5 minute read
Leadership By David Watts
When there is so much you cannot control it can be quite overwhelming to pay attention to the things you can. While trying to keep sane and hold things together during these crazy times, one of the critical chances you have is to lead your business through the changing landscape.
Leadership is a subject that has been comprehensively written about, yet it is something that many salon owners find confronting, which makes perfect sense to me. Everyone sees leadership through a different lens and despite a sharp dictionary definition, how to action it is as clear as mud.
Advertisement
Bosses, politicians, colleagues, sport coaches, teachers, friends or stars throughout your life have been leaders to you. There would have been some who inspired, motivated and encouraged you, just the memory of them probably brings back amazing feelings. Unfortunately, we all remember those who were the opposite, you probably rolled your eyes at them and felt awful every time they spoke, to you they were anything but a leader.
Your growth as a leader is heavily influenced by these past experiences. Subconsciously you will have adopted some of these behaviours and will be using them when working with your team… yes, the good and bad!
The other dilemma at play is the salon owners who have developed a hesitancy of asserting leadership, this reluctance is destroying accountability as owners fear the impact on relationships with their team. A lack of accountability in your salon is toxic, it will ultimately create numerous difficulties.
It is important to remember the good and bad feelings you have experienced from other leaders as these are identical to the feelings your team will have under your leadership. Salons are a fastpaced environment under pressure, this atmosphere often leads to poor leadership decisions.
I want to note that I do not know any salon owners who get out of bed each day and tell themselves “Today I will be a crappy leader,” that is extremely far-fetched, luckily, I do know plenty of owners that say, “How can I be better?” This is where the magic happens can happen, a desire to grow and embark on a new leadership journey will see your salon and team thriving.
If it is your time to up your leadership game let me begin by being bold, it cannot be learned from a book, it is essentially up to how dedicated you are to make changes. You can read about any topic and gain knowledge but to truly master something you must action it in your salon daily, you will require a high level of commitment to growth. A hairdresser cannot buy a new pair of scissors and miraculously become an award-winning stylist, so you cannot expect to read this article and become a celebrated leader.
Create a judgement free workplace.
Our workplaces are creative, full of fresh ideas and bold personalities, combined with good structures this is a recipe for success and beautiful work. Now throw in a strong salon leader and you become unstoppable, the culture you build needs to eliminate blame, perfectionism and shame; this will give your team the confidence they need to be innovative.
Don’t be perfect, be real.
Communication with your team is valuable, however, to be a good leader you must be a good listener, instead of listening to answer you must listen to understand. A powerful secret weapon for you is to ask more questions, this will encourage better conversation and allow your team to feel valued. You should compare how much telling and asking you do then ensure you are questioning more.
Your team is craving honesty and authenticity, you need to welcome and encourage direct feedback.
Your ability to build confidence in your team will create excellence among them. Great leaders take responsibility for bringing out the best in others. Your team will often need assistance to see how they can improve and develop their skills, being more capable in their roles is a great builder of confidence. You do not need to be their coach, mentor, trainer or counsellor you are their leader, someone who takes pieces of those roles to develop stronger people.
Make your dream your destination.
Every business large and small needs to know where it is heading, for your team this allows them to find their place in the journey. As a leader you must focus on the future and how your salon is going to make things better. This vision needs to be shared, your people need to be on the same page, it needs to match their hopes and desires. If you work with team to create this vision, they will embrace it and enthusiastically show it in their work. You need to make sure everything that happens in the salon has a reason, people will feel responsible for working towards the vision.
Head, heart or gut? How do you make decisions?
Emotional intelligence is about identifying and handling emotions in yourself and others, without a doubt you need this as a leader. Where you can supersize your leadership is to push yourself further and explore emotional health, understanding more about yourself and what make your people tick, how they make decisions and the impact this has on their work. We are in the service industry, without doubt salon owners are people who like people and stronger relationships will make your job easier.
Your quality will be set by your standards.
Your team will ALWAYS be guided by you, if you are not displaying leadership qualities, they will quickly begin to slip. Consistency in your actions, conversations and enthusiasm guide your people every day. To assist with this, I encourage you to define your values and then live by them, share them and explain why they are important to you.
Our teams are desperate for leadership and a sense of certainty, they are human and one of our basic needs is a sense of belonging. There is a mammoth opportunity for you to provide it and help your business in the long run.
Be the change your salon needs.
David XoX
