Leadership Attributes for Business Success
Business success is essentially the result of successful
leadership. Contrary to the popular myth, leaders are not
just born. Leadership skills can be learnt and developed.
A business is a distinct reflection of the leader, who may
be the owner or manager. A business is never successful
despite the leader, it is always successful or otherwise
because of the leader.
7 LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES
There are 7 key attributes that a leader must develop if
the business is going to succeed. A leader must have
vision, must be an entrepreneur, must inspire others, must
set standards, must orchestrate methods, must understand
people and must measure results.
1 Vision
Vision is the attribute that drives the leader, the reason
for existence and motivation behind being in the business.
The vision the leader has allows him or her to clearly
visualise what the business will be like when it is fully
developed. If the leader is passionate about the vision and
allows that passion to create an intensity or internal drive,
then that drive will become an unstoppable force that drives
the future of the business.
2 Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is someone who creates a business. For the
leader with intense vision, the business is a means to an end,
the vehicle which allows the vision to be fulfilled. The
leaders' function is to develop the business and if the vision
is intense, they will never allow themselves to become
bogged down by the day to day details. The end result is
always the focus.
3 Inspires Others
A strong leader affects others and inspires them to join the
quest to fulfil the vision. For the leader, it is much more
important that the people recruited to the cause are committed
to the same vision, rather than having all the appropriate
skills to do the work functions. Skills can be learnt, but
commitment is inherent.
4 Sets Standards
The leader sets the standards of performance in the business.
If this is not done deliberately it will happen by default.
The employees will automatically follow the example of the
leader. It is best that the standards are clearly spelled
out so there is no misunderstanding of what the leader expects.
5 Orchestrator
To the leader, the way things are done are important. The
quality of service the business provides must not be left to
chance. The leader takes the trouble to determine the best
way for things to be done and orchestrates the methods used in
the business to perform the work. This allows the business to
be well organised. Quality Assurance systems are based on
orchestration.
6 Understands People
The leader understands that the business must meet the needs
of people, it must motivate them. It must motivate customers
to buy and it must motivate employees to perform the work.
In the orchestration process, the leader establishes systems
that are designed to motivate both customers and employees to
produce the required results.
7 Measures Results
Results is what it is all about. The leader is results
oriented and measures progress towards achieving the results,
which leads to fulfilling the mission. Knowing the results
allows the leader to redirect employees if results are not on
track and to reward employees for good performance.
Developing these leadership attributes will help you achieve
greater success in business.
Greg Roworth is the Managing Director of Progressive Business Solutions Limited, a business development consultancy firm with branches in Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand. Greg has created a unique business development program that assists business owners transform their business from a state of total dependency on them to a state where the business works so well they don't have to.
Greg is also the author of "The 7 Keys to Unlock Your Business Profit Potential," which descibes the fundamental keys a business needs to achieve this transformation. Find out more, get 2 free chapters, or buy the book online at http://www.small-business-success.ws
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