Goodhearted Business Owner: Team Management

By Christina Suter on Nov 12, 2016 at 10:55 AM in Business Issues
Goodhearted Business Owner: Team Management

You believe in making a difference on the planet, being kind to your employees, and the benefits of running a business; you are a goodhearted business owner. Managing your team as a goodhearted business owner means you want to take care of your team and you want to be good, kind, and make your team feel welcomed and valued and you excel in that.

Are you being overly goodhearted?

Your desire to be a godhearted business owner might be thwarted by your sense of overwhelm or that you give your employees too much control over their schedule in the name of being understanding. Having the expectation that your employees will work like you is not going to lead you and them to having a satisfying relationship. Your employees rely on you to give them their paycheck and they count on you to be their boss; if you're overwhelmed, scared of not having enough money to pay them, etc. It's actually kinder to keep a sense of balance when it comes to conversations with your employees.

Just like I talked about in the post last week, draw the line between being friendly and a friend. Protect them and filter what they need to know and keep things that will add to their stress or fear to yourself, don't pass your state of overwhelm on to them. Be clear on what you hired an employee for. To keep the business going things have to happen so when your plate is full you may be tempted to want to pass work off to your employee, which will cause confusion. You pay your employees a job description and pay based on that when you hire them, so if you add on jobs you have to add on pay or remove work to allow space for the new task. 

Time Management

Time Management is about managing your tasks and within that are some secrets to how you manage your employees. Log the projects you've delivered to your team members and be available to them to help them get their project done. Delegate the project so the employee feels in charge of it and they can be confident that they can contribute and their vision of the project is carried out. Agree on the timeline of when the project is due and before it's due have at a scheduled meeting for updates and revisions. 

Having a solid time management system that includes your team shows your employees that they are accountable and gives them an opportunity to be successful. 

Compensation

I can't tell you how many times I've heard small business owners say they want to compensate their employees well and let them know they're appreciated. What you should take into account is whether the compensation you're giving your employee is fair. Are they being paid within the range of others doing their same job? There's a point where you don't get greater work for greater pay. 

It is your job as the leader to have a fiscally sound business. You're the only one who knows what's fiscally sound and you promised your employees that you'd keep paying them. The way you keep the doors open is to make sure you aren't paying them too much, that you offer them a fair compensation for the work they do. A goodhearted business owner offers fair and attractive compensation.