9 attributes of the best entrepreneurial leaders
Creating and
building a business
is not a one-man show. It requires a team effort, or at least the ability to
build trust and confidence among key players, and effectively communicate with
partners, team members, investors, vendors, and customers. These actions are
the hallmark of an effective leader.
Behind the actions are a set of principles and characteristics that entrepreneurial leaders, like Bill Gates and Steve
Jobs, seem to have in common. Look for these and nurture them in your own
context to improve the odds of success for your own startup:
1. Clarity
of vision and expectations. You must be able and willing to
communicate to everyone your vision, goals, and objectives. Just as
importantly, you have to be absolutely clear about who you are, what you stand
for, and what you expect from everyone around you. People won’t follow you if
they are in the dark or confused.
2. Willingness
to make decisions. It is often said that making any decision is better
than making no decision. Even better than “any decision” is a good decision
made quickly. Business decisions always involve risk, at times a great deal of
it. Smart entrepreneurs always balance the risk with facts, when they have
them, rather than their gut.
3. Experience
and knowledge in your business area. Effective leaders set a personal
standard of competence for every person and function in the startup. It must be
clear that you have the knowledge, insight, and skill to make your new company
better than your very best competitor.
4. Commitment
and conviction for the venture. This commitment must be passionate
enough to motivate and inspire people to do their best work, and put their
heart into the effort. Behind the passion must be a business model that makes
sense in today’s world, and a determination to keep going despite setbacks.
5. Open
to new ideas and creativity. In business, this means spending time and
resources on new ideas, as well as encouraging people to find faster, better,
cheaper, and easier ways to produce results, beat competition, and improve
customer service. Be a role model and guide others to excel.
6. Courage
to acknowledge and attack constraints. An effective leader is willing
and able to allocate resources to remove obstacles to the success of the
startup, as well as removing constraints on individuals on the team. It is
believing that where there is the will, there will be a way.
7. Reward
continuous learning. You have to encourage everyone to learn and grow
as a normal and natural part of business. That means no punishment for
failures, and positive opportunities for training and advancement. Personally,
it means upgrading your own skills, listening, and reading about new
developments and approaches.
8. Self-discipline
for consistency and reliability. An effective leader is totally
predictable, calm, positive, and confident, even under pressure. People like to
follow someone when they don’t have to “walk on eggshells” to avoid angry
outbursts, or assume daily changes in direction.
9. Accept
responsibility for all actions. Everyone and every company makes
mistakes. Good entrepreneurs don’t want to be seen as perfect, and they have to
be seen as willing to accept the fact that “the buck stops here.” No excuses,
or putting the blame on the economy, competitors, or team members.
The good news is that all of these principles of leadership are learnable.
The bad news is that it’s not easy. Don’t assume that success as an
entrepreneur is only about great presentations, killing competitors, or having
insanely great ideas. It’s really more about leadership, understanding the
needs of your prospective clients, and communicating your solutions with
clarity.- By: Martin Zwilling
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