10 Essential Business Leadership Skills
Are you a leader?
Truth be told, not everyone is a leader. It’s just not meant for everyone. And that’s OK.
But more people are leaders than they realize. Leadership takes on many different faces; it’s just a question of understanding how you lead and why.
Here are 10 key business leadership skills you’ll need to succeed as a leader:
- Lead By Example. You can’t be an aloof leader, someone that’s never around and incapable of getting your hands dirty. One of the best ways to lead is by example - pitching in where needed, lending a helping hand, and making sure that the work you do is clearly understood by your team.
- Passion. A leader without passion isn’t a leader. He’s a paper pusher. Or a taskmaster. Or a government employee… Passion drives a lot, and you can inspire so much in others through your own passion and enthusiasm. That doesn’t mean you have to be constantly cheery, it means you’ve got to believe in what you’re doing and what your company is doing.
- Be Organized. A disorganized leader isn’t leading, he’s chasing his own tail. Disorganization breeds nothing but more disorganization. If you’re frazzled and messy, your team will be too. When you’re organized you’ll be much more productive and so will everyone else.
- Delegate. You can’t do everything. A great leader needs to be able to delegate effectively. The key to delegating successfully is giving employees ownership of the work you assign them. They can’t just feel like they own the work, they really have to.
- Take Ownership and Responsibility. Although you’ve just delegated work and truly given your team ownership, you also have to take ownership and responsibility at all times. Your team has to know you’ll be there for them through the good and the bad times. That doesn’t mean you absolve people from making mistakes or ignore crappy work/effort, but it does mean you take responsibility for the big picture.
- Communicate Effectively. Duh. Everyone knows great leaders have to be great communicators. But there are certain points of communication that many people forget. For example, it’s critical that you communicate to employees how their work matters in the bigger picture. Are they a cog, or does their work truly make a difference?
Communicating success is also something leaders forget to do. People need affirmation. They want to know they did a good job. You just have to tell them.
- Be Brave and Honest. Cowardly leaders will shy away from any number of situations that crop up regularly when running a team. The project your team has worked on for 6 months just got shelved. Now what? Or you have to talk to someone about their lack of effort recently. Do you ignore the problem? Or maybe it’s time to take your product into a new market. Do you hobble forward, scared and nervous, or do you grab the market by the throat?
Leaders are brave.
And honest. Tell it like it is. Don’t sugarcoat, don’t obfuscate. Don’t be a jerk either. You have to learn how to present things to your team in an honest but balanced manner.
- Great Listener. A huge part of being a great communicator is being a great listener. If all you want to do is talk, you’re not a leader. Keeping people motivated means listening to them, asking them questions, understanding their issues. When you listen more, you can respond more effectively and get to the heart of things much faster.
- Know Your People. You have to know your people. You don’t have to be best friends or even socialize outside work, but you do have to know what makes them tick. You need to know something about their personal lives because their lives outside work matter. Their lives outside work drive a great deal of their success (or lack of) at work. Keep track of simple things: birthdays, marriages, children, etc. The more you know your people the more common ground you’re likely to find, the more you’ll be able to connect.
- Be a Follower. Benjamin Disraeli said, “I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?” That sums up many of the other points so beautifully. Great leaders are followers too. If you’re a leader without following, you’re a dictator. And as fun as that sounds… Being a leader-follower means finding value in your team, getting inspired by your team, encouraging your team to communicate, brainstorm and be open.
And be precise. Insecure leaders will often ramble; uninterested leaders cut things off to quickly. Whether you’re giving praise, providing constructive criticism, or defining goals and to-dos, you have to figure out how much to say and in what order. Be precise, specific and concise. Get to the point.
Very few people are great leaders overnight. It takes time and practice. As long as you’re open about learning along the way and working with your team on leadership versus dictating to them, most people will be happy to go on the journey with you.
And without getting too mushy, here are some great quotes on leadership:
“Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” - George S. Patton
“Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too.” - Robert Half
“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” - Theodore M. Hesburgh
Great post, Ben!
I think if more of us made improvements even in the first three areas, we would see incredible results and personal changes.
Those first three - leading by example, being passionate, and getting organized are KEY!
Ben, well said! It’s amazing to me how many entrepreneurs have a hard time with delegating. They (we) think they have to do everything themselves. And many times even when they call themselves delegating, they’re missing a number of ingredients you mentioned that go into successful delegation
–All the best, Josh
Great post! I really liked the 10th one. Never really saw it from that perspective.
I agree point made. I think if you have a good understanding, and a passion for what you do then that is a big step. Communicate Effectively is very important and that is a major way to gain respect. Lead By Example is should become a way of life! don’t tell other people to do something and
do the oposite that will make them loss respect for you.
Be a Follower - it makes sense if you see someone doing something better learn from them!
I think one thing you missed was that you have to be open to ideas.
maybe that was under being a good listener.
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Great list. I agree with every skill, especially #1 which is leading by example. This is probably the most common skill everybody is taking about which is needed for leaders. This is also the most common skill that most leaders need to develop.
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A post worth digging. I especially like number 10, how you should be a follower to be a true leader. Obviously it’s only in certain circumstances, but very valid nonetheless.
