GYM OWNERS: Here’s what you need to know about effective gym leadership development. Loud Rumor leaders reveal how you can create a positive company culture while still running your business, not stuck working in it.
Patrick and McKenna are the leaders of our Marketing/Sales and Video Production teams here at Loud Rumor. Today, they’re breaking down how you can confidently and effectively lead high-performance teams by implementing gym leadership development strategies at your studio.
Let Your Leaders Lead
Leaders who inspire those under them are ones that take ownership of the team. Your leaders need to know and be treated like you respect their position and expect those they’re in charge of to do the same.
This doesn’t mean you give them all the answers they may need on a silver platter, but rather make sure they feel empowered to find answers on their own and support the decisions they make. It’s a waste of your time if they feel they have to clear every little decision with you at every turn.
What do you think you should do? What does Google say?
Set Expectations For Leaders And Their Teams
Do your team members know exactly how you expect them to perform? You can’t be an effective leader if you can’t communicate what’s expected of them, what their goals are, and how they should meet them.
If you have quota expectations, they need to be attainable and clearly understood. Be transparent when things are going well and when they’re not. Have a documented plan in place for how they can improve in those areas.
Get excited with them when goals are met or exceeded! Celebrate their successes and incentivize their efforts.
Stages Of Leadership Development
Let’s cut to the chase! Want to know the easiest way to effective gym leadership development? The GSD 360 program! We’ve already done all the training for you! This highly valuable program allows you to keep running your business instead of being stuck working in it. Click here to schedule a free 30-minute consultation with our success consultants to learn more!
Check out some stats below of what our average member sees in the GSD 360 TEAM Program!
Get your hands on other leadership development resources. We highly recommend Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 by John Maxwell. This resource talks about the different stages of a leader.
Just because you have the title, it doesn’t automatically follow that you’re great at developing those under you. Maybe you do a decent job of telling others what to do. Most employees care more about your ability to develop them and get them to their goals or career aspirations than your title.
The second stage is when you have a little skin in the game. This means you show up as if you’re the owner, you’re a good independent contributor, and you’re often found in the trenches with your team. They have a bit more respect for you because you’re not just bossing them around, you’re also leading by example.
The third stage of leadership development is when you can develop others below you. You inspire them, you invest in them, and you support their growth as an individual, not just as an employee. You can articulate expectations and communicate clearly about where they’re at and where there is room for improvement.
The fourth stage of leadership development is where those larger-than-life influencers exist. Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr would be in this category. These leaders have mass influence across any number of people at any point in time. Not many of us have or will reach this level of leadership but it’s important to understand what’s possible!
Build A Strong and Positive Company Culture
You can’t be an effective leader or have a productive team without a great company culture. This should be at the core of your gym leadership development strategy. At Loud Rumor, we’ve worked hard to build and maintain a positive, can-do company culture.
What most gym owners often overlook is the WHY behind the business. When this happens, the team is not aligned on what you as an owner want to achieve. You need to get buy-in from the leaders you have in place so they can then inspire those below them to do the same.
Communication is key! When you have a leader who avoids those difficult conversations, this often results in targets and objectives not being met. This could be because they’ve developed too close a relationship or they themselves aren’t confident about what the goals are to hold others accountable. Effective leaders hold team members accountable for the role they’re expected to fulfill, not them as an individual.
Establish Company Core Values
Most gyms, especially in the franchise space, cannot articulate what their core values are or just don’t have any at all. You need to decide, what are your company’s core values? Make sure they’re known and understood by your teams and displayed throughout your studio!
A solid set of core values that you hire by, train by, live by, onboard by, and communicate by is how you will grow loyal and effective teams. When you hire and train by your set of core values, you’ll know you have the right people in place and be successful as a leader.
This is not something you can just make up or pull off the internet because it sounds good. You want relevant examples you can use to show how your values were upheld and what that means for your business. At Loud Rumor, you can ask any team member what our core values are, and here’s what they’ll tell you:
- We think,
- We own,
- We have fun,
- We do what we say we’ll do,
- We’re honest in every category,
- We look out for each other!
That’s just how we do business. And it works!
Gym Leadership Development: Equip Your Teams
If you want to see successful gym leadership development at your studio, invest in your team and they will invest themselves in your business. When they feel supported, respected, and prepared, they will be more productive and successful.
Here are a few other resources to share with your teams:
- Fierce Conversations and Fierce Leadership, both by Susan Scott
- Scaling Up by Verne Harnish
- Attend GSDCON in AZ! Learn about leadership development from experts in the fitness industry, and snag a spot at our upcoming GSDCON! Click here to learn more!
- Click here to learn how this studio owner gets the most out of his team & leads them to success!
