3 Essential Skills of The Entrepreneur Leader
As a small business entrepreneur, you must realize that first and foremost you are the leader of your business. Once you understand that one of your primary roles in your business is to be not only the CEO but the leader as well, you need to actively develop three critical leadership skills: Flexibility, Humility, and Focus.
Flexibility: As a leader of an entrepreneurial venture you need to be flexible to thrive in today’s economy. Changes in the economy, employee demographics, and customer expectations require the entrepreneur leader to periodically shift and adjust the path and direction of the business, correcting the course as the environment changes. If you are a leader who thrives on rigidity, picking a direction and dragging your people along for the ride, you would find it difficult to course-correct your business strategy fast enough either to respond to unexpected threats or to take advantage of unexpected opportunities. The flexible leader however engages the team when business conditions change and shifts direction as needed; the flexible leader’s proactive actions gets the team to step forward on their own without undermining the leader’s authority or appearing inconsistent.
Humility: Some of the best entrepreneur leaders I know are often the most humble. Developing humility in your leadership style lets your people know you are human and may not have all the answers all the time. The best leaders know that in today’s world, technology, access to information, and best practice techniques are always rapidly changing and it is impossible for them to have all the information all the time. If the course you selected needs to be changed because of new information or circumstances it is important that your team know that the buck stops with you not only for the good decisions, but also for the not so good ones. As a leader who practices humility you can effectively use humility in your course correction as an excellent opportunity to connect with your people on a human level, communicating that you are all in this together.
Focus: Entrepreneur leaders who are thriving today understand that focus is critical for business success, especially during these challenging economic times. Now is the time for you to focus your energy and resources on the critical elements that make your business successful. What is your strategic advantage that makes your business stand out from the crowd? Do you excel at customer service? Are you known for the outstanding quality of your products or services? Focusing on your haves instead of your have not’s is the key to moving the ball forward regardless of the economic environment.
Finally, successful entrepreneur leaders earn respect instead of command it, just because you are in charge does not mean you are infallible. The best leaders know that they occasionally have to put their ego aside and openly accept responsibility for mistakes. Being proactive in addressing and fixing an error is one of the best ways in which you can earn respect instead of command it.
Tags: business, Connection Ready, entrepreneur advice, How To, leadership, successful entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs
