Leadership: How to Empower Your Team

Well , today , on this episode of the Pilates Business Podcast , I'm talking all about leadership and sharing with you how you can inspire , motivate and empower your team for the growth and success that you want . Well , hi there , I'm Saren Glanfield . I'm a business and marketing strategist just for boutique fitness studio owners like you .

If you're ready to be inspired and make a bigger impact , you're in the right place . All you need are a few key strategies , the right mindset and some support along the way . Join me as I share the real life insights that will help you grow a sustainable and profitable studio . This is the Pilates Business Podcast .

Welcome back to the Pilates Business Podcast , sarah and Glanfield here , and I wanted to kick off this episode today with a recent conversation that I had with a studio owner , and the conversations I have with studio owners about their team , managing their team , hiring , onboarding and even occasionally , very occasionally firing someone on their team come up actually more

often than you might like to think .

In fact , I would say that , beyond the point of getting your business to a position of financial viability where you are making profit consistently and very comfortably , I would say that people management is probably one of the biggest focuses of any leader in any business , and so our business and our industry is no different , and the challenges come up from all

different directions , all different angles and all different shapes and sizes . I've had folks come to me recently who told me that they are concerned about of one of their team members and trying to figure out how to handle that situation .

I've had people come to me wanting to know how to train and onboard their team member most effectively , be helpful , to share with you , have a little chat with you guys also about this topic , because it is such an important component of growing and building a successful business .

And so that is exactly what we're talking about today , because when you get to , when you're in a position where you are wanting to build and grow even if you want to build and grow as a solo studio owner with no one else teaching in your business it's likely that at some point you're going to need to have some sort of partners with other businesses at some

point , and so you are not building your business in a vacuum .

This is not a solo act for the most part , and if you want to grow beyond a certain point , you will always need to bring other folks into your business , and that often looks like teachers and instructors , yes , but also sometimes front desk team , a studio operations team , a studio manager and marketing help .

There's a lot that actually kind of , if you look around , you really have quite a few people in your Rolodex that you are reaching out to on a regular basis . That helps to make your studio run seamlessly .

You probably rely on an amazing team to keep your classes running smoothly , your studio running smoothly , and you want to make sure that you're able to really lead your team effectively , because cracks happen very quickly and very deeply if you're not focused on your team as a whole and helping your team to be as high achieving as possible .

So I want to talk about your leadership skills , because if you haven't invested in developing your leadership skills yet , then that might be one of the things that might be holding you back from getting your business to the next level . Time and time again , I often see that studio owners are , in fact , the bottleneck of their own success .

But once we are able to support you in getting through this sort of period of stepping into that leadership role , it's incredible to see what happens next , both for your own personal growth , your professional growth and , of course , also for your business growth .

And when you're able to develop a team and to create a team in your business that is motivated and engaged and ready to really go after those goals .

They are there with you , alongside you , and you feel like you are less of on an island and more part of a team , a community that you have inside of your business not within your client base , but within your team .

So it's very important to remember that your team is a part of the experience that you deliver to your clients , and a happy and enthusiastic and empowered team really truly does translate into having happier clients and a thriving business .

So let's talk a little bit about what it looks like to be an effective leader in the business , and I think that one of the most important things that you can do as a leader of the business , which you all are , if you are owning your business , you are a leader in your business .

People around you look up to you and look towards you to guide them forward , to guide the business forward , and I think you really want to make sure that you are creating a very positive and supportive environment for your team . Now , it's very possible that you've done this for your clients already .

You perhaps thought very deeply about the experience you want your clients to have , and sometimes when we bring a new team member on for the first time or even the second time or even the 10th time , we're often doing it to solve a problem very quickly , and when we do that without spending time thinking about that sort of working environment that we want to

create , we can often overlook it , and that's totally fine . So this is a little reminder to you to perhaps go back and think about how you can foster a sense of community and support and belonging for your team members , because if that energy is felt amongst your team members , it certainly does trickle down .

So you want to make sure that your team members feel valued and appreciated , and there's a lot that you can do to support that , and it can be very fun as well for you to do those things . We also want to make sure that you are stepping into that leadership roles in a way that motivates and inspires them .

