A dozen characteristics of a great franchisee leader
Great leadership is hard to define but easily recognisable when seen in
action. We can distinguish great leaders through their willingness to make a
sacrifice, respond to a challenge, the excellence of a long-term game plan or
how they tackle venturing into uncharted waters.
Successful leaders understand that to lead a new franchise to growth and
profit, they must understand that the customer is the first and foremost
priority at all times. Sean
Lilley, the Marketing Manager of Scooters Pizza says to be a great leader you
need to cultivate the necessary characteristics for greatness. He shares some
insight:
1. Leadership: It takes a certain type of individual to influence
and motivate people effectively. Strong leaders take charge of a situation and
express themselves directly and calmly, yet know how to act assertively under
pressure.
2. Interpersonal skills: Awareness
of your own and others’ interpersonal skills can help enormously in bettering personal
and team performance, as well as in improving employee relations and customer
service, which will help build
strong long-term relationships leading to happy, loyal and returning customers.
3. Time Management: Poor time
management will prevent the franchise from reaching its full potential so
complete a course that addresses the causes of poor time keeping and not just
the symptoms, and provides the appropriate solutions.
4. Decision-making skills: This is a skill that cannot be learned from a book
but instead is picked up through experience, accumulated knowledge, and common
sense. A business owner must know when to take calculated risks and when to
walk away. It is important to always weigh both the advantages and disadvantages
of a problem before deciding upon a solution.
5. Vision: A great leader knows where his or her franchise is going and can
communicate the plan in such a way that the entire team is inspired to work
towards the future plans.
6. Listening skills: They listen to their employees and customers and
through open and honest communication, learn from them and understand that the
customer is always king.
7. Respect: Leadership sets the attitude for its staff – both positive and
negative. A great franchisee sees their employees as partners who will drive
the success of the business, and they therefore understand the need to explain
the business’ plans and strategic direction rather than just handing down
demands.
8. Understanding: They must understand the franchise thoroughly, which
includes its challenges, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths to drive the
business towards profitability and growth.
9. Development: Great leaders understand the need to invest time
into coaching and mentoring their employees, who need to know the ins and outs
of the business so that they (and the business) can reach their full potential.
10. Accessibility:
Franchising is a business of partnerships and personal relationships that
inspire loyalty and understanding. In addition to being accessible to staff,
franchisees also need to build a relationship of trust with the franchisor who
is critical in helping them to succeed in business.
11. Change embracer: Successful franchisees realise that their business
needs to evolve as their customer base evolves, understanding that consumers
are a moving target and that attention to customer service and trends will
safeguard their customer base.
12. Accountability: A great leader will lead by example and will set high standards for
those that work for them. The franchisee must set the standards for behaviour,
work ethic, business conduct, success profiles, and more.
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