5 Leadership Skills Every Entrepreneur Should Develop

Being in business, you’ve probably used the phrase “natural-born leader” numerous times to describe an executive who is a mover and shaker in their industry. Truth be told, however, these individuals likely spent much of their lives honing their skillset in a variety of ways while maturing into business icons.

Though personalities sometimes play a big part in realizing leadership potential, any entrepreneur who’s willing to work on molding their own innate talents and leadership abilities will undoubtedly reach the same end product — becoming a leader who is inspiring, creative, a great communicator, a visionary and a professional.

Be an Inspiration

Passion in the workplace is infectious, but having a lack of passion can be just as contagious. Fortunately, you as a small business owner have the ability to share your drive for success much more easily than someone running a company with thousands of employees. Take this as an opportunity to regularly infuse your vision for the business through inspiring emails, workshops and meetings company-wide, offering inspirational messages that speak to the hearts, minds and own entrepreneurial spirit of your staff.

Get Creative

Even if your small business hits the ground running, it’s important to continue looking for ways to expand your current offerings, as well as make improvements to the internal structure of the organization. Entrepreneur Eric T. Wagner discusses in a Forbes article some of the reasons behind 8 out of 10 business failing within their first 18 months. Among them, the fear of experimentation when it came to designing a business model. Using Zappos as an example, whose new management structure was recently highlighted in our blog, Mr. Wagner looked at Tony Hsieh’s ability to think beyond selling shoes in a brick-and-mortar store and instead head to the Internet, which worked out tremendously for Hsieh and his co-founders.

Own Your Communication

Whether you’re speaking to clients or employees, it’s crucial as a small business owner to stay in constant communication to avoid surprises. This also includes making your communication effective and articulating each company message with clarity while also being certain to avoid misunderstandings among your clientele. As you’ve probably seen from leaders and mentors you admire, well-defined objectives, unambiguous statements and declarative resolutions nearly always ensure a successful enterprise.

Create and Live By Your Vision

There has yet to be a small business that didn’t begin with a focused entrepreneurial vision. This vision includes everything from creating a sound business plan to building a culture where employees are able to grow and thrive. If there is one thing I’ve learned from being an entrepreneur, it is the importance of making sure my vision is aligned with my values as an individual and as a business owner. Too often I’ve seen businesses struggle with issues which could have been easily avoided by having a top-down structure in place that was built on firm and practical ideologies. Allow your core business philosophy to first guide you, then share this vision with everyone who comes into the organization.

Be a Professional

The best way to become a professional is to surround yourself with other like-minded professionals, particularly those who are part of entrepreneurial peer groups. Beyond emulating those who inspire you as a professional, it’s important to also know the etiquette involved in building business relationships. Need some help? This article from Business Insider offers 15 rules of business etiquette you can begin applying immediately to foster existing relationships and form new ones. After all, these relationships often do more than craft you into the consummate professional, they can offer your business new pathways to exponential growth.