Being a Leader is more than just being in Charge

Being a business owner is no easy tasks.  Yes, the rewards can be great, but there are many sacrifices made along the way to achieve those rewards.  It’s not for everyone, but those business owners who do succeed and those aspiring entrepreneurs who will become masters of their own destiny all must become great leaders in their own way.

Recently, I found some interesting information I wanted to share with you.  I cannot take credit for the information, as it’s coming to you 3^rd hand (and I don’t know it’s original source), but it was shared with me very early in my business career and I think very relevant to small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs:

1)   Understand that, at the end of the day, leadership is all about relationship: 

People will not follow you if they don’t trust you.  Showing leadership in your work means that building high-trust relationships is Job#1.  To cultivate these bonds, peak performing leaders remember that the little things are the big things when it comes to building loyalty.  Here’s the key: if you simply fill the needs of your staff, they will remain with you until someone who can do it better comes along.  But if you deeply connect with them as an individual, they just might remain with you for life.

2)   Remember leaders strive for mastery over mediocrity.

The quality of your professional life ultimately comes down to the quality of the choices that you make every minute of every hour of every day.  Our highest personal endowment is the ability to choose our response to a given event.  We can choose to get angry with a difficult staffer, or we can see this as an opportunity to deepen the relationship by dealing with the problem in a creative, effective way so that the staffer is impressed enough to tell the world, positively, about your management style, and you.

3)   Stop doing what is easy, and focus on doing what is right.

Weak performers spend their time taking the path of least resistance.  Bold leaders are different.  They know that the tougher you are on yourself, the easier life will be on you.  When you have the courage to do what your heart tells you is the right thing to do in every instance, rather than doing what is easy, you will raise the quality of your professional life to a whole new level.

4)   Smart leaders know that the time is now.

If you don’t act on life.  Life has a habit of acting on you.  The days slip into weeks, the weeks slip into months, and the months slip into years.    You can, most assuredly, influence today and in turn tomorrow.  Those who act now, find their way to success.

Do you… or can you… master 1 through 4?  Everyone can be a good leader, and be successful in business with a little drive and perseverance. The answer ultimately rests on how committed and focused you are at achieving you goals. 

Do you have small business questions you would like answered about this article or others?  Please visit www.VRWindsor.com or call 519-903-7807. 

William Sivell is a sales representative of VR Windsor Inc., Business Brokerage; his blog appears every Tuesday.