limits Could Save Your Relationship

In my last post, I advised couples in business together to determine their risk tolerance.

I’m not a financial risk-taker. My risk tolerance is very low. I wouldn’t go to Las Vegas to gamble because losing money keeps me up at night. My husband, on the other hand, has a higher risk tolerance. If we started a business together, he’d be fine with having all our eggs in one basket, whereas I wouldn’t.

So, why is important for couples in business together to determine their risk tolerance?

Because business decisions are often financial decisions and the number one thing that most couples fight about is money and the handling of finances. If one partner is a risk taker and the other is a conservative spender and you then merge your professional lives, you could run into major problems. Your risk tolerance may never be the same, and that’s okay as long as you and your partner find a happy medium. If you can’t, you may want to reassess your plans in order to avoid heartache down the road.

Figure out what dollar amount you’re able and willing to invest in your business and stick to it. Discuss how long you can comfortably pay the bills until you start turning a profit and stick to that. Decide on how much you need to keep in savings (for your own peace of mind) and agree not to spend that money.

Resist the temptation to fund your business with your credit card. If you and your partner start out with a large amount of debt, you’re only adding to your stress right out of the gate. Credit card debt hurts start-up businesses. The statistics are interesting. And, for couples, it’s more than your business on the line- it’s your relationship.

For on-going monthly expenses, you’ll want to get a business credit card or charge card. Decide what your limit on that credit card should be and stick to it (I feel like a broken record). American Express has quite a few cards for small businesses like the Plum Card, and the Simply Cash card.

Have you and your partner discussed your risk tolerance? What did you learn?

Couples In Business Together: 5 Things to Consider

Pamela — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:59:15 +0000

Lay The Ground Work Now to Avoid Conflict Later

So you’ve decided to start a business with a partner- you want to be copreneurs. You come up with a business plan, set your goals, and work out your physical office space. It’s time to get to work and make your business successful. Now what?

Running a successful business is never easy. Fast money and working 4 hours per week is only a reality on the infomercials that you see at 3:00 in the morning (oh, and in the emails of the internet marketing people who bombard you with ‘get rich quick schemes,’ but that’s a topic for another day).

Running a business with your partner is even more difficult. It takes true team work. Team work is something that most of us learn as we make our way through school and into our professional lives. Team work is one thing, but couples in business work together and go home together everyday, and that requires team work on steroids. Couples in business together have two personalities, two skill sets, two egos, relationships outside of work, and possibly a marriage and children. That’s a lot to navigate.

Most copreneurial challenges are overcome with hard work, determination, communication, and good business coaching.

For the purpose of full disclosure, my husband and I aren’t copreneurs. Based on how we get along and the fact that we have very different, complementary skills, I honestly think we’d be one of the great couples in business together. However, my risk tolerance is low, so I wouldn’t function well if we had all of our eggs in one basket.

I have, however, coached many copreneurs and some distinct patterns have definitely emerged. I find that many of my clients haven’t worked out the details of their roles and responsibilities before they start their businesses. That’s where I find that my coaching services are most helpful (and I think they would agree.) I learn a lot just by listening to my clients argue for awhile.

In business, as in marriage, you and your partner will have disagreements. There is some work you can do on the front-end to minimize conflict.

Here is a short list of 5 things to consider when working with a partner:

Determine your risk tolerance. Figure out what you’re able and willing to spend to get your business off the ground and stick to it.
Figure out what each one of you does best. Define your roles in as much detail as possible to avoid overlap.
Accept the fact that, just like marriage, copreneurship isn’t always a 50-50 proposition.
Deliver constructive feedback in a way that your partner will be able to receive it.
Make sure that your goals and vision for the company are aligned.

I’ll expand on each bullet point in future posts. Of course, this is just a partial list. And yes, working through this list takes time and work. It’s worth it. A lot of the copreneurs that I coach didn’t do this work on the front end, and it caused conflict that affected their personal relationships as well as their business relationship. With coaching, the copreneurs worked through their issues and got on more solid ground to make their business flourish.

What steps have you and your partner taken to build team work and minimize conflict?

Copreneurs: Stay Aligned With Your Business Goals

Pamela — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 18:15:21 +0000

Avoid Unwittingly Undermining Each Other

How do successful copreneurs avoid undermining each other? Communicate, communicate, communicate.

One of many challenges facing copreneurs is staying focused on a common goal (success) and setting priorities to achieve it. Each partner has their own work style. Often this leads to each person going down his own path, hoping to meet in the middle. It’s actually OK to go down your own paths, as long as you know each other’s route and you make sure to meet at a certain check points. Working toward a common goal takes constant effort. You can’t just muddle through your day and expect to stay aligned with your partner.

When I work with copreneurs, I start with a request for each partner to clarify his/her goals for the business, in order of importance. We then compare the lists and it’s interesting to see the similarities and differences. At the top of each list is usually the common goal of making money, which isn’t too surprising. Goals 2, 3, 4, and 5 can be similar, but are often listed in a completely different order. This disparity often causes copreneurs to unwittingly undermine each other.

