I have read umpteen articles on “What makes a Good leader”, or “Five Ways to be a Good Leader” or "7 Things Good Leaders Don’t Do.” etc., etc. Here are my two cents in the debate.
I have owned and/or operated seven businesses in my career. I think, looking back, that I have made just about every mistake one could think of, several in the area of leadership. Hopefully, I can save you some trouble. Here is what I learned, in no particular order of importance:
- Sometimes your employees know more than you do. In other words, you don’t know everything - irrespective of the fact you are the boss. Therefore you must listen to your employees. They actually like it when you ask them questions and you listen to their answers. You can get some really great ideas from them, plus their buy-in to change is more enthusiastic when they've had a hand in creating that change.
- Delegate Responsibility! You can’t do everything yourself. If you think you can, you are dead wrong. Oh, and by the way, along with the delegation of responsibility goes Accountability. If you are going to give them responsibility - and you should - then they have to be held accountable for both the good and the bad.
- Communicate. Your employees, your customers, and your vendors should all be familiar with your Mission for the company, as well as your Vision. What's the difference between the two? I have always defined it like this:
- The Vision Statement is for the investors, stakeholders and/or lenders. It talks about what your business wants to do.
- The Mission statement is for the employees, customers and vendors. It talks about how your business wants to do it.
- Be Inclusive. Your employees know a lot about your business operationally, customer relations, finance, etc. Run things by them, see what they think. Listen to their responses. Allow them to be part of the team.
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