Entrepreneurship can seem overwhelming at first.
Entrepreneurs forget to realize that most of the business is about delegation and managing your employees. An entrepreneur can gain a massive advantage at any stage in their career by learning how to get beyond a solely creative mindset and into a business leader’s perspective.
However, creativity is only one aspect of building a business. The vast majority of it requires hard work and the ability to manage your employees well.
It’s All About People Management
One rising leader has much to say about the issue. Amanda Gunawan from OWIU Design has gained a lot of experience managing businesses and teams when she is naturally more creative. She believes that it is essential to explore topics beyond her specialty to be a better leader.
Gunawan considers behavioral psychology one of the most important subjects. It helped her understand people’s natural motivations, which, she believes, helps her tremendously in people management.
A key aspect of owning a business, even one in design, is managing people well. “I studied behavioral psych to understand how people think and how they differ from mine,” she said. Conflicts will happen. How can I help my team to understand each other better, communicate effectively and work together? I need to be capable of shifting my thinking to match theirs to resolve conflict and effectively express our thoughts.
Gunawan states that this does not just apply to managing team members. It also applies to managing clients. You will reap the benefits of excellent people management in the long term.
Knowing when to let go
Every entrepreneur knows that it takes multiple roles to start a business. While you might be the founder, it’s important to remember that everyone is still working towards a common goal.
If you are part of that team, it is essential to be able and willing to give up on specific tasks. This is especially difficult for founders who are creatives. They often have less time to create.
Gunawan is right now experiencing this. Right now, Gunawan is a leader of the company and not a designer. She says, “I was less able than a year ago to sit down at the computer and create a design.” “It was not scalable with the growth and expansion of my business. This was difficult for me because I wanted to continue designing. However, I realized that although many people can create in my office, none can do my job. It’s all about training others to be successful and knowing when it is time to delegate.
Although it can be challenging to learn how to shift from a single creative person’s mindset to a CEO and people manager, it is essential to growing a successful company.
