Running a franchise isn’t just about following a system—it’s about leading people. Whether you’re managing employees, dealing with corporate, or engaging with customers, strong leadership skills can make or break your success. In today’s episode, we’ll dive into the essential leadership qualities every franchise owner needs, practical strategies to develop them, and how to create a team that runs like a well-oiled machine.
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Leadership sounds great—until you’re actually in charge. Here’s why it can be tough:
Picture this: Your team is motivated, customers love your service, and you actually have time to focus on growing the business. That’s the power of great leadership!
Great leaders aren’t born—they’re built. Here are the core principles of leadership in franchise ownership:
You don’t need an MBA to be a great leader. Here are some actionable strategies you can start using today:
Ready to level up your leadership game? Here’s your action plan:
So I have a question. How are small business owners like us who are spending sixty plus hours a week working in our businesses and are still struggling to make ends meet? We have no time to spend with family, friends, or the things we value most in life. We feel trapped inside of our businesses, and it is consuming our lives. How do we get the freedom to be able to work on our businesses and not in them?
That is the question this podcast will give you the answer. My name is John Nichols, and this is expansion code radio. What's up, everyone? Welcome to today's podcast. Owning a franchise is about more than just running a business.
It's about leading a team. Let's be real. Leadership isn't something that magically happens just because you have a title. It takes work, self awareness, and a whole lot of patience. Today, we're talking about how to develop the leadership skills you'll need to take your franchise to the next level.
So folks, buckle up. It's gonna be a great one today. So let's just kinda get into this problem right now. The struggles with leadership in your franchise. Leadership sounds great until you're actually in charge, and here's why it can be tough.
And speaking from experience, I went from working a corporate job into owning my own franchise. And I'm a tell you right now, folks, it was a pretty tough transition for me because I still had an employee mindset instead of a owner or leadership mindset. So number one, managing versus leading. Many franchise owners get stuck in the day to day operations and forget about actually leading their teams. If you're always in the trenches, who's setting the vision?
That is so true. Number two, high turnover and employee motivation. Employees leave bad management, not bad jobs. If you can keep a strong team, your franchise will not struggle. If you keep a bad team, your franchise will struggle.
That's a fact. Number three, balancing corporate expectations with teams needs. Your franchisor has policies, but your employees have real world challenges. Striking that balance is gonna be an ongoing battle, And that's so true because corporate for me, the corporate UPS store are always implementing new things, and it's always trying to keep this balance between my employees and what corporate is implementing. The last one, number four is fear of delegation.
Many franchise owners try to do everything themselves which leads to burnout. Spoiler alert, you can't do it all. So I really wanna talk about this this very last one, fear of delegation. When I first opened up my first UPS store back in 02/2003, I had so much fear that nobody could do my job better than I could, that the store wouldn't run without me. And, yes, I was the front face of everybody.
Most people like me. I got a outgoing personality. But here's the thing, the store will run without you. You have to delegate in order to free up your time. If you're there stuck in the stuck in your location and your brick and mortar every day, standing behind the counter waiting on customers.
I promise you right now, you will get burnout. By the time I hit year three, oh my gosh, was I burnout? I was so burnout. And so the thing is is that I really had to step away from the business to kind of recharge my batteries. I had to take off three months, basically.
And not a full three months, I was still there. But what I did is that I cut my forty hours a week down to about ten hours for about three months. And then I slowly brought myself back into it. But in during that time frame, I really did delegate people to kinda do the things I needed to do. And in saying that, I really want to encourage you folks.
Delegate things out to your people. It will make your life easier. The more that they learn, the more that they know, the better off you are. You have a better employee, period. The one that has the knowledge is empowering to that employee.
When you train and trust them to do the things that you're supposed to do, to train them to your systems, it really makes a big difference in the way that that employee acts, how often they show up to work, and how much they enjoy their job. So I'm telling you right now, delegate, delegate, delegate. But here's the good news. Great leadership isn't something that you're born with. It is a skill you can develop.
And when you do it, your business transforms. Let's talk about what the possibilities are. So picture this, your team is motivated. Customers love your service, and you actually have time to focus on growing your business. That's the power of great leadership.
So let's get into this possibilities of what great leadership actually is. So the first one is a thriving loyal team. When you when you lead well, employees stick around longer and perform better. Less turnover means less stress. Man, is that so true.
There was there's nothing worse than just having lots of turnover, especially when two or three people quit at the same time. Oh my gosh. We had that happen back about ten years ago in one of our locations. It was just very poorly managed by the manager. And so we ended up coming in, rehiring people.
