08.06.08
Entrepreneurial Leadership
Entrepreneurs often run their businesses using expertise in a particular area, but give little thought to how their leadership skills impact their business results. In my coaching practice, I see many entrepreneurs that improve their results by improving their leadership. Some leadership skills are adaptability, self-awareness, displaying drive and purpose, and building and maintaining relationships. I recently talked with Michelle Lederman, founder of Executive Essentials, www.executiveessentials.org , a successful training company, on how her skills have impacted her success. Her leadership skills have helped her create focus yet remain flexible in her approach to achieving her vision.
Business owners are torn in so many directions that many fine it difficult to figure out how to spend their time. Having a sense of purpose sets up criteria to measure activities and prioritize. Michelle’s approach to determining how to spend her time is straightforward. She created a list for herself of her top 6 goals. When she evaluates how to spend her time, she matches up the activity to the list. If the activity doesn’t relate to reaching her goals, she doesn’t do it.
Her success in running her business has come in part from her leadership skill of self-awareness. She is aware that goals motivate her toward achievement and uses this self-awareness to achieve business results and reach a level of purpose. Other entrepreneurs may be motivated by goals around revenue targets or client contracts.
Her ability to build and maintain strong relationships with clients and colleagues has helped her succeed as a business owner. She subcontracts with trainers to offer large-scale training solutions and has used her measure of who she “wants to work with,” as part of the criteria for developing successful subcontractor and client relationships. She doesn’t work with those who fall into the “should” or “have to” end of the spectrum.
She applies her self-awareness of the energy she gets from interaction and builds in opportunities to connect as part of her day. She bounces ideas off others to maintain her motivation and increase her interaction with others. She also applies these skills to her clients, which has created long-term relationships and repeat business.
Michelle’s adaptability has helped her succeed as she has maintains a flexible approach to achieving her vision. She says, “You don’t have to figure it out on Day One of starting your business. You can try different things and see what you enjoy most what makes money and what doesn’t.” Entrepreneurs should “Keep going. Believe it will work out. Failure cannot be an option.” This attitude is one of the best indicators of entrepreneurial success I have seen.
