Originally published on Entrepreneur Voices
Whether a company of 1 or 100, leadership matters. It directs how you focus your attention, create your vision and how you get from A to B. We know leadership is important, but is it being instituted?
Studies show that more money is spent on leadership development than any other area of corporate development but 71% of organizations do not feel their leaders will be able to direct their company into the future.
While corporate tends to take a very conservative approach to education, are entrepreneurial thoughts on leadership that far in front? Entrepreneur.com lists creativity, direction, delegation, coordination and collaboration as the top characteristics needed in a leader. Not exactly news-breaking but solid choices.
Forbes is a little more on the edge recommending vision, dissatisfaction with the present, knowing and using your advantages, the ability to get people on board with your vision, flexibility, persistence and execution. While this may be a little off the beaten path, is it enough?
So where are you going? Are the leadership skills you have learned making the difference in your business? You don’t always need to be at the top to lead people. Gary Douglas, author of Benevolent Capitalism said “You can lead people from wherever you are. You are a great leader if you are creating a greater possibility in the world, with one person or a billion people.”
If the tried and true ways of leading haven’t worked for you, here are 4 tools you can use instead.
Let go of control– Micromanaging every aspect of your business is one of the best ways to let those you work with know you don’t trust them. For the solopreneur, it’s the equivalent of the gardener pulling up their seeds everyday to see if they’re growing.
Embrace Change– Business is fast today and faster tomorrow. What worked then may not today and the industry is only getting more reliant on speed. One of the best things a leader can be for their business is a recognizer of what isn’t working and inspire a change – fast!
Be Curious– A question is probably what got you into the field in the first place. To question if something will work and what it will look like in the future is one of the best ways to start developing a global vision of the future.
Be Wrong– A leader doesn’t need to be the expert in everything but uses everyone and everything around them (including their greater capacities and talents) to his or her advantage. Be willing to be wrong and learn from every choice.
Will you choose to be the gardener pulling up her seeds every 10 seconds? Or will you start instituting different leadership that not only creates a more profitable, well-run business but an inspiring one?
You don’t have to be the expert. You only have to be smart enough to use what you have to your advantage, be willing to make mistakes and learn from every choice.
Rebecca Hulse is the Creative Producer of Joy of Business and world traveler. Find out more at www.accessjoyfbusiness.com or www.rebeccahulse.com