8 Tips For Becoming a True Leader

This article was written by Jeff Wuorio and not myself, but I wanted to share it because it had many good points I thought you might find useful. Please feel free to comment.

On the surface, the difference between a step and a stumble seems obvious.

But in business, plotting long and hard to climb into a leadership role often is indistinguishable from inadvertently falling into one. The fact is, whether you take a deliberate step toward an objective or immediately trip on a shoelace, you may end up in the same spot. Put another way, many people who have a laser focus on getting to the top make it there no faster than those who have a leadership opportunity thrust upon them.

Yet knowing the difference between thoughtful business leadership and the kind that happens seemingly by accident is critical — not only in your ability to grow and develop as a leader, but to establish a pattern of success that's deliberate, not miraculous.

Here, then, are eight attributes that separate genuine leadership from leadership that's more a matter of chance:

1. Real leadership means leading yourself. Passing out orders is as easy as passing out business cards. But a prudent leader also knows how to lead himself or herself — not merely to provide a genuine example to others, but to become a working element of the overall machinery of your business. "It's important that leaders have the ability to focus and motivate themselves as they motivate others," says Larraine Segil, an author and consultant who teaches executive education at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

2. Don't be a monarch. Thoughtful leadership likely means you already have a talented work force in place. That's terrific. But be careful not set up a throne room in the process. Accidental leaders often inadvertently establish a system of guidance that's unnecessarily restrictive. Guide employees, but don't implement more parameters than are absolutely necessary. "It's important to influence the people with whom you work," says Segil. "Don't see your business as a hierarchy."

3. Be open to new ways of doing things. One potential land mine of a prosperous operation is to repeat anything that proves successful. It's hard to argue against that, but an inadvertent leader will put far too much stock in sticking with what always works. By contrast, thoughtful leadership acknowledges success but also recognizes there are always ways to do things better.

4. Remember that white males are fast becoming a minority. Statistics show that white males now make up only a small fraction of the workplace population. Couple that with growing partnerships across borders, and it becomes obvious that blending a variety of cultures and backgrounds in a work environment is an essential leadership skill. A thoughtless leader will try to cope with this as best as he can. One with more vision will work to take advantage of differences. "Competition — the constant push for faster, better, cheaper — mandates that we learn to effectively deal with differences in the workplace," says career consultant Susan Eckert of Advance Career and Professional Development in Brightwaters, N.Y. A company that weaves an appreciation of diversity into its cultural fabric will make itself "unbeatable," Eckert says.

5. Establish a genuine sense of commitment. I must admit this is a personal sore point with me. I've seen too many company slogans and catch phrases whose import is no deeper than the paper they're written on. Want to be "committed to superior service"? More power to you, but a genuine leader will see that as words and little else. Instead, put some meat on those bones — establish how to quantify excellence, design a cogent plan to achieve it and set a reasonable but real timetable for its completion.

6. Finish the job. Many business leaders yak about their complete game, but how many actually finish what they say they're going to start? A thoughtless leader who never genuinely finishes anything loses the confidence of clients and customers. That lack of follow-through isn't going to be lost on his or her employees, either. Instead, set goals and establish pragmatic, accountable measures to actually finish what you start. "The ability to complete things is critical," Segil says. "Nothing's useful unless you actually complete it."

7. Show genuine appreciation. Thoughtless leaders must have forearms like Popeye's, what with all the back-slapping they do. That's fine, but good performance requires a more substantive response. Leaders with an eye to the future hand out praise but augment it with real rewards: promotions, raises, bonuses and other tangible tokens of appreciation. That motivates your people, not only to apply themselves with enthusiasm but to stick around your company longer than they might otherwise.

8. Know that leadership skills come from learning, too. Far too may business executives believe leadership skills stem from some sort of wondrous epiphany or other such flash of insight. Sure, great ideas can come to any of us, but being a bona fide leader also means study. Read books on effective leadership, attend seminars and pick the brains of colleagues to see what works for them. It can be a long education, but one with rewards that multiply with the more knowledge you have under your belt.

By Jeff Wuorio - Microsoft Small Business Center
Jeff Wuorio is a veteran freelance writer and author based in southern Maine. He writes about small-business management, marketing and technology issues.

Six Secrets to Amazing Growth

You created or found a business that you can work with and you are set up for success, but what is the key to that success? Where does that growth come from? What is expected from you to make this happen?

Everyone dreams of bigger and better things. Everyone wants to be successful and make good money. Nearly everyone dreams of being financially free, but few are willing to do what it really takes to make a long term success in working for yourself from home.

Growth is multiplying your talents and efforts to make money for yourself and others if you are in a business where wealth is shared such as network marketing, or MLM. The first and second secrets to amazing growth are giving the people you work with a chance to contribute their knowledge and then allowing them to help in training others so that you are not doing it all yourself. Trust that they may have an area of expertise and be willing to learn from them. It is a big mistake to assume you know it all and try and do it all yourself. Train your team well, learn from them, and then allow them to help shoulder the responsibilities of training the new people as the team grows. Learn to push your team out of their comfort zone so that they continue to grow as well. The idea that many hands make light work is still true even when working from home with a team that mostly meets over the phone and internet. This technique of time management will allow you to have more time to do the things you need to do to continue to grow.

The third secret to amazing growth is learning to give up things. No one really wants to make sacrifices, but in the big picture you may actually have to give up something you really enjoy so that you can be successful. If you need some extra time to build your business so that you can have more time later you may have to cut out some of those leisure activities that you hold dear. You may have to cut out movies, TV or even reading a favorite book, though you should always be reading a personal growth book of some kind even if its just for a few minutes a day. At any rate, being willing to give up something is important. If you are not willing to give something up to get where you are going your success may be limited.

Realizing that it does not all happen at once is another factor in amazing growth. You can grow very fast in some cases, but patience is important. While it is true that you are in control of your success and growth, you must also be patient and learn that sometimes growth takes time and building a solid foundation is important. So the fourth secret to amazing growth is patience. If you start small and build your business solidly, success and growth will come to you.

Your creativity is the fifth secret to amazing growth. You should use the tools available to you and avoid re-inventing the wheel as they say, but when you have a great idea that you know will do amazing things for your growth and your team, don't be afraid to step up and use it. Your creativity is what will drive your success and your team to new levels.

The last secret to amazing growth is personal to each of you because it is your relationship to God. This is highly personal and varies with each one of us, but I firmly believe that my success is directly connected to my God and my relationship with Him! Do not neglect the most important relationships when you are building your business and amazing growth will surely be right around the corner for you.

When people remember you and what you accomplished in your life what will they say? What do you want them to say? When you think of what you hope people will remember about you the most then you know how you want to live your life. You should focus on that and move in that direction daily. Remember tomorrow is never guaranteed. Don't wait until it is too late to make a difference. Make a difference every day and you will find that you can't stop the growth that is coming to your business.