Hey Small Business Owner! What is your leadership style & how does it impact your business?

Quiz Questions

• 1.
  As a business owner/manager what is your primary motivation? 

  • A.
    Creating a positive and supportive place to work.
  • B.
    Achieving outstanding results and excellence.
  • C.
    Bringing new ideas to life and inspiring others.
  • D.
    Maintaining smooth operations and consistent results
• 2.
  What is your biggest challenge when managing your team?

  • A.
    Delegating tasks and trusting my team.
  • B.
    Balancing visionary ideas with practical execution.
  • C.
    Embracing change and stepping outside my comfort zone.
  • D.
    Enforcing expectations and standards without compromising harmony.
• 3.
  How do you respond when a team member fails to meet your expectations?

  • A.
    I feel frustrated and wonder why they don't care as much as I do.
  • B.
    I try to understand their perspective and look for ways to support them
  • C.
    I feel like they don't see the big picture and try to explain my vision again.
  • D.
    I feel anxious about the impact on stability and look for ways to address it without causing too much disruption
• 4.
  How do you handle delegation?

  • A.
    I struggle with it and often do things myself to ensure they are done right.
  • B.
    I delegate tasks using how-to guides and templates.
  • C.
    I find it challenging but necessary for growth.
  • D.
    I delegate tasks when my team is not busy or else I cover for them.
• 5.
  How do you approach feedback with your team?

  • A.
    I don't trust my team to handle the truth so I keep it light and passive.
  • B.
    I provide detailed, factual and structured feedback. Ensuring there are clear steps for improvement.
  • C.
    I try to link the feedback to our larger vision and goals to inspire change
  • D.
    I focus on being supportive and gentle to avoid hurting anyone's feelings.
• 6.
  How do you describe your management style?

  • A.
    Reliable and consistent, I love tried and true methods.
  • B.
    Hands-on and results-driven, I'm not afraid to lead by example.
  • C.
    Visionary and inspiring, there is nothing more motivating than sharing my big ideas with others.
  • D.
    Supportive and empathetic, focusing on building strong relationships. I just like when everyone is getting along.
• 7.
  How do you measure success in your business?

  • A.
    By the team being able to figure out their own challenges so that we can all do our jobs without distractions.
  • B.
    By the positive feedback and satisfaction of my employees and clients
  • C.
    By the reliability and efficiency of team completing work consistently.
  • D.
    By the realization of progressive ideas and inspiring others.
• 8.
  What solution do you believe would fix all your business challenges?

  • A.
    To have a team who gets the big dream and understands what we are building.
  • B.
    To be able to hire another me
  • C.
    To have a team who cares about the business and clients as much as I do.
  • D.
    To have a team that consistently follows proven processes and does their part well.
• 9.
  What stops you from firing or hiring team members?

  • A.
    I have to map out my onboarding plan and update my training before I can even think about hiring.
  • B.
    Not ready to give up on my current team, I can help them change!.
  • C.
    I want to hire, but I'm too busy building and growing my amazing company!
  • D.
    No one does as good of a job as I need, so what's the point?
• 10.
  What are the feelings you experience when faced with team challenges in your business?

  • A.
    Frustration, feeling stuck, and becoming self-critical.
  • B.
    Disappointment, worry, and feeling resigned, like "why bother"
  • C.
    Resentment, overwhelm, and feeling unappreciated.
  • D.
    Impatience, defeat, and feeling isolated.

