Leadership is one of the must-have skills for business owners. Whether you’re running a home business with just one employee or a growing startup that’s starting to hire more team members, showing strong leadership and knowing how to keep the team working efficiently can help take the business to new heights.
It is also worth noting that leadership is a skill; one that can be learned and mastered. There are different ways to sharpen your leadership skills, but working in communities and doing social work are among the best ways to do it.
Becoming Community Leaders
A lot of business and startup owners went as far as going back to school to study social work specifically. There are online MSW programs by Rutgers Online and other top universities that can help you acquire the skills needed to become a great community leader while earning a master’s degree in this field.
These courses are very effective for a number of reasons. For starters, you’ll be learning from people with years of experience in working with communities and social movements. Their experiences are truly priceless and you can learn so much from them as they assume the role of lecturers in various classes.
Of course, the programs are conducted 100% online, which means you can pick up new skills and acquire the degree while still running your business. All you need is an hour every day for studying and you’ll be able to keep up with the course without a problem.
Helping Others = Helping Yourself
Take a step back for a moment and observe something. Do you notice how helping team members solve their problems is much easier than solving your own issues? This is a common occurrence and one that you can actually benefit from.
Having the ability to distance yourself from the problems you face often helps in finding the right solutions for those problems. The more you help others, the better you will be at distancing yourself and seeing the bigger picture. Naturally, you’ll be much better at identifying problems your business is facing and solving them.
Social work is the perfect platform to sharpen this particular skill. You will be working with a wide range of people and solving problems on a regular basis. The more you give back, the more benefits you will gain in return.
Strengthening the Business
Leadership is also about building strong relationships and forming bonds. The communities around your business will be the first to come out and help you when you’re in trouble. The best way to create that bond in the first place is by giving back.
You don’t need to start with something big. Allocating time to help children around the business or getting involved in social movements you see every day are simple yet great ways to start. The more you help others, the stronger the relationships will be. At the same time, you will also be growing and becoming the better business owner and leader that you aspire to be.
