If you are going to run your own company it may seem obvious that you need some leadership qualities; this does not mean that you are the loudest or most assertive. Taking the huge leap of faith in yourself to start your own business means that, at your core, you have leadership qualities for certain. Not every leader wants to work for themselves, and not every business owner is a leader.
So what is Leadership? I am not an expert, but since I’ve since spent my life in Sales I can tell you that NOTHING gets sold without team work. Whether it’s your chain of Suppliers, your Sales Team, the Creatives or the Programmers/Manufacturers, in business, no wo/man is an island. I can guarantee you cannot be tremendously successful without a team, and Leadership is vital if you are going to get that team to work smoothly and effectively. So how do you lead people is the question? The answer is probably a lot more nuanced than you might expect.
I’m currently immersed in Creative Energy Options’ Total Leadership Connections where one of the foundations of the program is “…extraordinary leadership begins with the understanding that you are an integral part of a system – a continuum of connectedness.” What that means to me is that you can’t lead your team in any form if you don’t understand how inherently interconnected you are to each individual on that team. Understanding that concept alone will effect the way you treat the players on your team.
If you delve deeper and start to understand the patterns in your own behavior, and perhaps even the patterns in your teammate’s behavior, windows of opportunity will fly open. Of course leadership takes many forms in today’s business world, and there is not one formula for success. But contemplating what leadership is and understanding how your behavior effects the players on your team will take you a long way to becoming an effective and successful worker and person.
