How can entrepreneurs develop strong leadership skills?

I think we need a better understanding of what leadership is and means. In my humble opinion it is like a cult, inspiring people with a vision and confidence, building their confidence in the vision and you. It’s an extension of “pitching” but to different stakeholders, employees, partners and associates involved in delivery. They must want to go with you on a scary journey. Once you have done that give them freedom with supportive feedback. Leadership is the art of getting people to do what you want, willingly. For entrepreneurs this is a necessary skill as usually you are asking people to support you with less pay and stability for the fun of it! Reflection and observations are mechanisms you can use to move forward.

Know when to step aside and lean on experts to do what they're supposed to do. Set aside ego to let your vision transform when necessary so it becomes reality.

If you're starting a business-- you better have good leadership skills to begin with. But if you want to excel: you need to work on yourself. Get a coach, and go to therapy.

Developing strong leadership skills as an entrepreneur is a journey of self-discovery and growth. It's about recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses, understanding what drives you, and learning how to connect with and inspire your team. Effective communication is not just about conveying information; it's about listening to your team's concerns and ideas. Building a team by recognizing and nurturing their potential, making them feel valued and motivated. Taking risks isn't just about making bold moves; it's about learning from failures and having the courage to keep moving forward. Ultimately, leadership is about being a role model, setting an example through your actions, and creating a culture of trust and collaboration.

In my experience, it's more day-to-day reflection using what-so what-now what. In this way, you continue to improve not only your and organizational actions, but also build empathy and provide your team with the best nurturing environment where they, like you, can learn, see opportunities and maintain a growth mindset.

I agree, but up to a point, because nowadays businesses exist in a constant uncertain environment that requires you and your team to be customer-centric and your business to have a purpose. Many businesses still make false claims and make false promises, then wonder why they lose market share and customers. Or they don’t grow….

The way this is written makes it seem like it comes from one side and is handed down, so to that extent I disagree. A vision is a future successful state of an organization and therefore, needs to be carefully crafted by key stakeholders of the business - the ones who show up and will actualize that vision on behalf of the organization. For each organization, the stakeholders involved may be different. But, without alignment, it is highly unlikely the organization will make it out of the survive phase.

Leadership is all about influence. Leading happens when one has followers and one thing that makes this possible is having a great and palatable vision, which makes people see beyond the current.

Having a clear purpose or mission is essential. It needs to be descriptive enough that I can visualize that future or outcome. What I see happen with organizations that grow and scale is that the purpose and vision are not repeated often enough for those onboarding or those who continue to be individual contributors to remember that that vision. What struggle or challenge is removed? What would it feel like for your customers? Who else can share your purpose and vision with you? When I talk to team members, it is exciting to see the renewed energy that the work they complete each day makes a difference to customers.

Entrepreneurs can foster robust leadership skills by excelling in the art of communicating their vision and values effectively. A leader's success hinges on their ability to craft a vision that not only guides their business but also resonates with their core values, purpose, and overarching objectives. This vision could extend beyond profit margins and encapsulate a genuine commitment to making a positive impact on the world.

To build a diverse and supportive team as an entrepreneur, actively seek varied perspectives in your hiring process, champion inclusive and flexible work policies, and foster an open culture where every voice is heard and valued. Lead by example, promoting collaboration and continuous learning, to create an environment where all team members can thrive and contribute to the business's success.

Direct and clear feedback is essential to cut through the noise of such meaningless messages that often leave leaders / entrepreneurs in a blind spot. This keeps the team focused and builds trust.

Disposer d'une équipe diversifiée en compétences, expériences, et perspectives est essentiel, à condition qu'elle partage les mêmes valeurs et la vision de l'entreprise. Une équipe uniforme dans sa fa?on de penser, qui renforce ses convictions à chaque décision, est loin d'être idéale. La diversité est un atout majeur.

Crafting a diverse team is essential—not only in demographics but in thought, experience, and approach. True diversity goes beyond company values on paper; it reflects in unique interpretations and applications within the team, much like varied understandings in a faith. In my journey, I've learned it's about more than assembling varied profiles. It's recognizing and nurturing each individual's distinctive contribution. Leadership means creating an environment where every voice can authentically articulate its perspective, akin to personal faith interpretations. Such team culture doesn’t just accept differences; it embraces and is strengthened by them.

Before empowering your entire team, it's essential to identify individuals with the right skills to drive your organization forward. This requires careful selection. Consider the case of hiring for a sales role: Do you opt for someone with a decade of experience, a novice, or a former entrepreneur who has experienced failure? Personally, I would choose the ex-entrepreneur. Their experience with failure can bring invaluable insights and resilience. Once onboard, I would focus on empowering them to lead our sales department effectively.

When you know that you’ve made a mistake, be the first to own up to it. Don’t wait and hope that no one notices, or that they’ll get over it. Acknowledging your own mistakes demonstrates self-awareness and humility that are critical in building trust with your team. Same thing if you’ve done something that upset someone - don’t wait for them to bring feedback to you. If you only attempt to show empathy after you’ve been given feedback, it may seem obligatory. If you initiate, your empathy will no doubt be taken as more genuine.

A great way for entrepreneurs to receive feedback is to provide employees with an opportunity to rank how their direct manager, the executive team, and/or business owner is performing on key leadership elements. This can include listening, leading by example, problem solving, coaching and other behaviors employees find valuable in a leader. This process can strengthen a company's culture and improve retention by letting the employees know their voice matters.

As an entrepreneur, embracing feedback and learning from failures are pivotal for growth. Treat feedback as a goldmine of insights, encouraging it from all stakeholders, and listen actively. Analyze failures to understand root causes without assigning blame. Convert these lessons into actionable strategies to refine your business model, products, or services. Cultivate resilience and adaptability, and embed these learnings into the DNA of your venture, thus turning setbacks into stepping stones for innovation and success.

