Some people are natural born leaders, however, most are not. Too often, snow contractors are just waiting for that one natural leader to come along so they will take over the management of the business without any pain or suffering. It is a shame this isn’t the way it goes.
For those who aspire to become truly successful leaders – one key to success in the area of “being a leader” is building value into the lives of others who surround you. One sure sign of a great leader is the desire to see someone thrive and love what they are doing when you have had a hand in it as a mentor, a boss, a coach or a teacher. When snow contractors are looking to find someone who will lead their company into the next decade or the proverbial “next level” – looking for someone who does a great job actually plowing snow or clearing sidewalks might not be the right person. Too often those in a position of authority looking to find the next person to fill a leadership role look to the best performer in terms of amount of work completed. This goes along with the erroneous philosophy that your best salesman will be the next great sales manager in your company. It rarely works that way.
Leaders or managers are people who look out the window and not in the mirror when success arrives. They value the reward of being able to say we did it together. It is enduring success and will be something a good leader will be very thankful for being a part of.
Growing and/or finding effective leaders who communicate well in your organization takes commitment and a clear, simple strategy. Here are three simple strategies – as put forth by success coach Heidi Alexandra Pollard, and enhanced for the snow industry – for growing great leaders and generating smooth communication in your organization:
Strategy 1
Do everything possible to challenge, grow and stimulate up and coming talent. Whether it is giving them special projects, assigning them to new portions of your snow business, or investing in their management, operational, marketing and leadership training. Today, there are many ways to invest in your people. Attending educational events at local industry organization meetings or going to an educational event at Snowfighters Institute are two such “people investment vehicles”.
Strategy 2
Find other accomplished leaders inside or outside your company to mentor your potential leaders. This will expose your talent to leadership thinking and behavior. Every elite athlete has a strong coach behind them holding them accountable and keeping them on track - treat your prospective leaders like an athlete in training.
Strategy 3
Teach your future leaders how to communicate with clarity and power. Encourage your managers to use a coach approach in their dealings with in-house staff or outsourced service providers. Challenge them to ask questions and listen more, rather than just telling people what to do.
When your staff person comes to you with a problem that needs resolved, don’t let them come to you and tell you about the issue without also providing some insightful thoughts as to what might be done to rectify the situation. Effective leaders need to be problem solvers and not simply problem identifiers.
Too often when owners of snow contracting companies looking to fill top leadership positions within their companies – sales and field operations, to be specific – lean towards candidates with prior snow industry experience. This strategy seems appropriate because it feels safe and comfortable. Unfortunately experience tells us this is not usually the case. Too often snow contractors are buying into “other people’s problems” instead of fresh, new ideas and business practices the company often needs.
We can teach anyone about the snow industry – but we cannot necessarily instill the right managerial philosophy
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