Quiz Outcomes

• 1.
  The Caring Connector

  Overview:You are a Caring Connector. As a business owner, you deeply care about your clients and employees, striving to create a positive and supportive place to work. Your strength lies in building strong, genuine relationships and fostering a loyal team. You excel at making everyone feel valued and heard, and this is one of your greatest assets. You prioritize the well-being of your team and value cooperation, making everyone feel included and appreciated. Your ability to connect on a deeper level, rather than superficially, fosters trust and long-term commitment from your team.Challenges:Enforcing quality standards without compromising your caring culture can be challenging. You might assume that caring alone will inspire high performance, and it can be frustrating when your expectations aren't met. You often find yourself wondering why your employees don't share the same level of care and commitment.Potential Business Impacts:Struggling to enforce quality or behavior standards often forces you, as the business owner, to step in, putting out fires and handling tasks yourself. This not only drains your time and energy but also limits your ability to focus on growth. Over time, inconsistent customer experiences, absenteeism, and a lack of accountability can lead to frustration, burnout, and a business that’s constantly in reactive mode. Additionally, low employee morale can develop, as high performers may lose motivation if underperformance goes unaddressed.Common Feelings:When faced with team challenges, you often feel resentment, overwhelm, unappreciated, and guilty for not doing more, while also feeling stuck, believing you don't know how to fix it.Actionable Steps:Setting clear expectations and offering regular feedback provide the structure and guidance your team needs to perform consistently. These steps foster accountability, reduce miscommunication, and improve team morale, ultimately allowing you to lead with confidence while maintaining a positive work environment.Here are some action steps tailored to your Caring Connector style to help you implement these changes effectively:1. Set Expectations (Standards) for Staff1. Clarify Your ExpectationsBefore you engage with your team, take time to determine what your expectations are. Make sure they’re realistic and aligned with your business goals.2. Minimize Confusion with Clear CommunicationSuccess starts with clear communication. Make sure your staff fully understands what you expect from them. Be specific to avoid any misunderstandings.3. Explain Why Expectations MatterHelp your team see the bigger picture by explaining why these expectations are essential. When employees understand the 'why,' they are more likely to stay engaged and motivated.4. Provide Concrete ExamplesOffer real-world examples that demonstrate how these expectations contribute to your company’s goals. This helps staff see how their work directly impacts success.5. Secure CommitmentOnce expectations are clear, get formal agreement from your staff. This reinforces the seriousness of the expectations and provides a basis for holding them accountable if needed.2. Regular Feedback: Consistently provide feedback to keep employees on track, reinforce expectations, and address issues early for continuous improvement and accountability.Remember that: Regular feedback helps employees feel valued and understand how they can contribute to the team's success."Empower others to take responsibility for their actions. Provide the support they need, but allow them to grow and thrive on their own." - Anonymous
• 2.
  The Hands-On Hero

  Overview:You are the Hands-On Hero. As a business owner, you take pride in rolling up your sleeves and committing to a job well done. You often set high standards of excellence and lead by example, demonstrating your dedication and commitment to the success of your business. You can solve any problem and think on your feet with ease. Your can-do attitude and mastery of your craft inspire those around you to strive for greatness.However, your drive to ensure everything is done right without carving out the time to train others thoroughly often leaves you as the only one who can do the job well. This can sometimes leave you feeling like the weight of the entire business is on your shoulders. While leading by example motivates your team, balancing this with effective delegation and trust in others is key to achieving sustainable growth and scaling your business.Challenges:One of your biggest challenges is delegation. You might struggle to trust others to meet your high standards, often taking on tasks yourself to ensure they’re done right. This can lead to frustration and feelings of isolation when your team doesn’t measure up.Potential Business Impacts:By taking on everything yourself, you risk burnout—if you’re not already there. You’re also unintentionally creating bottlenecks in your business, where your team isn’t being developed or empowered to grow. As you handle critical tasks, your employees miss out on opportunities to enhance their skills, leading to stagnation. Over time, this lack of development can cause disengagement, frustration, and ultimately, retention issues—no one wants to stay in a role where they aren’t challenged or advancing.Your hands-on approach can reinforce the belief that you’re the only one capable of doing the job well, amplifying these bottlenecks and making it harder to scale or pursue bigger opportunities. As key players begin to feel bored, unseen, and stagnant, they may seek employment elsewhere, further contributing to retention challenges. In the long run, this imbalance keeps your business in a constant state of reaction, rather than proactive growth and innovation.Common Feelings:When faced with team challenges, you often feel frustration, stuck in a cycle of doing everything yourself, and may become overly critical of both your team and yourself. But mainly yourself.Feeling exhausted—you constantly feel like you need a vacation, yet you believe the business can’t survive without you.Actionable Steps:Create comprehensive training programs to help your employees reach the desired skill level and lighten your workload. Pro Tip: sometimes you have to start with training the "Good Enough" standard and build upon that so that this task doesn't feel too big. 1. Develop Training Programs1. Identify Current Skills: Start by assessing the skills your employees already possess. Have one-on-one conversations, observe their performance, and review their past work to get a clear picture of their strengths and areas for growth.2. Define Desired Skills: Clearly outline the specific skills and competencies you expect employees to develop. This should align with your high standards and the business’s long-term goals.3. Compare and Identify the Gap: Once you know where your employees stand and where you want them to be, identify the gaps in their skills. This is the focus area for your training program.4. Create a Training Plan: Design a step-by-step training plan that addresses the gaps. This can include hands-on practice, mentorship, workshops, or online courses. Make sure the training is practical and directly relevant to their role.5. Set Milestones and Track Progress: Establish clear milestones for employees to achieve as they progress through the training. Schedule regular check-ins to provide feedback and ensure they’re on track to meet the desired skill level.5. Provide Continuous Support: Training shouldn’t stop after initial skill development. Offer ongoing support and opportunities for learning to help your team continue growing and improving.Remember that: Investing in training helps build a capable team that can meet high standards, reducing your workload and frustration.2. Delegate Gradually: Start delegating small tasks and gradually increase responsibilities as employees prove their competence.Remember that: Delegation builds trust and empowers and grows your team, allowing you to focus on strategic tasks."Great things in business are never done by one person; they're done by a team of people." - Steve Jobs
• 3.
  The Visionary Creator