Copreneurs need to be on the same page when it comes to priorities. When your goals for the company are in sync, and your path to reach those goals is clear, you build a better foundation. You need to remember that you’re part of a team and both of you have a role. Avoid overlapping efforts or ignoring something altogether by constantly communicating and clarifying roles.

Think of your business as a living, breathing thing. Let’s call it a plant. Plants need sun, water, and plant food (and if you’re so inclined, it needs sweet talk). However, if you water it every day, it could die. If you forget to water it for too many days, it could die. If you feed it too much, it could die. If you talk to it too much….well…you probably need to get out and socialize more. Bottom line- it takes care to make your plant grow.

Now suppose that you and your partner are both caring for the plant but neither of you knows what the other is doing or when. You could both water it, both feed it, both forget to water it- you get the point. Either way, despite your good intentions, it’s not good for the plant.

Work together to keep your list of business goals in sync. You are copreneurs, and you are individuals, so the way you reach your goals may be different, which is OK as long as the right hand knows what the left hand is doing. Constantly define your goals and your strategy to reach them, and realize that both may change as you take action. Finally, you each need to play to your strengths, which I’ll cover in a future post.

Communicate, communicate, communicate. I’ve said that many times, and it’s worth saying again and again.

How do you and your partner keep your goals and priorities aligned?

Who’s YOUR Business Coach?

Pamela — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:49:16 +0000

In Tough Economy, Hiring a Business Coach Isn’t a Luxury Anymore

The times, they are a changin: five years ago when I decided to become a coach, my friends had no idea what I was talking about. As I went through training at iPEC, I was assured that things would change, and the tipping point would come. Soon people would stop asking “what’s a business coach” and start asking “who’s your business coach?” Well, that time has come. It seems almost counter-intuitive in a recession, but it’s true.

The most successful entrepreneurs know they need new tools for new times, and recognize the importance of having a partner to help them develop those tools faster. As your coach, I’ll help you quickly identify your goals and values so they’re reflected in everything you do-whether in your business or personal life. You’ll learn how to lead with your strengths and gain the clarity to focus on tasks that allow you to be a visionary leader who can thrive in this changing economy.

Whether you’re an executive at a large company, or a small business owner, you’re under pressure to quickly implement the initiatives that will bring you the best ROI. Because many businesses are operating with smaller staffs and tight budgets, every decision counts. You must engage and utilize your employees in a whole new way. This means identifying and developing your strengths as well as those of the people who report to you. When you work with me, you’ll be equipped to flourish in this new climate.

And, you’ll be able to answer when asked “So, who’s YOUR coach?”

The Sandwich Generation: Caring for Kids and Aging Parents

Pamela — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 22:14:51 +0000

As Baby Boomers Age, Many Gen-X’ers Will Find Themselves In The Sandwich Generation

I haven’t posted one article since February. Not one.

I have done zero marketing.

I have done no networking.

Where have I been? What have I been doing?

I’ve been adjusting to my new reality and I have to admit, I’m not doing a great job of balancing everything at the moment. My coach peers and clients will be shocked to hear this!

I am part of a growing group of people called the Sandwich Generation. What is the Sandwich Generation? According to Wikipedia, the Sandwich Generation is a generation of people who care for their aging parents while supporting their own children. In my case, I have a 6 year old son and parents who are in their late 70′s and early 80′s. The trend will grow because more people are having kids later in life. My mother was 21 when she had my sister whereas I was 37 when I had my son. The growth of the Sandwich Generation can also be attributed to the fact that the Baby Boomers are just reaching retirement age.

Sandwich Generation?? I belong to Generation X, or “Gen X.” Being part of Gen X is cool. Ya know- rebellion, apathy, angst, punk, and grunge. There is nothing sexy about a Sandwich Generation. Just the name alone is dull.

Being part of the Sandwich Generation brings a whole new dimension of hard choices. It’s no secret that women, mothers in particular, have been faced with the age-old decision of going to work, staying home to raise their children, or doing both. Now, a lot of us have added another thing to our plates: caring for our parents. I speak for myself and many of my friends when I say we’re stretched to the limit.

When I was a simple Gen-X woman, I created a nice balance of home and career. Then, last year, my father had a terrible fall which had a snowball effect. After months of hospitalization and rehab, he returned home and needed a lot of care in the beginning. My older sister and brother (Baby Boomers), and I were thrust into unfamiliar territory, and we were scared. None of us knew how to handle our new status as caregivers.

My initiation into the Sandwich Generation came before I was ready for it. One minute, I was enjoying ‘breakfast’ and all of a sudden someone decided it was time for ‘lunch’: the first piece of bread was placed on my plate and the peanut butter was being applied liberally.

When my father had his initial fall, I had a very demanding job, coaching for a company called StomperNet. I worked from my home office and most days I worked 12 hours. No one in my family could predict what his care requirements would be. I am the only one is home during the day if he should need me. My siblings don’t have that flexibility and work at least 30 minutes from my parents’ house. I had to make a choice. I decided to leave StomperNet.

After a few months, I got into a rhythm, delicately balancing work, child, husband, and parental care.