So you want to make sure you're helping your team members to really fulfill their sort of full potential , to really step into the shoes of the role that they are in and show them that they have an impact , just like your business does , that they're a part of the impact that you have on your clients' lives and that their role really does contribute to the

overall studio experience and your client experience as well . Now , when you bring somebody into your business , you're often also doing that because you want someone else to take over some tasks , teach some classes or take on some of those marketing tasks in order to free up your time .

And in order for that to happen in the most effective way possible , you also need to get pretty good at delegating , and so , as a leader , this is something that you might take a little bit of practice , and I would encourage you to be very aware of the way that you delegate and how you set those tasks out and how you share those tasks with your team and

then how , perhaps , you have feedback from your team about those tasks . We can talk a little bit more about that in a moment . So it's really important that you empower your team by assigning those tasks and responsibilities in a way that actually matches what they're capable of doing .

And sometimes there is a mismatch there and sometimes that does actually create some issues down the road . And then you want to make sure that you're encouraging an environment of open communication and collaboration .

So having the ability to have two-way conversations , opening up those channels of communication , is really important for you to be able to do all the things we've already talked about in order to be able to delegate effectively , in order to be able to motivate and inspire your team and create that very positive environment for your team members .

Sometimes I've observed that many studio owners find that they are often filling in the class schedules with other teachers and they often don't see people on their team for weeks because they may not be in the studio at the same time , and if that's a situation that you find yourself in with your team , then I would encourage you to find ways to create open lines

of communication , either via a messaging app or via team meetings , or via one-on-one check-ins , which I recommend you do on a regular basis .

Okay , so how do you really go from where you are today to being that really inspiring leader that you want to be for your business , and I think there's sort of layers to this , and I think there's kind of always a ladder that we kind of need to follow . So we'll call it the leadership ladder for a moment .

Right , and as you're kind of stepping up every step on the leadership ladder , you are developing skills that will help support you at the next stage . I think the very first thing that we all probably will start at is awareness for the strengths and weaknesses that we have as a leader in our business .

And this is really hard right , because we don't often sit down and think about oh my goodness , I am so great at that , oh my God , I'm so terrible at that . In fact , often I hear people say more often that they are not so good at things and they aren't good at things .

But we want to have a little bit of self-awareness for what our strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to leading a team and what we perhaps could do to remedy some of the areas that might be holding us back or limiting our ability to become that leader that we want to be . So we want to have self-awareness . That's a very , very first step .

Be thoughtful about the way that you present and speak to your team about how you hire , how you go about managing your team , and be thoughtful about where there might be some opportunities to improve . And I think that's a very sort of easy first step .

And this is just perhaps something you're thinking about as you're driving to the studio , perhaps something you're thinking about as you're taking the dog for a walk , perhaps you might even want to journal it out and think about it , but that's the first step about it , but that's the first step .

The second step is to master the art clear , concise and empathetic communication . I have to say , when you're able to very clearly communicate with your team , with your clients , for your business , so much shifts for you overall , not just in terms of the team part , but also your whole business .

Communication skills are critical and the better and the more time that we can spend on developing communication skills , the more successful we will be across the board .

And when it comes to leadership , we want to be thoughtful about the way that we are interacting and engaging with our team , what we're saying when we're saying it , and whether that's the best way and time to say the things that we want to say .

So , if you're rushing out the door and you're saying to someone of your teachers hey , you need to remember to do this , don't forget to do that . You're creating an environment that might be stressful and might not be sort of an environment that promotes this sort of performance element .

And so take the time to think about how you want to communicate with your team and how you want them to communicate with you . And that leads me very nicely to the next step on the ladder , which is actively listening and observing your team .

Which is actively listening and observing your team Because oftentimes , when we bring people into our business , we may hire them for a certain position and you might observe them in that position and see that perhaps they are not performing to the degree that you would like them to .

And if you have already mastered the art of communication and you've been able to delegate very clearly , very concisely and very empathetically what it is you would like for that person in that role to be responsible for or to do in your business , and they're still not performing , you are going to want to be able to have a conversation with them about that , and

, in order to make that conversation most effective , you're going to want to pay attention to what they are telling you in that conversation , but also pay attention to what you're observing about their activities in your business on a day-to-day or a week-to-week basis .