  Overview:You are a Visionary Creator: Your strong vision and creativity are the driving forces behind your business, allowing you to bring innovative ideas to life. You see the big picture and inspire others with your passion and forward-thinking approach. Fueled by a deep sense of purpose, you have endless energy and a creative solution for every challenge. Your vision is so powerful that it propels you forward every day, motivating both you and your team to push boundaries and keeps your business ahead of the curve. However, balancing this visionary mindset with the practical aspects of running a business can be difficult. Without the right systems in place, your ideas may remain unexecuted, limiting the full potential of your business.Challenges:You might often feel misunderstood and isolated when others don’t share your vision. It’s frustrating when your big ideas aren’t immediately embraced or executed properly. Balancing visionary thinking with practical execution is key to overcoming these challenges.Potential Business Impacts:Your passion for innovative ideas and constant drive to initiate new projects can leave you feeling frustrated when those ideas don’t materialize. Without the necessary systems and consistency, your projects can stall, resulting in frequent changes of direction, which can be costly and create confusion for your team. Over time, this can lead to disengagement and a lack of momentum within your business. On a personal level, the cycle of starting but not finishing can undermine your self-belief, causing feelings of self-doubt and disappointment. You may begin to question whether your vision is truly achievable, which can weaken your passion and leave you feeling stuck and overwhelmed.Balancing your visionary mindset with practical execution is essential to reignite your passion and turn your ideas into lasting success.Common Feelings:When faced with team challenges, you often feel impatience, frustration, and a sense of defeat when your vision doesn’t come to life as planned. You may also feel isolated, as it seems like no one else shares your level of passion or can execute your ideas the way you envision. Actionable Steps:Hey, Visionary—don’t dim your light! Your gift for seeing the future and inspiring others is a powerful asset. Start with your vision and let your creativity flow freely, bringing your team into the process. Together, you can explore the possibilities without limits. Once the big picture is clear, here’s a roadmap you can follow to bring that vision to life and ensure it’s executed efficiently.1. Start with the VisionYour magic gift lies in your ability to see into the future and inspire others with that vision. Begin by collaborating with your team to visualize what you want to achieve without limitations. Ask yourselves: If we could do anything, what would we create? Engage your team fully in this creative process to build excitement and gain their buy-in for the big idea.2. Reverse-Engineer the VisionOnce your vision is clear, work backward to identify the steps needed to bring it to life. Break down the big idea into smaller, manageable tasks. Ask yourself and your team: What will it take to make this happen? What resources do we need? This will help create a tangible plan that moves your vision from concept to reality.3. Assess the ImpactBefore moving forward, evaluate the impact of the project on your team and business. Ask key questions like: Is this effort sustainable for our team? How will it affect our current operations? Is there a way to achieve a similar outcome with less strain on the business? By addressing these questions, you ensure your vision is aligned with the capabilities of your team.3. Adjust the Scope if NecessaryIf the full vision feels too taxing, consider a scaled-down version that still aligns with your goals but requires fewer resources. This helps you keep momentum without overloading the team and allows for more consistent execution.4. Build a Step-by-Step PlanOnce everyone impacted agrees on the scope, create a detailed, step-by-step plan to move from where you are now to the final goal. Include specific timelines, assign roles, and track progress to ensure the vision is executed efficiently. This plan will serve as your roadmap, ensuring that each part of the vision is brought to life in a structured and effective manner..Remember that: Collaboration brings diverse perspectives and increasing buy-in from your team creating a greater commitment to the vision."Vision without execution is just hallucination." - Henry Ford.
• 4.
  The Steadfast Operator

