Recently, Dick, a person I have loved and respected, died. I knew this man on a personal level, as a father, friend, husband, and grandfather. He was a great man! At his memorial, many that worked with him also shared how great he was there. Here is what I realized. Dick chose to lead not just at work but in life. He chose to possess characteristics and traits of leadership. He was:
- Visionary
- Mentored and was a role model
- Didn’t take himself too seriously
- Chose to see the best in every person
- Saw the potential in others
- Practiced giving without ever expecting
- Had high standards
- Challenged you to be your best
- Came from a place of adventure
- Always came from love
- Knew solutions were possible
- Made family first.
So what’s the point? As small business owners these characteristics are critical for your success. People in his life wanted to follow him. And you need others to want to follow you: your family, your community, your customers. So:
- Make a choice
- Understand leadership is key
- Pick one of these amazing characteristics above and incorporate it in your life 100% of the time and I guarantee you will:
- Get better results
- Increase loyalty from others
- Enjoy life more
- Truly be successful
- Always have what you need.
I highly recommend Leadership 101 by John Maxwell to explore leadership and how important it is to you as an entrepreneur. What will you do to choose to lead?
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
I bet Dick also knew and loved himself first and foremost. To be able to be all he was (and like you said, for us to be the best small business owners/leaders we can be) we need to love and understand ourselves to be able to give that much to other people and be a leader. That is sometimes the hard part- to know and love yourself first.
So true Candace and glad you thought of it! We do need self love to lead!
Great characteristics of leadership! I personally am working harder on # 4. Thanks for a great post.
JR Nuerge
Eco-friendly+Eco-nomical=Eco-fabulous!
http://www.jrnuerge.com
This is a great list of leadership characteristics. I completely agree that they are critical of business success, but also just personal success! I think many of these characteristics should be applied personally as well, to truly have a happy life, even if your goal isn't to be successful in a “business”
Leadership is about life -for me Sarah that is exactly the point of the article — not a corporate job and it will affect your success in ALL areas of your life! PopPop knew that for certain!
Yes! and I think that is missed by a lot of people in leadership positions. Hopefully it opens their eyes 🙂
I can see why your friend was a leader. Thank you for the examples. There are many of the above points which I plan to utilize. One of them… not taking myself too seriously… can use some work on my part. This article prompts me to improve. Thanks!
Don't Take Yourself so Seriously! Such a powerful lesson to learn isn't it?
I just found your article, and I appreciate how you honored your friend. I have just lost a dear friend to cancer, and he exemplified #3 and #8.
Showing parts of you and your life as you write about what you know can be powerful!
I like this post. I believe the language in the title should be “…Critical For…” instead of “…Critical of…”
I like this post. I believe the language in the title should be “…Critical For…” instead of “…Critical of…”