So you certainly want to be willing and open to actively listening and observing your team and recognizing perhaps some of what they need , their concerns and their ideas . Now I'm just going to put a quick disclaimer in here that we do want to be careful about building our business around one person's needs as a team member , because I see this often happening .

An example would be if one team member that you've hired into your business for a particular role perhaps take on a certain time or set of classes in your business , say you want them to work Monday , wednesday , friday from 10 to 1 .

That's what the job offers , that's what the hours are , that's what you want them to do in your business , that's the role you've hired them into . And they come on board and they have a few weeks on the studio or even a few months or even a few years , and they are working their shifts and all is well .

And then all of a sudden they turn to you and they say well , actually I only want to do Tuesdays at 9.30 and Thursdays at 4pm and maybe you say sure , whatever you need , I can't bear to lose another teacher or I'll take whatever I can get and sometimes knock-on effects in your business where down the road you might find that you are adjusting your business

and what it's capable of to your team which , depending on the degree or the extreme to which you do that , could have a negative impact on your business , because the likelihood is in that situation it's very challenging to find a sub for those classes and that might mean that you are teaching more and if that is not one of your goals , then that's going to

create a conflict for you with your business and also with that team member .

So you want to be sure that you are paying attention to your team's needs and looking for ways to upgrade and elevate the experience that you are delivering for your team to be able to step into and you want to make sure that you're delivering for your team to be able to step into and you want to make sure that you are obviously working with them to be

able to deliver that service and value proposition that you have for your studio . So actively listening and engaging with your team is really , really important . And then the second part of that , or the next step up , I should say , is to be able to give feedback , both positive and constructively .

So you want to create opportunities with your team members to be able to recognize their achievements and to let them know that you see the impact that they are making and also perhaps to offer some constructive ideas for ways that they could perhaps improve in the business .

And if you've hired well and you onboarded that team member well and you have prepared your team member for this conversation , then they too will be open to hearing what might be possible for them within your business , if they perhaps are willing to invest in themselves . Also , because one of the roles as a leader is you want to see your team members grow .

You want them to continue to educate themselves , to continue to invest in their professional education , and so we want to see that evolving and development of your team beneath you as you are , or alongside you as your business grows .

The steps on the ladder first of all , you want to make sure you have some self-awareness around your strengths and weaknesses and pay attention to what those may be . You want to make sure you are conscious of mastering the art of the communication between you and your team and ensuring that it is as open and flowing as possible .

You want to make sure that you're paying attention to your team's needs , their concerns , but also the ideas they have , and a great time to do that is when you are having conversations around their own professional development .

Now , at the very top of the ladder , very top of the leadership ladder , you want to get to a point where you are empowering your team to make decisions on your behalf , and you can do this when you have created systems in your business and when you have properly trained your team and when you have found your team to be competent to take on that very big

responsibility , to be competent to take on that very big responsibility , and you want to be able to deliver that trust to your team to make decisions and give them resources they need so that you are able to really step out of certain responsibilities in your business .

So you see , it's kind of a layered path , and I think that we often assume that we can jump to the top of this and just delegate a decision-making responsibility to a team , but oftentimes we as leaders need to really climb this ladder in order to get to the point where our team is capable of taking on those responsibilities .

So you want to make sure you're also creating a culture within your studio of positivity and of professionalism and of achievement , and so in order to do that , you need to be able to motivate and inspire your team as well .

For sure you want to create a culture of recognition and appreciation , acknowledging and praising your team members' efforts , big and small , right , challenging and praising your team members' efforts , big and small right .

And you want to make sure you're going beyond that just a good job kind of well done conversation , and perhaps even offer opportunities for your team to come together and celebrate each other and the studio as a whole as well .

I encourage you to consider ways that you can invest in your team's professional education and development , perhaps through ongoing workshops or trainings , that you might invest in your team's professional education and development , perhaps through ongoing workshops or trainings that you might offer to your team or that you might offer to your team that are delivered by

somebody else . And for sure you want to celebrate milestones , just like you do with your clients . If you have team members that have been with you for a while , take the time to celebrate them and their achievements and successes and all the things that you appreciate about them . It will help to create that culture of appreciation in your studio .

