Guest
post from Ron Schutz:
Confidence
is my #1 trait for leadership as an entrepreneur. There must be a proper balance of humility
and belief in one’s talents. The excess
of this is arrogance; the demonstration of pride! A simple reality could be, do people respect
you and seek out your opinion or do they avoid you as much as possible?
Prideful people turn others
off. Confident people attract others to their
strength.
#2
Vision. If you do not know
where you are going, how will you know when you get there? One of my favorite movies is Patton.
The most impactful scene in the movie is Patton standing on a muddy
stump – directing tank traffic. As a
leader, he had a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish, yet he was
willing to get off his white stallion and take a place of an MP directing
traffic to keep his vision moving forward toward his goal.
#3
Respect. Seeking the input
of others, weighing their thoughts, attempting to understand their logic for
why they see or believe a reality as they define that reality. In developing a SIFT Coalition (Securing
Individualism and Freedom Together), productivity increases exponentially
because of emotional buy-in and respect of input from fellow workers.
#4
Delegation. A strong leader,
with a strong clear vision, surrounds themselves with talents that complement
their skills. They trust those others
and give them both responsibility and authority to act. I find the largest roadblock to continued
growth is this inability to trust others.
As an effective leader, your time is so valuable that anytime you can
“buy” more time for the “important, and not urgent,” * by delegating to your
highly skilled and dedicated team, your effectiveness increases.
#5
Avoid Tweaking. I find
it highly demoralizing to watch a leader fiddle with a plan, making last minute
changes once the plan has been agreed upon.
I am not talking, here, about a fluid situation like a fire, or a
battle. I am talking about things like
an event. Insecure leaders come back and
shift things around. This creates
disorder, loads of additional stress and a lack of respect for those who
contributed to the plan. Learning to accept the ideas and contributions of
others, even it is not exactly how you might have done it, goes a long way. How
many people do you know who have changed jobs, not for salary issues, but
rather because they feel unvalued?
A practical list of great
leaders who have demonstrated these 5 qualities are Jesus, Abraham Lincoln,
Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Ronald Reagan
and numerous military leaders. Go forth,
read up on these leaders. Learn from their struggles and successes.
*See Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Ron Schutz, consults with business
owners to help them realize their full financial potential. He develops
strategies and workable solutions to prepare companies for transition. After being trained in problem-solving
techniques as an engineer and receiving a commission in the United States Naval
Reserve, Schutz pursued his passion for finance and banking by completing his
MBA at New York University. With nearly
fifty years in business, he relives his challenges through the eyes of Sasha in
his new book, AMERICAN
FATHERS. For more information,
please visit www.profitpicture.net or www.ronschutzauthor.com.
1 comment:
I really think that all these traits go hand in hand with being a great leader. not only are these traits helpful in leading, but will also be helpful in just about anything you do. Confidence is also my #1 trait as well, if your leader isn't confident then no one is going to believe in what they say and be willing to follow and listen to them. Having a vision is also important, setting goals and then planning on how to achieve them is crucial in being successful. I also think the Respect and Delegation are important as well. There will be points in your work life where you feel overwhelmed and you need to have confidence that your employees can help get some of that work done and it will be done to the quality that it would of been had you done it yourself. I also agree with the avoid tweaking but I would give it a different name.
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