Women do business differently in some ways than men. Women entrepreneurs face different challenges, and approach problem-solving in some different ways. We also need to practice leadership skills and abilities, for all areas of our lives.
Leadership is a PROCESS, rather than a destination. That's why it is considered a practice, always evolving. Here are some starting places, as suggested by some experts in leadership. Pitfalls that are not the exclusive purview of women (but neither are they uncommon) are also included.
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Leadership for Women Business Owners
1. Leadership Habits for
Women Business
Owners
presented to NAWBO Atlanta
Nancy Chorpenning
Founder & Managing Director, C-Suite Advisors
@CSuiteAdvisors
16. Thank you very much!
Nancy Chorpenning
Founder & Managing Director, C-Suite Advisors
CSuiteAdvisors.com
@CSuiteAdvisors
Notes de l'éditeur
Optimally, a small-business owner or entrepreneur should be able to switch back and forth between the two roles. Practically speaking, such a person is rare.
Do you have a plan for where you want your company to be in one year, three years, and five years? Or are you just trying to get through the day with no catastrophes? A good leader thinks through strategically about where they want to take their company, not only today but into the future.
Now that you have set your goals for your company, you need to begin executing to those goals. Successful leaders know how to plan their work, prioritize it, and work efficiently through effective time management.
A good leader knows how to communicate effectively. They know their communication style, are able to identify other people's style, and adapt their style to their receiver's style for maximum impact. DISC, MBTI, others
Good leadership requires commitment to an understanding of one's strengths and weaknesses. Feedback is an important tool to developing and growing your leadership skills that should be done proactively for the rest of your career. It is like athletes who want to succeed. It requires hard work, dedication, practice, and continuous improvement throughout their careers. [You’ll have homework!] You practice new techniques with your team in the beginning; you observe and ask what worked and what didn't; you alter your behavior and you try again. This iterative process drives continuous improvement, thus raising the bar for your company and working to achieve your company's goals.
As a small business owner, you may already know how important relationships are to your business. The old saying that "it is not what you know that matters the most, it's who you know" is accurate. The relationships you have invested in and nurtured over the years is what will result in people doing business with you and following your leadership. Those are the people who trust you, believe in you, and want to see success for you. Continue to foster those existing relationships and build new ones with them having the perception of you as a confident leader.
Who doesn't love to receive more money? But, remember that there are many other ways to reward employees. Some are rewarded by receiving recognition for a job well done, by being able to work from home, by having their company support their favorite charities, and others by giving free drinks and food. If you don't know what motivates your employees, you should ask them for feedback. If you know what their passions and motivators are, you can fulfill those passions and motivations thus having happier, more productive and dedicated employees.
Facilitating the work of others means guiding their work and setting them up for success, without telling them how to complete the work. You want to enable those around you to achieve their full potential, and you want to do it with the appropriate amount of pressure, encouragement, and assistance. A good leader will empower their employees by giving them opportunities to succeed. Micromanagers disempower and de-motivate their employees by taking those opportunities for themselves. A disempowered employee is an ineffective one; one who requires a lot of time and energy from a supervisor.
1. Ask: Ask people “How can I be a better _________ (manager, partner, team member, etc.)?
2. Listen: Listen to their answers.
3. Think: Think about their input. What does it mean?
4. Thank: Thank people for sharing this valuable feedback with you.
5. Respond: Respond positively when receiving input.
6. Involve: Involve the people around you to support your change efforts.
7. Change: Change isn’t an academic exercise. Act on what you learn.
8. Follow-up: Follow up regularly and stakeholders will notice the positive actions you’re taking based their input.
Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world.
Listening - Traditionally, leaders have been valued for their communication and decision making skills. Servant-leaders must reinforce these important skills by making a deep commitment to listening intently to others. Servant-leaders seek to identify and clarify the will of a group. They seek to listen receptively to what is being said (and not said). Listening also encompasses getting in touch with one's inner voice, and seeking to understand what one's body, spirit, and mind are communicating.
Empathy - Servant-leaders strive to understand and empathize with others. People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirit. One must assume the good intentions of coworkers and not reject them as people, even when forced to reject their behavior or performance.
Healing - Learning to heal is a powerful force for transformation and integration. One of the great strengths of servant-leadership is the potential for healing one's self and others. In "The Servant as Leader", Greenleaf writes, "There is something subtle communicated to one who is being served and led if, implicit in the compact between the servant-leader and led is the understanding that the search for wholeness is something that they have."
Awareness - General awareness, and especially self-awareness, strengthens the servant-leader. Making a commitment to foster awareness can be scary--one never knows that one may discover! As Greenleaf observed, "Awareness is not a giver of solace - it's just the opposite. It is a disturber and an awakener. Able leaders are usually sharply awake and
reasonably disturbed. They are not seekers after solace. They have their own inner
serenity.”
Persuasion - Servant-leaders rely on persuasion, rather than positional authority in making decisions. Servant-leaders seek to convince others, rather than coerce compliance. This particular element offers one of the clearest distinctions between the traditional authoritarian model and that of servant-leadership. The servant-leader is effective at building consensus within groups.
Conceptualization - Servant-leaders seek to nurture their abilities to "dream great dreams." The ability to look at a problem (or an organization) from a conceptualizing perspective means that one must think beyond day-to-day realities. Servant-leaders must seek a delicate balance between conceptualization and day-to-day focus.
Foresight - Foresight is a characteristic that enables servant-leaders to understand lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision in the future. It is deeply rooted in the intuitive mind.
Stewardship - Robert Greenleaf's view of all institutions was one in which CEO's, staff, directors, and trustees all play significant roles in holding their institutions in trust for the greater good of society. Leave it better than you found it…
Commitment to the Growth of People - Servant-leaders believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions as workers. As such, servant-leaders are deeply committed to a personal, professional, and spiritual growth of each and every individual within the organization.
Building Community - Servant-leaders are aware that the shift from local communities to large institutions as the primary shaper of human lives has changed our perceptions and has caused a feeling of loss. Servant-leaders seek to identify a means for building community among those who work within a given institution.
Melanie Beattie, Codependent No More: "How To Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring For Yourself."
What symptoms do you identify with? Which are prevalent within your company? What is co-dependent leadership costing your company?