Thanks Ben.
Josh - totally agree. I have a very hard time delegating. Always think I can do it better which is almost never the case.
I agree with every point. There are still problems which can’t be avoided. Comumunication is probably the reason to this problem. Leaders may be good communicators, but other members are scared of sharing their thoughts.
I agree with every point except that I believe a correct mindset comes before other things. Your mindset will influence your action and your action will affect your life.
Ben, great post. Each point is essential to being a great, dyanmic and compassionate leader. Most important to me is you have to lead by example. You can’t expect people to follow your direction if you’re not living them yourself. Also, delegation…every successful leader knows how to successfully delegate. No one person can do everything. Delegate and lead by example and you’ll find uncommon success.
Jonny - trusting the process of delegation can be hard at first, I agree. When I’m working with folks who aren’t used to delegating I often describe it like building muscles… start out small — say by delegating a task that won’t drive you nuts if you absolutely can’t be in total control of the entire process. Then after that one goes well, go a little bigger
Perhaps a silly example, but hopefully the point is made just the same… All the best, Josh 
Oh. My. God. If I didn’t know better, I would swear I stole this post for my own blog. But you have to admit, it left me with more time to devote to becoming a good leader!
Hey Roland - Ahahaha. Very cool. Well, I can’t be the only one that’s had these thoughts, of course, it’s just a question of expressing them and putting them out there for others to discuss and debate, so I’m glad you’re doing that.
And thanks for stopping by and commenting.
This has been of good help to my during my project term paper preparation of my MBA programme at ESAMI
David - Glad to hear that. Happy to help! And good luck on your paper…
Ben,
Good post. In evaluating thousands of leaders over 18 years as an executive search professional, and for the past 3 years specifically conducting leadership assessment and development sessions with senior executives, it is clear to me that leadership fundamentally springs from acting and behaving in a manner that is consistent with your values. The most successful leaders have a deep understanding of who they are, what they are committed to in life and the world that is beyond producing financial results, and the ideal values they are committed are demonstrated by them personally and in their organization’s culture.
It is my experience that when a leader takes the time to distinguish values-based behaviors they can implement within the circumstances they currently face, real growth and development occur and results are produced for them and their organizations at unprecedented levels.
Greg — Thanks for the great, detailed comment, I appreciate it. Hope you’ll stick around Instigator Blog.
Well Said Ben!
I think, all these skills are required not only in business but to lead your own life. The number seven : Be brave and honest, sounds simple but the most difficult one. It is often challenging to prsent your honest thoughts in balanced manner.
Ben,
Be a follower is a skill leaders must have in this era of emerging technology.If one knows when to step aside and encourage another to take charge,one can truly learn from following.
Leema
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Ben,
great post! I think that something else that makes a great leader is that they wants to have around people that are better than themselves: an A player hire an A+ player!
Fabio Aversa
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Point #8 is a great one. I’m working to improve on it.
Thanks.
Martin
http://SimpleBigIdeaBusiness.blogspot.com/
Re “Delegation”, one thing that has always served me well is to remember, “You can delegate the work. You can never delegate the responsibility”.
I tend to think that creativity and thinking outside the box are the most important business skills for leaders, since leaders are the ones who set trends.
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You joked about a strong leader being able to properly communicate.. but the truth is, I’ve met several individuals that are great leaders; they just lack the ability to effectively express what they are thinking to others.
Great post Ben, I’m an entrepreneur and know for sure why we need those skills. Leading a business is not that easy, if we start our own business, then we have to be a leader for our business too…
I tend to think that creativity and thinking outside the box are the most important business skills for leaders, since leaders are the ones who set trends.
Great post Ben!
I have studied leadership for years. Taking courses, reading everything possible about the subject, attending seminars, and picking the brains of business leaders. Your post touches upon everything I have learned.
I just attended a seminar by a company called The Open Organization http://www.theopenorganization.com/ and they have developed a system based on emotional intelligence skills that today’s leaders must have. They do a great job at taking it one step further. As you discussed often new leaders do not know what it means to truly lead. Emotional intelligence is key!
Thanks again Ben!
@Harley: Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for commenting, and hope you’ll keep reading!
Yes you right, we may also need to hire employees to help us run our business if we cannot handle everything on our own. Then there is the matter of supplies. The supplies you will need depend on our choices.And all about need leadership skills to handle.Nice article ,so informative. Thanks
Delegation is so important. It helps get more done and gives the employee a sense of ownership in the business.
I believe that when the employee has an interest in the business other than just earning a paycheck, you get new ideas, great customer service and other dividends.
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Wow nice tips, I will learn to improve my leadership skills.
Thanks for the tips Ben.
“Great leaders are followers too. If you’re a leader without following, you’re a dictator. ”
I like this. But I have never aware that great leader are followers. Thanks for information.
I read some books about leadership skills, and many articles, but to be honest, without an experience, that’s nothing. I had once the chance to leader a team, and you learn more with the experience once than with thousand books, but, of course you should have some theory
Wow.. I wish I found this sooner..
“You can’t do everything. A great leader needs to be able to delegate effectively.” - I find that very profound!!
Cheers!