Like many business owners, before you were an owner, you may have been a worker in that field. But now that you’re an owner, your role has changed. Even if you’re still working in the business, you’re now also working on it—in other words, running the business. You’re the leader, putting in place goals, plans, systems, and processes, and managing the team. Here are some tips on how to successfully play that leadership role.

Come up with the plan. Here’s how:

  • Analyze your position in the marketplace. Do a SWOT analysis, identifying your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
  • Define your vision. Using your SWOT information, write down your vision of where the business is going and your roadmap to get there.
  • Establish your mission. Your mission statement pinpoints the purpose of your business.
  • Determine your organization’s core values. These are the things that you think are important in the conduct of your business with customers and employees.
  • Set your company’s goals—both short-term (monthly, quarterly, one-year) and long-term (two-year, five-year, ten-year).
  • Develop the plan. Keeping in mind your vision, mission, values, and goals, set down the strategy your business will take to reach your short- and long-term goals.
  • Assess the risks. This helps you to be proactive, acting quickly if problems arise.

Execute the plan. Do the following:

  • Put processes and systems in place to support the production of products and services, along with sales, billing, and customer support.
  • Set up teams, resources, and KPIs (key performance indicators to monitor progress).
  • Communicate the plan to your team, so everyone is on the same page.
  • Review the plan’s performance monthly, quarterly, and annually, and make changes if needed.

Focus on communication. Gallup research revealed employees are 3.5 times more engaged when they understand their role in meeting their organization’s goals. Employee engagement is key. It results in increased productivity, less employee churn, and a better customer experience. All this helps meet your revenue and profit goals. Good leadership means regularly communicating with your team, clearly conveying the business objectives you’re all working toward.

Promote collaboration. Today, collaboration is essential for business success. It’s been found that 52% of employees in this country put a priority on collaboration and teamwork. One way to promote collaboration is to create a project for employees with different skill sets to get together and develop something innovative.

Listen to employees and customers. The best leaders value the thoughts and opinions of their employees and customers, communicated in person or online. Listening fosters a collaborative work environment and reinforces the idea that you’re also part of the team.

Keep criticism constructive. Day-to-day, watch what you say. To keep morale high, always speak positively and supportively. When a person needs guidance, do it behind closed doors. Tactfully approach employee evaluations. First, recognize the person’s accomplishments, then talk about what they need to improve.