In today’s ever-evolving world, funeral homes need a leader that’s not afraid to innovate. See the traits that all great innovators have and how you can apply them to your funeral home.
 

Risk Tolerance

Innovation requires risk — that’s just the nature of the business. The funeral homes that are the most innovative are the ones that aren’t afraid to take risks. They aren’t afraid to adopt new ideas, creative approaches, and the result is that their funeral home excels at engaging client families. Of course, this doesn’t mean innovative leaders are just blindly taking risks. Successful innovators are also highly-analytical.

Analytical

The best leaders look at all possible outcomes of a choice or decision. Through their own expertise and well-calculated choices, innovative leaders are able to make creative business decisions that pay off.

Expertise In All Aspects Of Funeral Service

True innovators are experts in all aspects of their fields. Now, this certainly applies to traditional aspects of funeral service — from mortuary skills to business management. But the funeral profession has also evolved. And this requires innovate leaders to broaden their skill set. Knowledge in areas such as social media, relationship marketing, bereavement counseling, are just a few of the skills modern funeral directors need to succeed in today’s business climate.

Openness

The ability to keep an open mind is probably the single most important skill for innovative leadership. This is especially true of leaders in the funeral profession. Because funeral service is influenced so much by tradition, it can be hard to break the status quo.  “We’ve always done it this way,” is a comfortable business strategy — but as we’ve mentioned before — it also leads to business stagnation. Slow and steady does not always win the race. Innovative funeral directors need openness.

They are receptive to new ideas, new trends, and easily adapt to different families’ wants and needs. By exploring new ideas and business strategies, funeral directors create an atmosphere of innovation within the funeral home.

Influencers, Not Followers

Innovative funeral directors don’t play catchup. They are the ones setting trends, adopting new technology, and always keeping their funeral home one step ahead of their competition.

Put Faith in Culture

A true leader believes in their company’s culture. A funeral home’s culture should not be just some fancy copy on your website page. It’s the essence of who you are — your mission, values, ideals, and commitment to service within the community. By believing and living up to your culture every day, you’ll inspire your staff to do the same. This will light the fire that leads to successful innovation in the funeral home.

Always Focus on Relationships

Good leaders understand the importance of relationships. This not only applies to relationships with your families, but also community leaders, vendor relationships, and even relationships with other innovators in the funeral profession.