No matter what your management style might be, there are key leadership characteristics that you should adopt in order to give your business the best possible chance at thriving. From hiring the right employees, to having the right product, none of it will mean much without the right kind of leadership behind it all.
So let’s take a look at some key leadership characteristics and just what they mean for your business. You will see how these qualities will positively affect your business both immediately and in the long term.
Leadership Attribute: Passion
If you’ve ever been asked what you are passionate about in a job interview, then you know how important it is to convey just what it is you care about in life. If you have ever asked that question of a potential employee during the interview process, then you likely did so with the aim of only bringing people who truly cared about what you do into the fold. With that in mind, doesn’t it make sense to display that same passion when leading your company?
No matter what your company does, you being at the forefront of it means that you need to lead by example and show just how much you care about what it is your business offers. This means engaging customers and employees alike with enthusiasm, actively doing everything you can to promote your business, and keeping up with industry-wide developments that might affect your operations.
Leadership Attribute: Saying It Can Be Done When Others Say No
If you’re a sports enthusiast, then you might be familiar with former college basketball coach Jim Valvano. During his now famous 1993 ESPY Awards speech, coach Valvano famously said, “Don’t Give Up; Don’t Ever Give Up.” Those are words that many successful business leaders live by, and so should you.
Running a business involves facing a lot of different challenges; many of which might seem insurmountable. How those challenges are handled is often the difference between success and failure, which is why I consider persistence to be one of the key leadership characteristics that successful entrepreneurs have.
No matter what kind of challenges you might face, besting them instead of letting them best you is a strong sign of a leader who won’t lie down when things get difficult. More than anything, the persistence that you show in dealing with challenges as they come can inspire the people around you to face those challenges with the level of determination required to take a business to new heights.
Leadership Attribute: The Ability to Delegate
When you run a business, it’s easy to see just why you would want to try to take on as much as you can. You most likely see the business as your baby and want to do everything possible to make it as successful as possible. While that’s both admirable and understandable, it isn’t realistic for long-term growth.
As the business expands, you need to be able to rely on others to help. That’s why I say that being able to delegate is among the key leadership characteristics that successful business leaders need to possess. As part of your ability to delegate, you need to surround yourself with people who have skill sets that complement your own. How varied these skills need to be will depend on what you do, but the idea behind this action is that handing other parts of your business operation off to others will allow you to focus on the big picture.
When a business is small, you can often get away with roles melding and everyone doing a little bit of everything. As you grow and expand, however, roles will need to be clearly defined if things are going to run efficiently. You can focus on the big picture, while making sure the details are handled by teammates whose skills help keep your business running smoothly. Without delegating responsibility, nothing would get done efficiently and you might find your business spinning its wheels as a result.
Strong Leadership Makes a Difference
While these key leadership characteristics all work well enough on their own, they can do much more to benefit your business and help you realize your vision when they come together. If you look at some of the most highly-celebrated leaders in the business world throughout history, you’ll see that they possessed these leadership characteristics, no matter what their actual management styles might have been. By adopting the traits outlined in this post, you can give your business a much stronger chance of continued success and make it into the enterprise you envisioned when you first started out.
Remember, running a business successfully does not need to be complicated. Keep it simple!
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Manny Skevofilax is a consultant and speaker that helps his clients successfully navigate the challenges of growing their businesses profitably. Since 2003, Manny helps businesses enhance their results by using his experience in strategic planning, financial statement analysis, operations, organizational development, and team-building. His consulting firm, PORTAL CFO Consulting, Inc., has attracted clients from diverse industries in the United States and abroad.
Manny can be reached at 410-808-3441 or via email at manny@portalcfo.com.