  Overview:You are a Steadfast Operator. Your focus on stability, consistency, and well-tested methods ensures smooth day-to-day operations, creating a reliable and stable work environment. You thrive in situations where processes are predictable, and you prioritize operational efficiency over taking risks. While your careful approach reduces the chance of errors, it can also make it difficult to embrace new ideas or take the bold steps necessary for growth. Change and innovation often feel uncertain, and you prefer to see evidence of success before committing to anything new.Challenges:You might feel anxious or stressed about change, preferring to stick to established processes. When efforts to maintain stability are disrupted, it can be frustrating. However, embracing change and innovation is essential for growth.Potential Business Impacts:Your resistance to change and tendency to overanalyze can result in missed opportunities for innovation and long-term growth. While stability is important, being overly cautious can lead to stagnation, especially as more agile competitors seize new opportunities and push forward with innovation. This inaction can also affect team morale, as your employees may feel restricted by a lack of adaptability, resulting in disengagement and frustration.Common Feelings:When faced with team challenges, you often feel disappointment, worry, and hesitation. You may also experience frustration when others push for changes that you aren’t ready for, and you may feel resigned to staying in your comfort zone rather than taking risks.Actionable Steps:Hey, Steadfast Operator—your strength is in your reliability and consistency, but remember, you don’t have to carry the entire load alone! While your focus on stability keeps things running smoothly, embracing small changes and leaning on your team can bring fresh insights without going too far out of your comfort zone will bring a breath of fresh air to your business! Collaborate with Your Team for InputYou don’t need to have all the answers. Start by gathering information from your team—ask them what’s working, what’s not, and where they see opportunities for improvement. Your role is to listen, understand their insights, and focus on what feels right for the business. This way, you can lean on their perspectives without feeling overwhelmed.Pro Tip: Hold a team meeting or send out a survey to get feedback on one specific area of the business. Use this input to help identify the next steps.Embrace Small, Manageable ChangesFocus on one area of growth at a time. By making small changes rather than big leaps, you’ll feel more in control and less overwhelmed. This helps reduce the anxiety that can come with major shifts while still moving the business forward.Pro Tip: Choose one small area for improvement each month. Review the impact before moving on to the next, so you can maintain stability and avoid feeling stretched too thin.Delegate Tasks Outside Your Comfort ZoneYou might prefer sticking to tried-and-true methods, but someone on your team may thrive on trying fresh ideas. Identify team members who are comfortable experimenting, and delegate low-risk tasks to them. This allows your business to grow while keeping you within your comfort zone.Pro Tip: Delegate tasks like testing a new marketing strategy or refining customer feedback processes. Make sure to set clear expectations, so you feel confident in the outcome.Set Parameters and Follow UpCreate clear boundaries for any experiments or new projects. This ensures things don’t get out of hand—whether it’s time spent, budget overruns, or straying from the company’s purpose. Be clear about what you’re willing to explore and what is non-negotiable, and establish regular follow-ups to track progress.Pro Tip: Set up a simple plan that outlines who’s responsible for each task and when you’ll check in to review the progress. This keeps everything on track without losing control."A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there." - John Assaraf