Every successful business also has a great boss at its helm. No one becomes a great boss or business owner overnight. Skills have to be forged and honed. Sometimes, too, experience plays a part. However, you can control skills more than experience. To help yourself become the best boss that you can, these are four skills that you should work on developing right this instant.
Listening
Part of that training for settling disputes and a great skill to hone in general is listening. You may be a less skilled listener than you realize. Listening is important because it helps you break down what your employees and customers are telling you into manageable bits that you can make solutions for. By understanding what the exact problem is, you can solve the problem rather than just painting over it.
Creativity
Perhaps you never would have thought that being creative would be a skill that you need to develop in the business world. It is. Creativity allows you to approach problems in new ways. It can also help you steer your company into new and innovative ways that can make you stand apart from the competition. The more creative you are, the more successful you’re likely going to become.
Empathy
Some might not consider empathy a skill, but it is. It can take practice to develop empathy over just sympathy. While sympathy is useful, it’s often not actionable. By honing empathy, you can learn about problems that stem from your employees and customers that then become your own problems. How would you want them to be fixed? Empathy can offer you new perspectives.
Settling Disputes
In a place where people exist together, you can be sure that there are going to be tensions and problems that arise. These things could involve anything from an argument outside of work to something silly like difference of opinion on a task. Whatever the reason for the dispute is, you’re going to be the one that needs to handle it. This isn’t always the easiest thing to do since as the boss you should be fair and impartial. Trusting your gut, being empathetic, and active listening will help you with these situations. Being comfortable with your dispute resolution skills will take time. Don’t be afraid to use outside resources like leadership coaches, HCP dispute resolution databases, and books about keeping the peace.
It can be difficult trying to become the best boss that you can be. Developing these four skills will help you on that path. Move forward with kindness and compassion and your employees will recognize your effort.
Dixie Somers is a freelance writer and blogger for business, home, and family niches. Dixie lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and is the proud mother of three beautiful girls and wife to a wonderful husband.