Are Business Leaders Born or Nurtured?
Women’s Venture Fund
Can leadership skills be learned or are people just gifted with this trait at birth? WVF belongs to the school of thought that most of us can develop the mindset of a leader, hone the necessary skills and succeed at reaching personal and business goals. You already have one foot in the door as an entrepreneur—you had the resourcefulness to found a business. No mean feat. Now push the envelope.
If you didn’t have an inheritance to start your business you went the traditional route of dipping into savings, tapping family and friends and/or soliciting lenders. That speaks to your resourcefulness; and being resourceful is being creative—just one trait of a successful leader. Here are four more…
Self-awareness: Ever meet that overly confident, boorish, and self-congratulatory entrepreneur who’s just making ends meet and want to run away? Don’t be that person. Learn your strengths and weaknesses from trusted people in your network, soliciting their honest opinion of what you bring to the table. Always invite feedback (How am I doing?) and work on your weaknesses—whether it’s not listening, not being emphatic and putting yourself in others’ shoes, or not acknowledging what you don’t know. Learn to delegate to the team; and bring on the talent you need.
Practicality: Don’t just focus on why any of your ideas will work, but fully explore any obstacles that might be in the way of what you envision. Check in with experts on your mission, strategies and tactics. This cuts down on your risk of failure, informing you early of challenges you must address.
Agility: You’ve heard it before from WVF: Be willing to adapt to changing conditions in your marketplace or your business (gaps in revenue, new local competitors losing an employee, unsatisfactory vendor.) Or an extraordinary life event that changes your focus. Map out your contingency plan(s) now to mitigate your risk of failure in the future.
Humility: Admit any bad decisions to your circle, whether it be your team or supportive family and friends. With a B plan (agility), you sustain their confidence and establish authenticity which they will appreciate and more likely continue with their endorsement of your venture.
Not what you expected to hear about leadership? We’ve got the goods. Join us on June 25th to explore how you can take your business to the next level. Stop being just a work-a-bee in your enterprise and become a leader who rises to challenges, empowers others and influences those in your circle and beyond.
Register for the workshop on June 25th…
Secrets of Masterful Leadership
5:00 – 7:30 pm
Women’s Venture Fund
154 Christopher St., NY, NY 10014