Developing Yourself as a Small Business Leader: Strategies for Effective Leadership Growth (Part 2)
- Jacobs Branding Graphics & Website Designs
- Apr 17
- 8 min read
Updated: May 15
Check out Part 1 of this blog article (10 Must-Have Traits of Great Business Leaders: Essential Qualities for Small Business Success) about being a leader as a small business owner.
Running a successful small business requires more than just a great idea or relentless hustle—it demands effective leadership. You might be wondering, what makes a successful small business leader? We discussed that in Part 1 --- Now let's talk about focus, recommendations, avoiding mistakes, and how to improve your leadership skills as a small business owner.
Key Takeaways
Great business leaders consistently exhibit certain traits across various industries.
Emotional intelligence, communication, and decision-making are among the top qualities.
Your leadership style directly impacts business growth and team morale.
These skills can be developed intentionally over time.
Avoiding common leadership pitfalls is crucial for sustained success.
Table of Contents
🚀 Leadership Skills Every Small Business Owner Should Develop
If you're wondering where to focus first, start here:
Communication: Especially when your team is growing or remote. Whether you’re leading a 2-person team or managing a growing remote workforce, communication is the glue that holds your business together. Great communication means more than just delivering updates—it’s about clarity, consistency, and tone. As your business scales, so does the need for structured communication systems like team meetings, clear documentation, and open feedback channels. When communication is strong, your team knows exactly where you're headed—and how they contribute to the mission.
Emotional Intelligence: Builds stronger teams and customer relationships. This is the hidden superpower of great leadership. Emotional intelligence (EQ) allows you to recognize and regulate your emotions, empathize with others, and navigate stress, conflict, or change with composure. Leaders with high EQ create safer, more connected workplaces—which leads to stronger employee retention and more loyal customers. It’s not just about being “nice”—it’s about being aware, intentional, and compassionate in how you lead.
Delegation: Essential for scaling. You can't (and shouldn’t) do everything yourself. Effective delegation is a sign of trust, not weakness. When done right, delegation empowers your team, develops future leaders, and frees you to focus on strategic growth. Many small business owners struggle with this—fearing quality loss or losing control—but learning to delegate outcomes instead of tasks is a key to long-term success and scalability.
Decision-making: Helps move faster and avoid analysis paralysis. Every day, you make choices that move your business forward—or hold it back. Developing strong decision-making skills helps you act with speed, confidence, and clarity, even when faced with uncertainty. It’s about balancing intuition and data, trusting your process, and learning from both wins and losses. Great decision-makers avoid analysis paralysis and keep the momentum going.
Recommendations:
Books: Leaders Eat Last (Simon Sinek) - Check out this short video by Simon Sinek, The 5 Levels of Leadership (John C. Maxwell)
Podcasts: The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast, The Diary of a CEO
Coaching: Join a peer mastermind or hire a leadership coach for accountability.
🔄 How Leadership Affects Small Business Success
Leadership is the engine behind your brand—and it touches everything.
Here’s how it directly impacts your business:
Team Productivity: Great leadership = clarity, autonomy, less burnout. Strong leadership gives your team clarity on what matters most, creates psychological safety, and empowers them to work independently. When people understand the bigger picture and feel trusted to execute, they work smarter—not harder. Clear goals + minimal micromanagement = higher output and less burnout.
Customer Experience: Leadership sets the tone for service and consistency. The tone you set as a leader ripples outward. If you prioritize empathy, responsiveness, and quality, your team will reflect that in every customer interaction. Leadership defines the standards for how your brand treats people, from first impression to follow-up.
Revenue: Aligned, motivated teams drive innovation and sales. When your leadership fosters collaboration and ownership, people bring ideas forward and go the extra mile—which often results in new offerings, better marketing, and more consistent revenue.
Longevity: Businesses with intentional leaders survive market changes. Businesses with adaptable, growth-minded leaders don’t just survive—they evolve. Strategic leaders can pivot, rebrand, and reimagine their business when needed. If your leadership is forward-thinking and resilient, your business is far more likely to withstand industry shifts and economic uncertainty.
Stat to Note:
A Gallup study found that 70% of team engagement is directly tied to leadership quality. That means YOU are the culture and performance thermostat of your company.
If you're not actively developing your leadership, you could unintentionally cap your growth.
⚠️ Common Leadership Mistakes Small Business Owners Make
Even the best leaders get caught in bad habits. Here are some of the most common:
Micromanaging
🚫 Why it's a problem: It kills motivation and creativity.
✅ Fix: Focus on outcomes, not how your team gets there. Shift from managing tasks to managing results. Instead of telling your team how to do something, clearly define what success looks like and give them the autonomy to get there. Set clear deadlines, check in at milestones, and use project management tools like Trello or ClickUp for transparency—not control.
Avoiding the Hard Conversations
🚫 Why it's a problem: Issues fester, resentment grows.
✅ Fix: Learn to have direct, respectful conversations using frameworks like SBI (Situation, Behavior, Impact). Prepare for the conversation by writing down the facts (Situation), the observable behavior (Behavior), and how it impacted you or the team (Impact). For example: “In yesterday’s meeting (Situation), you interrupted the conversation multiple times (Behavior), which made it hard for others to contribute (Impact).” Then, invite dialogue. This keeps the conversation non-accusatory and solution-focused.
