Darren Buddemeyer, the CEO of DynaFlex, knows what it takes to be a strong business owner. Over his thirty-year tenure with the company, he has led his employees through ups and downs while never losing sight of the end game. Here, he outlines the top leadership skills necessary to optimize your organization’s performance.
1. Ability to Communicate Effectively
Communication is often regarded as a soft skill most applicable to those in client-facing roles. However, leaders who wish to drive their company to success must be able to communicate clearly and productively with both employees and customers.
Leaders with excellent communication skills are motivational to their employees. They can break down problems and suggest methods for overcoming them that encourage all their workers.
Communication doesn’t end with simply motivating employees. It also involves active listening, authenticity, and empathy.
Employees and managers should feel comfortable talking with their bosses and explaining their concerns. In turn, the leader must seek to understand where the employee is coming from and use empathy to convey compassion.
2. Ability to Motivate Employees
When employees feel understood and respected, they’re more likely to be motivated to perform their best. Most people don’t like to feel micromanaged. Instead, they want a goal and the leeway to determine their own ways to achieve it.
To establish a motivated workforce, you’ll need to build a culture of trust and open communication. All employees should feel they have a voice in the organization’s success.
If possible, you should provide your employees with room to grow. No one wants to feel pigeonholed into filling only a single role in the organization. Instead, find out where their interests lie and provide them with the resources to expand their skills.
3. Ability to Change Gears
No company operates linearly. Setbacks will arise, and sometimes a business simply takes off, resulting in swift growth. A business leader must be able to adjust quickly to these changes. Staying flexible and maneuvering for transformation keeps the company from losing its direction.
Building strong resilience skills helps business leaders keep focus and prevents them from becoming too bogged down in the details. Sit down and consider possible solutions with your team whenever a problem arises. You can also attempt to build relationships outside the organization that you can rely on for feedback in times of crisis.
4. Understanding of Finances
Diving deep into the company’s books isn’t something that most CEOs and business leaders do. However, an understanding of business finance is helpful for setting goals and realizing when things aren’t quite up to snuff.
A business leader should understand how financial statements work and how to manage cash flow adequately. Experience in financial analysis and forecasting can help a CEO understand when changes are necessary to keep the business afloat and optimized for growth.
Darren Buddemeyer: A Transformational Leader
As the CEO of DynaFlex, Darren Buddemeyer employs all four of these skills in his leadership toolbag. Darren started with DynaFlex over 30 years ago at age 14, doing odd jobs at the lab. He is now the head of the company and has led its worldwide expansion in orthodontic and dental sleep medicine manufacturing.
