Effective business leadership demands a captain of the ship, not just someone who’s standing by the wheel. Without business leadership, your small business could circle aimlessly and eventually run out of power. Read on to see what qualities you should embody to become a great leader.
By the myBusiness techblog team
Getting that great idea and assembling a team capable of bringing that concept to life is the cornerstone of creating a successful business venture. While new and unique ideas are often rare on their own; the ability to successfully execute the idea is what separates the dreamers from the entrepreneurs. So what key characteristics should a good leader possess in order to make this happen? Here are some key qualities, winning behaviours and attitudes that show up consistently in leaders who succeed.
1. Good leaders must have a vision and communicate it well
It is vital that a leader has a clear vision for the business. However, what’s more important is whether you can communicate this vision to the people you want to follow you. But how can you do that? You can learn to paint a picture with words. Whatever methods you can use to convey a picture, do it. As they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
You should also ask each of the other managers or stakeholders in your company to tell you, in their own words, about the vision of the company. How closely aligned are they with what you proposed? Are they all on the same page as you? If they aren’t, perhaps you need to re-think how you convey the vision better.
As you work, your company’s vision should be in your mind every day, and you should re-evaluate it occasionally so that it stays current with changing times. And remember, your staff needs to be just as involved as you in keeping the vision up to date if you truly want them to participate on the vision. Be sure to keep your key players involved.
2. You must have passion.
Your employees need passion; in fact, with a good leader’s passion inspiring them, they’ll more than likely go to greater lengths and take on new challenges because of it. To build an extraordinary management team, you’ve got to light the “fire in their bellies,” to get them to feel about the company and connect to your vision. Remember that passion is infectious—when you talk about your vision for the company, let your own passion shine through. Others will feel it and want to get on board with you. If you don’t have passion for your vision, then you need to recreate your vision or reframe your description of your vision so it’s more connected to your passion.
3. You must learn to be a great decision maker.
You need to first find out how major decisions are made in your company. Do you have a set process? For example, do you discuss your plans with your management team and create a list of pros and cons, or do you conduct your own analysis, and then act on them? While certain leaders have a set process, and others make split-second decisions, you should at the very least consult with someone before making a decision. Don’t be a leader that announces a major company change one day and then get frustrated when no one follows it the very next day.
4. You must be a team builder.
To become a great leader, you must develop a great team. But how do you do that? You can start by delegating responsibility to your team and letting them have more say with day-to-day decisions. Avoid breathing down their necks and don’t micromanage, but make yourself available if questions or problems crop up. Don’t start pointing fingers when things start to get rocky either. This is precisely the point where you, as a leader, need to rise to the occasion and inspire confidence in your employees, and let them know that you will support and help them. Be ready to alter plans and make new ones. When an emergency hits, your team will look to you to be a tower of strength and endurance.
5. You must be honest
Despite any ethical values that you hold yourself to, when you are responsible for a team of people, it becomes vital to raise the bar even higher. Your business and its employees are a reflection of yourself, and if you make honest and ethical behaviour a key value, you can be sure that your team will follow suit.
In conclusion, there isn’t a hard and fast rule to becoming a great leader. And, being a great leader isn’t as easy as it looks—often taking a conscious commitment and consistent effort to continuously develop one’s business leadership skills. By working on developing these five traits of good business leadership, you can be sure that your business will be amply rewarded in the future.
Are you an entrepreneur that has all the qualities above? Do you agree that these traits must be present in every great leader? Please let us know in the comment box below.