YOUR BUSINESS RESCUE COACH ASKS YOU:
Do Business Owners need to be excellent leaders?
Why is mastering leadership important to all business leaders?
Are your Best Business Strategies working for you OR do you need a little tweaking your leadership effectiveness? Regardless of whether you are an entrepreneur or in a corporate setting, effective leadership is an essential element to your success! Read on and see why…
Let’s see if we can help you tweak your own performance this week with some personal awarenesses and business strategies to lead with confidence and effectiveness. In Part 1 of this series we learned the definitions of leading and managing. In Part 2 of this series we learned the 4 basic functions of managers. In Part 3 we learned what the primary objective is for leaders. This week, we will wrap up this series regarding the basic functions of a leader. I encourage you to click the links if you haven’t already read the other posts.
NOTE TO ENTREPRENEURS: I spoke with one of my regular followers who told me that she wasn’t reading this series because it didn’t apply to her… I responded with a “Not quite, actually it may be more pertinent to you since you are constantly in both of these roles not only consistently, but simultaneously!” I can’t stress how I specifically designed my approach of this topic for ALL Business Leaders to benefit from this wisdom 🙂 Enjoy this final part of this series!
Oversimplified Leadership Definition:
“The process of inspiring , influencing, and guiding other to participate in a common effort.” (Source: 2001, Management, Kreitner, 6th ed.)
How do you like that for oversimplification? Yet, everything a leader does can be traced back to either inspiring, influencing or guiding others. Again, I state, not all managers tend to be great leaders, but great leaders also tend to be good managers! I continue to find support as I study this topic to one of my theories: management is a science and leadership is an art. Curious what your thoughts are on this – please share in comments 🙂
Some of the other words that tend to be part of the leader conversation is
- Power: being able to position resources to accomplish goals
- Authority: being responsible for directing the actions of others
- Responsibility: being completely accountable about all decisions made.
I have noticed that the leaders of organizations and businesses who are most successful are the ones who truly hold a vision for their business and align all resources to actualize their vision, which usually transforms every aspect of the organization. Some say Steve Jobs was a transformational leader, other say “not so much”. Fortunately time will ultimately determine if he was an exceptional innovator or an outstanding leader – who knows, maybe both!
One thing I will always say is the responsibility of a leader is their ability to communicate effectively with people of all different levels. Actually, I see their capability of effective communication being the key to their success! As CPAs are great with numbers because they know what to do with them, I believe leaders are great with conversations because they know what to do with that information to make the best possible decisions.
You didn’t know this was going to lead into my soapbox moment now, did you? Here it is: The best leaders know how to take care of their most important asset – the human asset! Humans are more valuable to an organization’s success than any other component. So why are employees so under-appreciated and succession plans ineffective? Ah, I could go on endlessly how to end this organizational epidemic, but that’s not today’s topic! (If you want to know more, call me, I’ll be happy to share such wisdom!)
Leaders: humans are the critical key to your success. Do you value them? Do you truly converse with them and express your appreciation for their candor? Do you really think you can make accurate and prosperous decisions if you aren’t getting the full intel? Think about how you need your people more than anything else… Doubt me? Ask a retired Green Bay Packer what they would do for their leader, Coach Vince Lombardi. The answer will be something similar to, “Anything he asked of me”!This should be the goal of every leader.
Business Rescue Coach’s Inquiry to YOU:
- If I interviewed your direct staff (even customers and suppliers) whould they give the Coach Vince Lombardi answer of “… Anything … “?
- If you are a small business, do you own relationships with each member of your organization? Make time to do so!
It can be all different this year…
if you plan to deliver different results in 2013!
If you or your business needs rescuing on this particular topic
or any other Business Strategies we have been discussing,
please reach out to Maggie (262) 716.7750 FYI: I’m in the Central Time Zone
Blessings of Success to YOU ~
The Business Rescue Coach, Maggie Mongan
Brilliant Breakthroughs, Inc.
