10 Essential Business Leadership Skills

by Ben Yoskovitz

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.

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.

7. 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.

8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.

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.

The Importance of Building Relationships

By Siewlee Hiew

What are relationships? Why are they important and why do we need to build relationships?

Relationships are the connections people have with each other. Every human being has a deep desire to be connected with others. Everyone, regardless of age or gender, has a need to have other people around them. There is no difference between the young and the old, the males or the females, the married or the singles. No one likes to be alone. In fact, everyone in this world is connected by relationships, directly and indirectly thus forming a network.

There are different types of relationships that one can have. There are the personal relationships between men and women, and those among friends and family, as well as spiritual relationships between a believer and his god. Then there are the professional relationships among the people working together or who are connected through the course of their work or careers. In addition, there are the business relationships between customers and vendors, investors and brokers as well as between partners in joint ventures. Sometimes, the line between these different types of relationships may not be clear and may overlap. Personal relationships between friends and family may lead to professional or business relationships. In the same manner, business partners may also become the closest of friends.

It is important to have relationships because being connected to other people helps us to survive in this world, even more so in this modern time and era. In order to be successful not only in our careers and in the monetary sense but also in living a happy and fulfilling life, we have to be associated with other people as we require their input. We need to have rich and meaningful relationships and we need true and lasting friendships as well as trustworthy business partnerships.

It must be pointed that such relationships do not happen overnight. These relationships have to be built over time. They must be built on trust and integrity, loyalty and sincerity. When relationships are founded on these very important factors, they usually last a lifetime or maybe even through the generations. A lot of times, when adults are good friends, their children will tend to develop lasting friendships too. Similarly in business, partnerships tend to span over the generations when there is trust and integrity. Usually, a good relationship between two individuals will expand into a bigger network of mutual friends or business associates and partners. Thus, building good relationships and a network is the key to success and happiness leading to true wealth.

Having said that, it is important to note that relationships can also be fragile and one has to be careful when dealing with the parties involved. People are only human and they have their own ways and shortcomings. Everybody is different and no two individuals are alike and it is not easy to get along with everyone. However, to build meaningful and lasting relationships we must learn to be understanding and accept them as they are. We must learn to be a friend.

Getting to Know Your Networking Partners

by Kelli C. Holmes

Once you have begun your journey of doing better, smarter business with Relationship Marketing, there will come a time when you need to take those relationships to the next level. You have worked on building relationships with your “Power Partners” and other members in your networking group and with the professionals in your local chamber of commerce, perhaps also a community service organization or in your own personal/social sphere. But do you really know them? Better question, do they really know you?

Getting together for a meeting once a week or once a month is good, but what would happen with your relationships if you invested the time to meet with your networking partners outside of the normal networking meeting, business mixer, committee or board meeting? At TEAM Referral Network we call these meetings “Coaching Sessions”.

“Coaching Sessions”

For your networking partners to refer business to you, they must first get to know who you are and what you have to offer. Meet for lunch or coffee with a different member of your group(s) each week. At this meeting, use the time so you can each share information about one another. Getting to know your networking partners will help you give more referrals and receive more and better referrals.

Here is a guideline to use when you get together:

• Share information about who your clients are, where they live, work, etc.
• Share with each other your background, education and any recognition/awards you’ve received.
• Tell each other about your family life, hobbies and interests.
• Talk about other organizations you participate in.
• Exchange literature and/or selling tools.
• Schedule a visit each others place of business.

Take the opportunity to make these “Coaching Sessions” part of your marketing plans for the next year. The investment of time will pay off in growth for your business!

Get to Know your "Friends"

Successful Networking

by Karen Cormier

Congratulations, you’ve joined a networking group. You get to come in once a week and the referrals will be dropped in your lap…. Wouldn’t that be great?

It takes time and effort to become part of a sales team. When you first join TEAM, we ask that you start with getting to know everyone, by having Coaching Sessions. Once you know and trust the people in your chapter, you (and they) will be comfortable in knowing that you are a person of integrity, and will feel comfortable in sending you referrals.

It’s important to always expand your circle. There are so many different events that happen around town. Make it point to go to a chamber mixer, ribbon cutting or any other event that will be an opportunity to meet new people.

FOLLOW UP!!! If you take someone’s card, ALWAYS call or e mail them, and let them know you enjoyed meeting them. You never know where it may lead.

Relationship Marketing..a better, smarter way of doing business

By Kelli C. Holmes

Determine the value of referrals to your business.

• Are referrals an important part of your business?

• What percentage of your business comes from referrals?

• What percentage of your business do you want to come from referrals?

• How are you currently developing referrals for your business?

• What or who are the sources of your referrals? Your clients? Friends? Contacts?

• What is the basis for you to receive referrals? Your reputation? Credibility? Quality of products or services?

Once you have determined the value of referrals to your business, look for ways to develop good referral sources for your business. Ask yourself the following:

Are you professionally visible? Being an “expert” is not enough. You need to be visible, approachable, understood, trusted and be able to leave a lasting impression. Check your professional visibility by answering these questions.

• How visible am I in my community?

• Do people seek me out for my expertise, products or service?

• Is my impression better than my competitors?

• Do people view me as a credible resource?

• How do people react when I present information about my products or services?

• Are my “networking” activities productive?

Networking Do’s and Don’ts:

DO:

· Have a networking plan in place. Know what you want to achieve from your networking activities and how you plan to get it.

• Know your own strengths, talents and resources. Listen for when a situation may be right.
• Help others build relationships. Make only those offers you intend to fulfill. Relationship marketing only works when you are genuine.
• Have business cards with you at all times.
• Develop a system to track your networking activities and the results.
• Follow up promptly and professionally on the referrals you receive. Remember to thank the person who referred you.

DON’T

• Wait until you need a network to develop one. It takes time to develop relationships.

· Give out your business card indiscriminately. Ask for a business card from someone you would like to give your business card to.

· Don’t be afraid to jump in and network! Networking is a contact sport, it requires your physical presence.

Relationships are about Trust