© 2011 Apptivo Inc. All rights reserved.

You Aren’t a Strong Leader, Time to Fix That

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Maya Pillai

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and

relentlessly drive it to completion.” – Jack Welch (former chairman and CEO of General Electric

Co.)

Leadership styles of small business owners are different from that of the large corporations. The

approach for running a small business is different from that of running a large organization. A

recent study conducted by Inc.com tells that small business owners perform better under pressure

than CEOs of large companies. Despite that, many small businesses fail within the first five

years due to poor leadership qualities of the SMB owners. What could be the reason? What is the

‘in-thing’ that is missing in a small business owner who has failed? Here we have put together a

few points that would be useful for startup owners and also the established SMB owners to

follow.

Leadership Qualities of a Small Business Owner

One thing that all small business owners need to keep in mind is never to emulate what the high-

profile Fortune 500 CEOs do. Large companies have an organizational structure that makes it

© 2011 Apptivo Inc. All rights reserved.

possible for their leaders to focus on the company’s vision. In reality, small businesses have to

go beyond a brand based primarily on your image. Let’s take a look at a few things that will

make you a good small business owner.

Are you dedicated and passionate about your business? – As a small business owner if you

are passionate about your business, you are likely to extend your enthusiasm to your employees.

You should motivate and inspire dedication in your staff to work as a team to achieve the goal of

your business.

Do not forget to appreciate your employees – The success of your business depends on

the people in your firm. Do not hesitate to appreciate even the small things that your

employees have done to make a project a success. This draws the employees closer to the

company.

Be fair and just – Do not assume or jump to conclusions right away. If a problem arises

between employees or among teams, show your patience by hearing both sides of the

story. Gather enough facts before passing judgment. Your employees will not only trust

you but will show you a great amount of dedication when they feel like they are being

treated fairly.

Nurture your employees – Remember, when someone is working for you, they are

looking up to you for advice on how to progress their career. An ideal leader would coach

his employees rather than just lead them. Give them space and also create an atmosphere

where your employees know that they have to get their work done in order to complete

the company mission. By doing so, you are encouraging them to climb up the ladder of

your organization as well as providing them an opportunity to start their own venture.

Nurturing is an amazing quality of an ideal boss.

© 2011 Apptivo Inc. All rights reserved.

Be proactive – Plan for the future of your business, keeping in mind the unforeseen

eventualities. At the time of a mishap, employees would look to you because they are not

sure what is to be done next. Instead of playing the blame game, it is advisable to make

decisions which are most suitable to the current situation of your business. The crises will

come and go, it is your decision making skills that will bind your employees to you.

Discover ways to be happy everyday – Remember when you dreamt of forming your

own company, it made you happy. Therefore, you should assert ways to sustain that

happiness as your company grows. Hire employees who like to work independently, are

self-motivated and are not afraid to make decisions. Find ones who are willing to go the

extra mile to shoulder responsibilities to make the dream of the company come true.

Therefore, as a leader/owner of your business, be honest with your employees.

A good leader would be creating new leaders instead of increasing the number of followers.

What are some leadership skills you use?

Flickr image by poptech