Some leaders get their followers to follow them by making plans and giving orders. Transformational leaders, on the other hand, inspire their followers to follow them by encouraging change, having a passion for what they do, and motivating others. Transformational leaders lead others by changing them.
They act as mentors or coaches who guide the people they lead to solving their problems. Small business owners who are also transformational leaders may improve their chances of building successful businesses by motivating and inspiring their employees to be more passionate about the roles they play in the business. Here is a transformational leadership definition if you want something more in-depth.
1. Become more passionate about your work.
Since transformational leaders lead through excitement and enthusiasm, to become one, you must, first of all, cultivate and nurture a passion for what you do. Learn everything there is to know about your industry and the impact it has on others, your locality, your country, and the world in whole. Think about why you started a business in that industry. Apart from income, what else drew you to what you do? If you are no longer passionate about your work, then it may be time to reconsider your stand. Consider starting a business in the area you are most passionate about.
2. As a leader, consider defining a purpose for yourself and try to explain to yourself how the role you are playing helps you achieve this purpose.
For instance, you might realize that your purpose as a leader is to help young people understand or realize the importance of education. And as a textbook publishing house owner, you could use your position to achieve this goal by ensuring that all the books you publish are as engaging and active as possible. Try making others as excited about your purpose as you are and examine how each of the actions you take will help you achieve this purpose. For example, when meeting with your editorial team about the images to be used in your textbooks, you could use the opportunity to encourage them to pick and use images that will help readers engage their learning more. This way, you will be more passionate during the meeting and will lead to others viewing you as inspirational and energetic.
3. Define your values.
Take the time to consider which aspects of life and characteristics of personality are more important to you. For instance, genuine friendships and honesty might be your top values. As an entrepreneur running a small business, the American dream and the sustenance of small businesses in the country are important. Review your actions and see if the way you’ve been acting is consistent with these values. A transformational leader inspires others to be better, and it’s hard to inspire others if your actions are inconsistent with your core values. As such, if you say sustaining a small business is important but you don’t support other businesses within your locality by shopping there, then your employees probably won’t take your stand as a passionate business owner seriously. Make conscious efforts to act in accordance with your core values.
4. Consider how you act as a mentor or coach to others.
Make it a resolution to make others the focus of all your meetings instead of yourself. For instance, consider placing an emphasis on listening to what others are saying instead of talking. Ask for other people’s opinions when making major decisions. When your employees or colleagues come to you for answers or advice, request them to talk about what they were thinking or are thinking of doing before guiding them on what to do. Since you run a small business, chances are you work very closely with all of your staff. Take the time and have talks with each one of them individually and occasionally have lunch with them or have them visit you in your office just to catch up. By doing this, your employees will see you as a coach or mentor who cares about and values them. To improve your people skills, consider taking up classes in interpersonal and leadership communication.
