8 Leadership Qualities Every FEC Owner Should Have

Possessing great leadership qualities is incredibly valuable, especially for FEC owners, operators, and managers.  

Why? Well, your employees (and customers) look to you for guidance on a daily basis. Are you setting a good example? Does your facility and staff reflect your stellar leadership? Does everyone feel like they have an important role to play? Are you supporting your staff and helping them deliver an incredible guest experience?

Great leaders are able to keep things afloat during times of hardship. They're able to problem solve and navigate their team towards success.

Of course, as a leader, this can all be quite overwhelming! Even the best leaders need advice and guidance on how to improve their management skills and continue growing their staff.

8 Leadership Qualities Every FEC Owner Should Have

Here are 8 leadership qualities we believe every FEC owner should have. Let's jump in!

Leadership Qualities 1 & 2: Growth Mindset & Determination

A growth mindset is an especially important quality to possess if you're in a leadership position at a family entertainment center.

As a business owner, success won’t last for very long if you’re content with meeting the bare minimum. Continually thinking of ways your business can improve is indicative of a great (and creative) leader.

Today's industry is incredibly competitive. Innovating and continuing to grow your business will ensure your facility continues to attract new or re-occurring visitors. Even during slow seasons or times of economic hardship, your team will stand behind you, waiting for guidance on how they can help to grow the business and make things better.

Having a growth mindset is the first step to success as an owner or manager of a family entertainment center, but an individual with a growth mindset must also have determination.

There are millions of great ideas out there, but only the person that has determination behind their idea will be able to see it through and make it happen.

It's important to note that your determination shouldn’t end when or if you meet your goal, either. It's important to have the motivation to keep moving and keep striving for more.

Leadership Qualities 3 & 4: Emotional Intelligence & Communication

According to Psychology Today, emotional intelligence “refers to the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others.

Emotional intelligence is generally said to include at least three skills: emotional awareness, or the ability to identify and name one’s own emotions; the ability to harness those emotions and apply them to tasks like thinking and problem solving; and the ability to manage emotions, which includes both regulating one’s own emotions when necessary and helping others to do the same.”

When it comes down to it, although you’re running a business, you need to be aware that the team of people you employ to help your family entertainment center succeed are human beings (and so are you!).

You’re bound to encounter situations where you’ll need to show empathy when a staff member is going through a difficult time that is affecting their work performance, moderate discussions if there are opposing opinions on how to best run day-to-day operations, as well as learn the best way to regulate your emotions and reactions in stressful situations.

Show your employees that they’re able to trust and confide in you and look to you as a voice of logic and reason during hard times. Being able to confide in your team and trust them to handle business successfully when you're not around is also a great way to gain their respect. Gaining the respect of your team is one of the highest achievements you can obtain as a successful leader and FEC owner!

Use that emotional intelligence to promote great communication. Not only does clear and direct help task performance, but many conflicts (especially in business settings) are also a result of a lack of understanding and miscommunication.

Consider hosting an employee training session on conflict resolution, whether it be a conflict with oneself that’s hindering their performance and how to work through it, or a conflict with a coworker or person in a leadership role and how to appropriately resolve the situation. It’s important for you to be an active participant in this training, too! Remember how essential a growth mindset is to success as an FEC owner? That includes being open to your growth as a person as well!

Leadership Qualities 5 & 6: Ownership & Determination

You are the leader.

When things go awry—no matter whose fault it might be—it’s ultimately your responsibility to take the fault for the mistake and figure out how best to fix it.

Doing this takes a lot of courage! It’s human nature to want to avoid being blamed for something that wasn’t directly your fault.

But at the end of the day, this is YOUR business, YOUR family entertainment center. Regardless of fault, true leadership is shown when the responsibility is taken on by the person with the most amount of power.

Whether a mistake was made due to a lack of proper training, or keeping an underperforming staff member employed for longer than was beneficial to your business, take ownership of the problem, have the courage to make it known, and right the wrongs!

Having courage is also a necessary leadership quality to have as an FEC owner when you possess a growth mindset. Some of your ideas/visions may be difficult—scary even—to pursue. You may have lots of people doubting you or economic odds stacked against you, but the willingness and dedication to work towards achieving success will separate you from the pack.

Leadership Qualities 7 & 8: Decisiveness & Follow-Through

As the owner or manager of a family entertainment center, you’re likely going to be the one faced with making the difficult decisions when it comes to your business. This requires decisiveness.

Have conviction in your thoughts and ideas, and let them be known!

Sure, as an effective leader you may ask for or receive advice from others, but ultimately, you’ll need to be decisive. You need to decide on the actions (or lack thereof) that need to be taken in order to see your business thrive. Going after a goal or opportunity "half-steam" isn't going to result in success!

It’s not enough just to say you’re going to do something either. You need to follow through!

Whether it ends up being the right decision or not (which is where taking ownership will apply), following through on a decision you’ve made shows you’re trustworthy and reliable, both of which are additional leadership qualities that are wonderful for a successful FEC owner to have!

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