Lack of Vision
🚫 Why it's a problem: Your team is busy but directionless.
✅ Fix: Write a one-sentence mission statement and communicate it weekly. Your team needs to hear your vision often and clearly. Craft a simple mission like, “We help small businesses grow through honest, results-driven marketing.” Then reinforce it—on Slack, in meetings, in your email signature. A clear vision helps everyone prioritize better and stay aligned.
Not Asking for Feedback
🚫 Why it's a problem: You lose the pulse of your team.
✅ Fix: Use anonymous surveys or quick 1-on-1 check-ins regularly. Don’t wait for annual reviews—create feedback loops you can use weekly or monthly. Tools like Google Forms or Officevibe let your team share insights anonymously. Also, ask open-ended questions during check-ins like, “What’s one thing I could do better as a leader?” or “Is there anything slowing you down right now?” Then, act on that feedback—even small improvements build trust.
📈 How to Improve Your Leadership as a Small Business Leader
Improving leadership isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being intentional. Let’s be real—great leadership isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you choose to develop. And the good news? Every skill that makes a great leader—communication, emotional intelligence, decision-making—is learnable with practice and intention.
Here’s a step-by-step framework to help you grow your leadership without feeling overwhelmed:
Get Feedback
You can’t improve what you’re not aware of. Honest, consistent feedback gives you a clearer view of how others experience your leadership.
Run a 360-review or anonymous survey using tools like Google Forms, Officevibe, or Typeform. Ask your team, “What’s one thing I do well as a leader?” and “What’s one thing I could improve?”
In 1-on-1s, get personal: “What’s something I do that makes your job easier – and what’s something that gets in the way?”
Collect feedback quarterly and look for patterns.
PRO TIP – Position feedback as a gift, not criticism. Your openness sets the tone for a growth-minded culture.
Set Development Goals
Once you’ve identified key areas, turn them into clear, actionable goals
Instead of vague intentions like “be a better communicator,” try: “Run a weekly 10-minute team huddle to clarify priorities.”
Keep goals SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Bound.
Choose 1-2 goals per quarter and track them like any business metric.
PRO TIP – Add your leadership goal to your task manager (Asana, Notion, etc.) so it stays top-of-mind.
Learn, Practice, Reflect
Growth doesn’t happen in theory – it happens in action.
Choose one leadership skill per quarter to study and apply (e.g., conflict resolution, strategic thinking, empathy).
Read a book, take a mini-course, or listen to a podcast around that topic. Not sure what to read? Here’s a curated list of top leadership books on Goodreads.
Apply it intentionally in real situation, then reflect: “What worked? What felt awkward? What would I do differently next time?”
Keep a leadership journal to log moments of growth or frustration – both are learning opportunities
PRO TIP – Use the “Learn > Apply > Adjust loop. It’s more effective than passively consuming content.
Join a Leadership Community or Coaching Program
You grow faster when you surround yourself with people who push you forward
Join a peer mastermind or leadership group for small business owners. These offer accountability, ideas, and emotional support. Vistage offers peer advisory groups specifically for small business leaders ready to grow.
Coaches offer unbiased feedback and strategic advice. Hire a leadership coach to provide personalized feedback and challenge your thinking.
Consider programs like EOS, Vistage, or local entrepreneur networks.
PRO TIP – The right coach or peer group helps you see blind spots – and holds you to your highest standard.
✅ Bonus: Free Leadership Reflection Template
Want to get started right now?
Download my free “Leadership Reflection Template for Small Business Owners”
It helps you:
Reflect on where you are and add where you want to be
Identify your strengths and blind spots via feedback and reflection
Set your next leadership goals based on the 10 traits of a successful leader
I have provided two leadership reflection templates. One template you can print and write on, or you can download the second template and type on it. Both templates are FREE!!! Just click the photo below.
🏁 Conclusion: Becoming the Leader Your Business Needs
Leadership isn’t a job title—it’s a mindset, a responsibility, and most importantly, a skillset you grow into. You don’t need to be a “born leader” to be a great one. You just need to be committed to growing, learning, and showing up with intention.
The best part? Every single one of the leadership traits we covered—visionary thinking, emotional intelligence, strategic decision-making, adaptability, and more—is 100% learnable. You can start exactly where you are today.
Whether you’re a solo founder wearing every hat or managing a full team across multiple departments, improving your leadership is one of the highest-return investments you can make. It leads to:
Clearer decision-making
A more motivated, empowered team
Stronger customer relationships
And ultimately—a more resilient, scalable business
🚀 Your Next Step:
Pick 1 or 2 leadership traits from this email series (Check out Part 1) that you know could use some attention. Set a simple goal around each one. Maybe it's running weekly team check-ins to improve communication, or practicing emotional regulation during tough conversations. Small, consistent effort beats occasional big pushes.
Growth as a leader doesn’t happen all at once—it happens in moments: when you pause before reacting, delegate instead of controlling, or ask for feedback when it’s hard.
So stay curious. Stay coachable. Stay intentional.
Because here’s the truth: Your business will only grow as far as you grow as a leader.
And the kind of leader you're becoming? That’s what shapes the legacy you're building. Check out my 👈 FREE Leadership Reflection Checklist 👈and start your growth journey into small business leadership!
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