My initial struggle to attract even a single customer, let alone a hundred, is a common hurdle. What's important is to not let failure deter you; it's a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey. Embrace each setback as a lesson, and meticulously note what works and what doesn't. Being open to asking for help is not a weakness but a strategic move. Welcome feedback and criticism—they are invaluable for growth. This mindset is not just about bouncing back but about using each experience to sharpen your business acumen and leadership.

I remember a particular instance where a client's feedback on one of our team-building activities was less than favorable. Initially, it was disheartening, but we saw it as an opportunity to evolve. We reevaluated our approach, involving more innovative and engaging elements, and the results were remarkable.

Being an entrepreneur can be lonely, and sometimes so is being a great leader. The most enriching way you can invest in yourself is to find your tribe - a group of diverse individuals with similar obligations, challenges, and experiences from which everyone continues to learn, grow, and thrive. There are a plethora of member-based communities for entrepreneurs, executives, and more. All with the primary purpose to share best practices, challenges, and triumphs in a private, non-judgmental space. Many of these groups do require a membership fee of sorts, so take your time vetting them to know which one is the best fit for you.

Be willing to learn new things and accepting of new ideas. No one person can know everything, so be willing to collaborate and learn from others.

By joining a professional association or network of entrepreneurs, you gain direct access to mentorship, skill-building, and new opportunities, significantly enhancing your leadership and personal development.

Cannot emphasise more about investing in our personal growth as entrepreneur leaders. Because it is who we are which gets reflected in our business. Few of the things I do for personal growth are as follows: a] Read a lot of good self development books. b] Read career related articles to keep myself updated. c] Journal a lot by writing down my learning on a daily basis. When I look at it one year down the line I can see how much I have evolved in my expertise of career coaching. d] Take feedback from my clients who I coach. e] Create loads of video content and write blogs.

personal growth often involves stepping out of your comfort zone. This might mean tackling challenges you've never faced before or taking calculated risks. It's through these experiences that profound learning and growth occur. Each challenge faced is an opportunity to develop resilience, adaptability, and problem-solving skills - all vital attributes of a strong leader. Mentorship and coaching play a pivotal role in personal development as well. Having a mentor or coach who can provide guidance, share insights, and offer support is invaluable. They can help you see things from different perspectives, challenge your assumptions, and encourage you to think more strategically.

Earn Trust, have bias for action and lead by example. Give ownership to your team, accept their failure and support them with corrective actions to achieve your long term goals rather than focusing on reactivity and immediate unstable results.

Model the culture you want to foster at your organization. For example, if you want your team to care for their personal and mental health, or have the flexibility to pick up their kids from school, make your medical, therapy, or childcare related appointments public on your team calendar so they feel comfortable booking those appointments too.

To develop strong leadership skills as an entrepreneur, consistently embody the qualities and values you wish to instill in your team. Being a role model in innovation, trustworthiness, and other key areas will inspire those around you and drive positive change within your business and community.

Entrepreneurs can develop strong leadership skills by consistently demonstrating the values, behaviors, and work ethic they expect from their team. This involves setting high standards, being accountable, communicating effectively, fostering collaboration, and continuously learning and growing. By embodying these qualities, entrepreneurs inspire their team to follow suit and create a culture of excellence and success.

Entrepreneurs should identify their superpowers or strengths - their God-given talents that sets your apart. The Gallup Strength finder assessment is a great resource to find your strengths. Once you identify your strengths - FOCUS on making your strengths STRONGER. I learned this approach from John C. Maxwell - the Godfather of Leadership development - read his books! A few years ago…on a scale of 1-10 my coaching ability was a 7. I’ve recognized it as a strength, invested in my personal development - that strength is now a 10. As you demonstrate your abilities in your “strength zones” others begin to view you as a leader. Again - identify your strengths and make them stronger - this builds momentum for your leadership ability.

Volunteering your time and talents to others is one of the most fulfilling, simple, and effective ways to hone leadership skills. As an entrepreneur, you inherently have some strengths that others find hard to come by: determination, persistence, and authority are a few that come to mind. Taking even just the smallest moments to reflect about what life experiences gave you these abilities provide you with a foundation to mentor those that need it most: children and underprivileged individuals. There are no shortage of mentoring opportunities available through schools, organizations like the YMCA, and other community partners. Share your gifts with others and you'll find you've also been a leader all along. Win-wins are the best kind.

Realize that "Leadership" is not a singular piece and is made up of over 50 sub-headings (Strategy formulation / Performance Management / Delegation / Assertiveness / Presentation skills etc. etc.). Dissect your strengths and weaknesses as individually as possible to get to the crux of the matter. Then work on areas you have highlighted. Break it down to make it up. Enjoy.

1. Sign up a leadership coach (a long term engagement) who will be with you as a fly-on-the-wall in a variety of settings that you operate in. The coach's obeservations will be vital to enrich the regular coaching conversations you will be having + the coach will use his observations to encourage, challenge, and even confront (in a healthy way!) 2. Have 2 or 3 mentors...these are people you see to be showing (or had shown) leadership abilities you admired 3. Read - and use insights and questions arising to enrich conversations with coach + mentors 4. Join (or form) a small/tight group of fellow founders/entrepreneurs who are all at same point theit trajectory as leaders, where members freely talk of their leadership journey

Most entrepreneurs that I know, are solo-prenuers. Besides working in their field of choice, becoming a civic volunteer in an organization, is an excellent way to show and learn leadership skills. It can come through Project Management (we're seeing projects for groups of volunteers), or by spearheading endeavors focused on the mission of the civic organization).