And then as soon as we got everybody hired, we fired the manager, brought in a new manager that was from another location, and she did great. Number two, the business that runs without you. The best leaders build systems so the business doesn't fall apart if they take a day off. Oh, man. And you need to take a day off.
Number three, strong customer relationships. Happy employees create happy customers. That means repeat business and better reviews. Number four, more freedom and growth. With a well led team, you can step back from daily task and focus on expansion and new opportunities.
And so I really wanna talk about this happy employees and happy customers. When your employees enjoy and look forward to coming to work, that transitions into making the customers super happy. That gives an extraordinary customer experience for every customer. And when they have that, they remember it. So the thing is is that we are really trying to build these strong relationships, not only with our customers, but it has to start first with our employees.
Remember, our employees represent our values, who we are. And the thing is is that you have to hire people that have that align with what your values are. And when you do that, you can create a dynamic team that will go out there and do the right things that will work your systems and your processes. They will create an extraordinary customer experience. And what happens is is that you make more money.
And if you make more money, that means you can pass some of these profits back down to your employees, which will make them happier. I'm telling you right now, when you invest in making your employees happy, it transitions across everything else. So please take the time to make sure that you are focusing on your employees' happiness and figure out the things that are working for them and what are not working for them. Now this sounds great. Right?
Well, let's break down the key principles of leadership that makes all of this possible. Great leaders aren't born. They're built. Here are some core principles of leadership in franchise ownership. So the first one we're gonna talk about is lead by example.
If you want your employees to work hard and provide great service, you have to set the standard. Your team is watching you. I wanna say that again. Your team is watching you. It's so vitally important that you do the right things.
You know, we have a saying in our organization, it's always the right time to do the right thing. And this is one of our core principles and one of our sayings that we use all the time with our employees. I use it inside my family with my kids and my wife. I use it everywhere. So remember, it's always the right time to do the right thing.
Number two, emotional intelligence is everything. Understanding your employees' needs, motivations, and challenges will make you a stronger leader. Number three. Communication is a two way street. Great leaders don't just give orders.
They listen. Create an open environment where employees feel heard to where they feel open and trusted that they can come talk to you about the things that are going on. You really have to build that. Number four, consistency builds trust. Employees need to know what to expect from you.
Be reliable, set clear expectations, and follow through. The one thing I wanna say about this particular topic is is that if you want your employees to show up on time to work, you have to show up on time for work. Whenever they are expecting you, be there. So don't just say, if you put yourself on a schedule and you show up an hour late, what you're doing is setting precedence inside of your franchise. But I do wanna go back to, number two, emotional intelligence is everything.
Understanding your employees needs, motivation, and challenges will make you a stronger leader. So I wanna talk to you real quick about the appreciation at work, the five languages of appreciation at work. And, it is a book by Gary Chapman. And he also wrote The Five Love Languages. But this book talks about taking those five love languages and applying them to appreciation at work.
And if you really want a great book to kinda elevate and figure out what motivates your employees, this book is a great resource for you to get your employees to another level and to figure out how to show them appreciation at work. And when they feel appreciated at work, it motivates them. And it it will make them stronger as an employee when you're able to, like I said, appreciate them the way that they wanna be appreciated. An example is, I'm words of affirmation. So the thing is is that I like to hear attaboy.
Good job, John. You you're doing great right now. I need to hear those things. And if you know that your employee is that way, then you need to give your employee that. But words of affirmation is a two way street or words of affirmation is actually a double edged sword, to be honest.
Some employees wanna hear words of affirmation, but they don't wanna be told in front of everybody. They want that to be a private conversation. Me, on the other hand, I'd like to be told in front of everybody. I know want everybody to know that I'm doing a great job, but that's just my personality. You need to figure out when you do these little tests like this because in the Appreciation at Workbook, there is you can go in and do an assessment that tells what your what what the appreciation language is of you and then you can also do that for your employees.
It does cost a little bit of money, but it's well worth developing your team with this. And so, I really encourage you to go check it out. Once again, that there is appreciation at work, and it's done by Gary Chapman, and he's also the the, author of the five love language. Now that we know what makes a great leader, let's talk about how you can actually develop these skills into your daily business life. So you don't need an MBA to be a great leader.
Here are some actionable strategies you can start using today. Number one, delegate like a pro. Trust your team with responsibilities. Give them ownership of their task. Give them ownership of their job, and watch them rise to the occasion.
This is great stuff. The next one is have regular one on ones with your employees. Now, I own 10 UPS stores. It is very, very difficult for me to have one on ones with my employees. But what I do like to do is I like to go pick a store about once a month and go take them all out to dinner after the store is closed.
