What are the essential traits of a great leader?
YOU MUST BE PASSIONATE, PURPOSEFUL, AND DRIVEN
Great leaders are hard to find. Most fall into the traditional supervisor/manager mindset instead of capturing the hearts and minds of their team. They use tactics to dominate or bully their followers, believing they must drive their people forward with a strong arm. A true leader is a diamond in the rough, most would prefer not to lead (because it’s difficult), but they do it anyways because they want to succeed. An amazing leader is passionate, purposeful, and driven. They must have a keen eye for detail, an open heart, and thick skin. A great leader gets things done, even at great personal sacrifice, because they know what they are doing is important.
YOUR TEAM MUST BE LOYAL TO THE CAUSE, NOT YOU
To lead a team there must be loyalty, but not to the leader. Many people think loyalty to the leader is paramount, but this is an incredible pitfall. If they are loyal to you, you can’t trust them to question your poor decision making at critical moments. It also creates toxic cliques, and unproductive rivalry. The goal of leadership is to create an effective team that works together to reach a common goal. When your team is loyal to you, they are invested in building social equity with you (brown nosing) instead of earning it with achievement.
Become a great leader by putting the goal and the project first and your team will follow.
A GREAT LEADER VALUE CRITICISM
PAIN IS THE CATALYST FOR CHANGE
When running team feedback is essential. Your project will not succeed unless a healthy forum exists to criticize decision making. No one is above evaluation, especially its leaders.
We live in a world that fears pain, hides from discomfort, and covers their eyes when we witness something we don’t like. If you want to achieve your dreams you must be open to input. Whether you experience criticism in your personal or business life you must unlock the door and allow others to express themselves. If you are unaware of how you are failing, you will never fix the problem, and change will never happen.
Pain is the catalyst for change, without it we believe the world is wonderful. We have no reason to adjust who we are or what we are doing. Criticism hurts, and it should, it cuts deep because it is an analysis of who we are, or what we want. If it didn’t hurt, then our actions would be meaningless. You have to be passionate about what you are doing, because if you aren’t, no one else will. A leader must be invested if they expect their team to work hard to achieve the goals of the project.
All of this information is useless in the abstract if you don’t have any skills to implement an openness to criticism. So, what are some things we can do to take the pain of criticism and transform it into something positive?
Look deep into your soul and ask yourself if you really want to achieve your goals. How important is this project to you? Do you love what you are doing? How much do you want to succeed?
If you aren’t passionate about your path then you are most likely moving in the wrong direction. Life is too short to waste on roads leading nowhere. Most of us believe we will always have time to achieve our dreams. Why wouldn’t we? There seems to be no end to our life in sight, so what is the harm? The harm is there is an end, youth doesn’t last forever, and eventually your health will fade, and your opportunities begin to dwindle.
I was given the beautiful blessing of tasting the barrel of death. Thank God it did not end me, but it did show me the fragility of existence. With this hardship, the pain was the catalyst to show me how little life I may have. This pushed me forward and allowed me to think about my legacy. I realized what little I had achieved and how much time I wasted on meaningless endeavors that led me to dead ends. My journey revealed there are no second’s worth squandering and every step I take should be used to achieve my ultimate goals.
By attaching this incredible gem to my life, my quest to achieve my dreams became more focused. It was the magic I needed to endure anything to win.
CRITICISM IS YOUR ALLY
Criticism is an incredible tool. It helps you see holes in your plan. It isolates problems you may have been blind to and allows you to fix them. If you are laser focused on building something meaningful every criticism becomes a gift. Think about it, they have taken time out of their existence to help you succeed. Acts of kindness like that rarely happen in life, so when they do, accept them as you would any great gift.
Accepting criticism is all about transforming how you interpret the world. If you explore your inner most philosophies you can begin transforming how you experience each day. Life is all about filters. One of the most important components of accepting criticism and advice effectively is changing how you hear others. Start by hearing the world through a filter of love and good intent. I am not asking you to fall in love with anyone, instead just assume they mean well, and have good intent. When you do this, life becomes a lot more peaceful and when people speak, you will listen.