Then…….WHAM! My mother needed lung surgery. After what seemed like endless doctor’s appointments, she had surgery on March 1st of this year. She spent time at my house and at my sister’s house, convalescing, and there were many follow-up doctors’ visits. Her road to recovery was long and painful. She needed me and my siblings. At the same time, my father needed us as well.

I felt out of control. The jelly was spread on the other piece of bread. My initiation into the Sandwich Generation was complete.

What my girlfriends and I are experiencing is a loss of control over some aspects of our lives, which is unfamiliar territory for a bunch of alpha-females who are also Gen-X ‘ers. We have a feeling of helplessness as we watch our beloved parents age, their bodies betraying them at times. We can’t control that. It’s like the feeling when you see your child fall and hurt themselves- you can kiss their boo boo’s but you can’t prevent them from getting hurt in the first place, literally and figuratively. We can’t control that either.

Things are calming down for me a little. My mother is driving again and has returned to work on a sporadic basis, which allows me more time to get back into my groove. Expanding my business had to be put on the back burner for awhile, and now it’s time to dust myself off and regroup before the next tidal wave hits.

I am planning to start a support group for my Gen-X friends who have also joined the Sandwich Generation. We love our children. We love our parents. We know that we need to nurture our marriages, careers, and most importantly, our souls. We are not alone and we’ll figure this out together. We’re only in our early (ok, approaching mid) forties and we weren’t ready to swap Gen-X for the Sandwich Generation, but here we are.

Yes, sometimes it feels like a burden, and many times, it feels like a privilege to care for the parents that lovingly cared for us for so many years. When our parents pass on, we’ll no longer be the peanut butter and jelly between two pieces of bread. We’ll be sad when we lose our parents someday, and we’ll have the comfort of knowing that we did our best for them. Lunch will be over and it will be time for dinner and then dessert.

It’s the circle of life.

We’ll handle it. After all we are Gen-X’ers, and we’re made of tough stuff.

Employees Who Care Are Secret to Success

Pamela — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:42:26 +0000

Create High-Performing Employees Who Are Connected to the Success of Your Company

When you hear the term ‘emotionally connected’ you probably think of personal relationships. You can also be emotionally connected to your work, a goal, or an outcome. Think of how much more productive and harmonious the workplace would be if we could all be connected to our work. What can small business owners do to create this positive atmosphere? It takes dedication and the rewards are immense in so many ways. Here’s a good start:

Hire The Right Fit for the Position

Matching the right person to the right job is critical. When employees lead with their strengths, they tend to be more engaged performers who are committed to the goals of the company. When you avoid micromanaging and allow them to think, troubleshoot, and participate, they build an emotional connection to their work which contributes to the success of your business.

Clearly Communicate Your Vision

Clear communication is crucial. If you’ve been reading my posts, you’ll notice that I’ve said this ad nauseam. As the leader, sharing your vision for the company is even more important when you have under 10 employees. You must get everyone on the same page and connected to the outcome of each project and the overall success of the business. Clearly articulate your goals, so that they have something to work toward. Don’t overlook the need for a strategic business plan and a mission statement. Great businesses aren’t created solely from great ideas. You need more than that to succeed.

Be Laser Focused

As the owner of the business, success starts with you: you are the leader and leaders need focus. I tease some of my clients for having ‘shiny object syndrome,’ or SOS. I see it soooooo often. Leaders get distracted by the latest time-saving gadgets, new programs, and new ideas. While it’s great to evolve, constantly changing direction or jumping from new idea to new idea can be very confusing to your employees and it can keep you from sticking to the basics of good business. When you change your focus all the time, the people who work for you get frustrated because they never know what to expect. This can also breed mistrust.

Do your employees know what your mission is and your strategy to achieve that mission? If not, how can you convey it to them and make them part of it? I would argue that you have to say it clearly and frequently.

Meet With Your Employees Often

Holding regular meetings, even if they’re brief, keeps your team informed of what you want to accomplish and what’s expected of them. If they’re having any challenges, encourage them to speak up during the meeting and invite others to help come up with solutions. This can take the pressure off of you to solve everything, while empowering employees, and building cohesion within the group. It also gives individuals an opportunity to display their problem solving skills which could be helpful to you as you expand and find new roles for people. When your employees feel that their input is appreciated, it allows them to feel more emotionally connected to the company.

Don’t Allow Apathy to Permeate Your Team

Emotional connectedness is something that a lot of leaders ignore. Taking people along for the ride allows them to contribute to your corporate vision, and helps you to lessen the risk of creating apathy among your employees. When you only have a few employees, it only takes one apathetic individual to put a cog in the wheel of your progress. An apathetic employee will be detached and disconnected from the success of the company, and their work will reflect their attitude. Don’t underestimate the value of getting 100% employee buy-in. I’m not saying that it’s easy, but it is achievable. Doing the work up-front in the hiring process can save you headaches down the road. And, if you do make the wrong choice, know when to cut that employee loose. They’ll only infect the others.

A great leader is one who can harness the collective talent of all their employees and steer them toward a common goal- the success of the business.

What things do you do to make your employees feel emotionally connected to the company?