And then I'll sit down and have some conversations, some one on one conversations with each person at dinner over that evening. So that there's a great way to kind of get this, but checking in with your team individually builds trust and helps you address problems before they escalate. Now, I recommend that you have one on one. If you have multiple locations, I recommend that you have one on ones with your manager at least once a week. It is this is this is a weekly phone call that should last a minimum of an hour.
Alright? Number three, develop and recognize culture. People work harder when they feel appreciated. Celebrate wins, go big or go small, but you need to go big on this. Wins are wins, and you need to make them feel appreciated.
That's the reason why earlier I talked about the book by Gary Chapman, which is the appreciation at workbook. Number four, invest in leadership training. Read books, attend workshops, or find a mentor. Continuously learn. Learning is the key to grow as a leader.
Now, I went and became a John Maxwell leadership coach. I'm not saying that everybody should do that, but you should be reading leadership books. Okay? My favorite intro to leadership book is Developing the Leader Within You two point o by John Maxwell. Once again, that is Developing the Leader Within You two point o by John Maxwell.
That there is a great intro book for you to read, and I would suggest that your managers read that too. But, when you really take time and become a better leader yourself, and you bring your managers along with this, when you get side by side with your managers and bring them along for the ride, it makes a huge difference. It will really get them involved. It will really let them know that you care about them. It will let them know that you value them, and you value their input and how they're leading.
So I really do suggest that you, invest a little money and time in some leadership coaching. One way or the other, whether you hire somebody to do it, whether you start learning to do it yourself, or whether you're just reading some books. But leadership is huge because if you don't have it, your franchise will eventually fail and you'll start losing money hand over fist. With good leadership, it makes a huge difference. So the strategies are great, but let's turn them into an actual plan to where you can put it into motion today.
So ready to level up your leadership game? Here's your action plan. Number one, assess your leadership style. Take an honest look at your strengths and weaknesses. Ask employees for feedback.
Now, that's only if you're brave enough. I'm a tell you right now, asking employees for feedback is a much a dual edged sword. It can cut. It can hurt. But you can also if you look at it look at it this way.
You go into it with an open mind and saying, these are my areas of opportunities. I'm needing my employees to be honest with me. And one of the best ways to do it is send out a a, anonymous survey. You can use SurveyMonkey and just email all your employees to their personal email address and say, hey, listen. I'm needing some feedback.
This is anonymous. Just fill out the survey and I need to know where I need to improve at. And your employees will be super happy to do these things because most of them will have some sort of feedback and most of it's gonna be negative. But the thing is is that that's the only way we can grow and sometimes negativity, things where you're not doing well hurts, but sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and just get the information and then start changing to have a better franchise. Number two, implement one leadership strategy this week.
So after you hear this podcast, this is what I want you to do. Pick one thing, delegate. Up your communication. Do some recognition. But put into practice something that you've heard off this podcast this week.
You only need to only make a one step. But here's the thing about this. You need to start this week. Don't procrastinate. I'm telling you right now.
Once you start going down this path of leadership and you start really implementing these things and showing leadership skills, you will see a difference in the way your employees work, in their attitudes, and in your relationship with them. Number three, schedule a monthly leadership check-in. Set a time each month to reflect on your progress and adjust your leadership approach as needed. In saying that, you're gonna need the feedback from your employees. And number one was talking about you need to assess your leadership, but you also need to have some feedback.
And if you have a manager, that there is a great way to get some feedback. Your managers normally will be pretty honest with you, especially if you have a good relationship with them, they'll be pretty honest with you, and then you can check your progress. Or, I suggest hiring a coach, a business coach, and they will help you with your leadership progress too. Number four. Find leadership mentor or peer group.
Suggest what I got finished saying, you know. Connect with another franchise owner, business leader to learn from their experiences. Or I suggest become a John Maxwell leadership coach. Becoming a leadership coach has really helped me become a better leader because I normally teach that developing the leader within you two point o by John Max. Well, to my managers, I teach it.
By teaching it, I learn as much as my managers do. So, I really really encourage you to do something, but you need to get and gain some leadership skills. Whether it's an online course, whether you're reading more books, whatever you need to do, you really need to take the step to actually really honing and developing your leadership skills. It will pay dividends in the long run. Now leadership isn't about having all the answers.
It's about the willingness to learn, grow, and inspire others. When you invest in becoming a better leader, your business, your employees, and your customers all benefit. Thanks for tuning in today. If you found value in this today, please be sure to tell another franchise owner about this, or you can subscribe to my newsletter. Just look into the notes of this podcast, and you'll be able to subscribe.
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