A GREAT LEADER IS READY TO PIVOT
Great leaders must possess the ability to pivot, adjust their strategy, and gamble. In business failure is inevitable. No idea is perfect, failproof, or without flaw. If you want to achieve your goals you must be perceptive, alert, and have the ability to look ahead. Doom is just around the corner, so you need to be fast on your feet or be caught off guard. When you play the game, just like in poker, be ready to fail. The goal is to fail just enough so you are not stuck in a trap.
Every piece of advice is empty unless you have the tools to implement these tactics, so what can we do to prevent ourselves from falling into these pits?
First pay attention to what is happening in the world. Research, research, research. Write about what you see and explore all the possibilities. By knowing the past you can influence the future. Analyze your own industry to see what others have done in the past to mitigate hardship and catastrophe. Did they do something you could do now to prevent the destruction of your business?
One of the most unfortunate components of small business networking groups is their inability to discuss the failure of the businesses in their ranks. Running a business is not sunshine, smiles and swirling pools of ever-present fun. It is a marathon, requires constant training, research, and grit. What better wisdom is there than learning from someone who has personally lost? Their invaluable insight could help save countless businesses from falling onto the ever-growing pile of failure. Yes, it is sad to see one of your friend’s businesses fail, but their story is a goldmine.
Watching the development and decline of other companies will help your project develop. What changes, pivots, and risks are they taking? Emulating their choices without careful consideration is unwise. Instead of making knee jerk reactions, explore why they are taking their actions. How could you do it better, and of course what is the step you need to take afterward. If you are lost in the woods, randomly walking around is not the solution, sure you might find your way out, but you may accidently walk into a bear’s den. Avoid being the lunch of one of your competitors by building a vision, creating a map, and following it.
Even cartographers make mistakes, no map is perfect, nor is your plan. Be prepared to create detours when you reach roadblocks, potholes, and problems. Business plans are meant to be flexible, just like the leaders who implement them. If you must make an alteration to your route, don’t let it derail you. If the risk is right, going off road is fine, but there is only so much time your company can survive if you are driving the buggy through the dunes of the desert. Look beyond what is in front of you and search out a road to pull back on.
When your company makes a significant pivot it is extremely important your team knows there is a plan. They don’t need to know every detail, but they must feel like you are doing your best to protect their investment. Even great leaders lose followers when wandering through the desert. Keep them loyal to the cause. The cause should be the company, not you. If your team is loyal to you, they will allow you to make terrible decisions during the pivot. Many will avoid saying things that will hurt your feelings or result in the loss of social standing. Encourage them to build professional equity through achievement instead of charm and your company will have a greater chance of success.
Running a business is like poker, risk is an inherent part of the game. In poker there is a saying “scared money can’t win”, it means that if you are afraid of betting everything you have in front of you, you will lose. If you are unwilling to gamble, your company will become stagnant, stale, and unappealing. You must look for opportunities, evaluate the potential gain and decide if the hand is worth playing. Is it a long shot or are you walking into the river with a royal flush?
When you pivot it is essential that the narrative of your company is maintained. What does this mean? What is the narrative? Jennifer Brand is a spa that sells the best wellness products and services in its industry. We are most known for our amazing massages. When pivoting, the focus of our business must remain within the wellness & beauty purview. We can’t suddenly switch to selling cheeseburgers and fries. If we did, our business would be crushed beneath the weight of the pivot. The change must match the public’s perceptions. If it doesn’t you will lose the trust and affection of your loyal fan base. This can be a game ender. If you don’t know the narrative of your company you must find it.
GET TO KNOW THE SPIRIT OF YOUR COMPANY
At some point in our life we become introspective and search inwardly to see who we are at the deepest depths of our soul. Some people do this many times throughout their existence, others dabble their fingers into their inner insight. Just like a person your business must do the same. If this is your company it is your baby, give it the love and attention you would your child and your soul. Ask important questions, think about the life you want it to live, and plan for the future. When you give your business life, you develop its personality. Give it form so it may grow beyond its infancy and become a strong, healthy, and productive adult, one that can take care of itself and you.
Though your company will develop its own identity over time you must cultivate it from the beginning. Your business should be designed like an author writing a book. Every story has governing rules. By building the narrative of your company it will establish a framework of natural laws that will never be broken. These laws build the framework and foundation that will help ensure your pivots are healthy, productive and contribute to the overall wellness of your baby.
