When was the last time you helped an employee succeed or encouraged creativity among your team? If it was longer than yesterday, it might be time to reevaluate your role as a leader. Ask yourself these next several questions every day to become a better leader for your team.
A. What Could I Accomplish If I Had No Fear?
As a founder, your job is to have pie-in-the-sky visions and move your company forward to places no one thought you could go. It's important to stay grounded in reality while constantly asking yourself how you could dream bigger. - Lisa Curtis, Kuli Kuli
A. What's One Thing I Can Improve Every Day to Grow My Company?
Setting daily goals are crucial to productivity. Completing tasks -- small or large-- pushes my company to accomplish its long-term goals and consistently grow. By asking the above question, it helps me to stay focused, organized and motivates my team to produce great work. - Ariel Sultan, Food Guru
A. Why Did I Start My Company?
On a daily basis, I like to remind myself of the reason why I started my business. It allows me to continue seeing the positive impact we are making on the community and fuels my passion for how inner growth has changed my life. - Jessica Baker, Aligned Signs
A. Do I Inspire My Team?
As the owner of a business, you need to be able to inspire your employees to achieve great tasks. Share your vision and have them share the same dream as you. That is what makes a great business owner. - Ajmal Saleem, Suprex Learning
A. How Can I Support My Team?
Servant leadership is a methodology that puts guidance ahead of directives. This has been extremely beneficial at our organization. It forces leaders to be introspective when things are not working, making them ask how they personally can support the individuals on their team to produce better outcomes as opposed to passing blame. - Justin Moodley, LASANAN
A. What Does It Feel Like to Work For Me?
As leaders, we often forget what it feels like to be on the other side of the table as an employee. There's an automatic power dynamic at play between a boss and an employee, whether or not we intend for there to be one. As a result, thinking about how we as leaders come across is essential to ensuring we're doing our part to create the best work environment for our employees. - Claire Lew, Know Your Company
A. Am I Helping My Employees Succeed?
The employer/employee relationship needs to be mutually beneficial. It's important to talk to the people you supervise. Discover what tasks they enjoy and don't enjoy doing, find out what their professional goals are, and work with them to provide a path to those goals. Knowing their boss cares and wants to take an active role in helping them succeed will lead to happier, more productive employees. - Joshua Moe, Odigia
A. Do I Encourage Creativity and Out-of-the-Box Thinking?
It's really important for my team to know that I'm open to their ideas and provide positive feedback when possible. Creativity should be rewarded so the team feels like they are being heard and what they're bringing to the table is important for the growth of the company. - Nadia Hansen, Result Logix
These answers are provided by members of FounderSociety, an invitation-only organization comprised of ambitious startup founders and business owners.