Senior company representative and business owners all share a ‘business acumen’. This simply sums up to understanding how a business can work and how to make it profitable. Chances are, as a business leader, numerous company successes can be attributed to you. Now consider the competitive advantage your organisation could achieve if a good proportion of your employees thought like a CEO? It’s not enough to have a business savvy leader in your ranks – you need a driven team too. Here’s what you can do to finally activate the business acumen in your squad:
- Let them learn
Unsurprisingly, employee development is at the top of the list. Employee engagement is an essential ingredient in building an appreciation for your business. We can break down the essential types of learning they need:
- Teach them about the business and its goals
It’s hard to recommend a direction when you don’t know where you’re going. Make sure your employees understand the logistics of your business and how it makes a profit. Educate them on the company vision and the strategy it is adopting. When employees can see a connection between their role and the big picture, they’re likely to take ownership of their work. Keep them informed on every step of the journey and appreciate their contribution.
- Upskill and training
Making sure your employees are the best they can be at their jobs is a major bonus in this hyper competitive business world. It’s abundantly clear how the world is changing daily and this applies to business as well. Invest in training your employees and keep them adaptive. Not only does this keep them engaged, but loyal. If you invest in them, they’ll invest in you.
- Cross-training
Looking back at the bigger picture, get your employees invested in the success of various departments in your organisation. It’s critical that they understand the purpose and function of other departments[1]. This gives them an opportunity to see how their work impacts the entire organisation.
- Create opportunities through challenges
Being an entrepreneur entails understanding and solving problems – arguably better than everyone else and critical thinking skills and creativity certainly go a long way. Encourage employees to develop these skills and offer rewards by challenging them frequently. While it may seem like a small exercise, its impact is far bigger. By solving problems on a daily basis, employees also learn to critically analyse solutions and share their opinions. As a result innovation and sharing ideas then become commonplace in the organisation.
- Establish a business acumen as a core competency
Create a list of behaviours and characteristics you require your employees to exhibit. This will act as a guideline for both you and your employees in fostering skills successful leaders are known to have. Incorporate the list into your hiring process, so to set expectations. Refer to your list during performance reviews and share constructive feedback.
- Take them networking
It’s virtually impossible not to think like a business person, in a room of business people. While people aren’t driven by the same things, they are commonly motivated by prestige and influence – qualities abundant at networking events. Bring your employees along to these events and demonstrate the perks of putting more consideration into their work. Subsequently by meeting industry leaders their perception and goals will be influenced for the better. Simply put, people aim to replicate behaviours of people they admire.
- Passion is contagious
Passion and zeal are infectious qualities and you should leverage them to motivate your employees. Let them in on your vision and the role they play in bringing it to life. If they can see the potential through your eyes, they can probably feel your passion.
- Encourage mistakes
The road to innovation is littered with broken light bulbs. Without failure, they cannot be meaningful creation. Encourage your team to regularly experiment, fail and learn. If not to build experience in what not to do, then to produce successfully tested concepts and products. A failure is after all, worth a lot more than an untested, unspoken idea.
- Give them responsibility
Lastly, building trust within your employees is essential in encouraging them to contribute meaningfully to the company vision. If you give your team responsibilities outside of their usual tasks and communicate the importance of said task, they will usually strive to exceed your expectations. Use this technique to gauge which members of your team you should invest extra time in.
Conclusively, if you get your team behind a common goal (the company
vision) and make meaningful efforts to attain it, your team will too. Foster a
stimulating environment and encourage employee contribution. Not only with this
help in attracting top talent but also get the best out of your current team.
