What Does it Take to Be a Business Leader?

By Lyon Wealth Management on June 15, 2017

“Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” Goethe

The truth is we are all leaders and followers depending on the roles we play in life.  Some people are family leaders, community followers, and volunteers for just about everything in between.  Over the years, we have found the following seven traits are common to most great business leaders.

Purpose

Every leader is a sum of their decisions both positive and negative.  They must have a strong sense of purpose in order to inspire people to follow them.  Bold leaders deeply believe in their strategies, plans, and objectives.

Exemplary leaders say what they do and do what they say consistently and with intention.  They are persistent and resilient because they believe in themselves.  As a result, they do not have a problem making difficult decisions.  They are comfortable executing their plans by being decisive when it is required. Being trailblazers, they are willing to take a stand for what they believe is the correct thing to do.

Team Building

Your business and its employees are a reflection of yourself.  When you make honesty and ethical behavior core values, the team follows suit.  Building relationships is critical for being successful. The best leaders identify and train new leaders.

Team members will move through cutbacks, downsizing or whatever obstacles come their way when they trust and respect their leaders.  An Executive’s skills are even more visible in times of change, chaos, and controversy than in times of success. Leaders foster an attitude of continuous learning for themselves and others.

Communication

Leadership is all about communicating expectations.  Everyone must row in the same direction.  If you cannot relate your vision to your team members, they will not be able to help you realize it. You must be able to clearly and succinctly describe what you need done and when.

Communication is a two-way street.  Business leaders tell people what they should be doing to further the company’s goals and why.  They are transparent about the objectives of the entity and forthright with information about how they are doing with regard to achieving those goals.   A team that knows where they are strong and where they are falling short can help generate ideas for improvement.

Commitment

It is critical to lead by example.  You must earn the respect of your team by being honest, transparent and by keeping your word.  Demonstrating commitment and focus on achieving your business goals will instill the same commitment in your team members.  This will always yield the highest work product possible.

Conviction

Keeping calm under pressure and exhibiting a sense of confidence in the face of adversity is imperative. Team members will feel reassured and will, in turn, develop more trust and confidence in your leadership.

Remind team members setbacks are learning opportunities.  Every breakdown has the capacity to become a breakthrough.  Strong leaders do not dwell on past mistakes.  They learn from their errors and strive for constant improvement.

When the team is constantly focused on the larger goal, they will not be thwarted by diversions.  The key objective is to keep everyone working together and moving ahead with enthusiasm.

Delegation

The key to delegation is identifying the strengths of your team members and capitalizing on them. Trusting your team to properly execute is a sign of strength. Delegating the right tasks to the right people is the most important skill you can develop as the business continues to grow.

Inspiration

The higher the risk, the greater the reward.  Impressive leaders are present and are doers.  They empower their teams by setting the direction, recruiting talented players and letting them execute to their full potential.  Leaders insist team members own their results.

Morale drives productivity.  It is imperative that you are able to generate positive energy in the team.  Humor and short breaks from tasks help generate new perspectives, increase morale and ultimately productivity.

Inspiration breeds creativity.  When something unexpected occurs, and it almost always will at some point, your team looks to their leader for guidance.  The trust the leader demonstrates at this juncture is the foundation for the respect needed from each team member in the future.

In order to optimize effectiveness as a leader, you must have the ability to customize your approach on a person by person basis according to the circumstances at hand.

Expressing recognition for the effort team members have invested in the project will keep morale up and productivity soaring.

Copyright 2019 by Randy Stemmer. All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be copied or disseminated without the written permission of Randy Stemmer.

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