So some of the challenges that I see folks have when it comes to management and leadership is I think there are probably there are quite a few and I'm not going to share all of them with you here , but that we all are all kind of coming up against some challenges in this area and I think that there is no perfect leader out there .

But that first step on that leadership ladder of self awareness is an important one . And sometimes , if we have been in our business for a very long time and we know how to do everything we know how to do in our business , we can find ourselves perhaps micromanaging too much the people you've hired into your business . You have to trust them .

You have to trust that you have hired them and that they are able and capable of being able to take on the task or responsibility that you have shared with them by bringing them onto the team . So we want to be really careful about micromanaging your team .

You want to learn how to trust and also how to delegate effectively , and there's lots of small things that you can do to make sure that the tasks get done the way that you want them to get done , without you being in the process all the time .

Okay , so micromanagement we want to try to step away from doing that , because that you will find that you have a very hard time leaving your business if that is the leadership style that you have .

The other challenge I often see or issue that pops up is often a lack of communication , and , like I said , this often happens if you're in a busy studio and you don't have the time or ability to get people together or to even find time to meet or talk one-on-one with your team on a regular basis .

And there's lots of software tools available to us that are as simple as sending a text message , but there's even more different ways that you can set up project management systems and so on .

That can cultivate a bit more communication between you and your team , and I think that it's very important that you have regular conversations on not just what needs to get done , but also about where you allow for ideas and feedback to happen . And that can also be about taking a little bit of time out of your business together to discuss those ideas .

And again , you do have to be a little bit open to receiving their ideas and what they have to say .

One of the biggest issues I see when there's any sort of a challenge when it comes to managing your team , often comes down to a lack of expectations or unclear expectations , and so it's really important whenever you're bringing anyone into your team , and even if you have someone on your team right now , if you've never sat down with them or shared with them

specifically what it is that you expect of them , then it's likely they're going to take on their own interpretation of the role , and so I always recommend that you share with any team member the expectations you have of them , how you expect them to behave in your business and what the role entails , and so you want to make sure that that happens early on when

you bring someone in , ideally as you're hiring them . But again , if you haven't ever done that and you're finding that perhaps people aren't doing exactly what you are expecting , then it's probably down to this sort of lack of communication or expectations .

So , when it comes to leading from the front of your business , as a leader of your business , you are the one responsible for driving your business forward and for creating that culture , within your business and amongst your team , of performance and of success and of support for your clients and delivering exceptional experience .

And so there's a few things you want to make sure that you're doing too . Number one you do need to lead by example , so be the role model you want your team to follow . Show passion through the work ethic and that dedication that you have to your business .

I would also encourage you to be transparent and genuine about the vision that you have for your business , about the values that you want for your business , that you have in your business , and I'd also encourage you to be open about what you're focused on and where you're going to be taking the business next .

This will help to bring your team on board and create that wonderful culture where you're all in it together , and I would always encourage you to embrace a culture of continuous learning . If you are striving to improve your own management or leadership skills and knowledge , then you'll find your team steps up alongside you as well .

So I hope this is helpful to you . A little helpful conversation as you go about building your studio business . Building a team isn't about just barking orders at all , and when you step into that role as a leader .

It's also about inspiring and motivating and empowering your team to really reach their full potential , and so , if you are able to implement some of the tips and ideas discussed today , you will find that you are surrounded by a thriving team who feel valued and supported and who are ready to contribute to your studio's success and growth .

So I hope you loved what you heard today and , if you did , please go to wherever you're listening to this podcast and leave a rating or a review .

It would mean a ton to me and would help to get this podcast out there into our community , so that more teachers and studio owners , just like you , can feel encouraged and supported on their journey in our industry .

Did you love this episode and want more ? Head to spring3.com and check out my free resources that will help you run a profitable and fulfilling studio business . And , before you go , one last reminder there is no one way to do what you do , only your way . So whatever it is that you want to do , create or offer , you've got this .

Thanks again for joining me today and have a wonderful rest of your day .