Entrepreneurs require a solid grasp on leadership to be successful.
What is it? Many people confuse leadership with management.
Leadership requires a vision and a mission, a stand and a commitment to bring something new into existence or bring sometime in existence to a new place. Management is accomplishing tasks necessary to bring the new vision into existence.
Michael Gerber, in his book, The E-Myth Revisited, states that every entrepreneur must wear three hats: the entrepreneur, the manager, and the technician.
The entrepreneur is the leader, the visionary who sees the bigger picture. The manager makes sure that all elements of fulfilling the vision get handled and that the technician delivers the actual product of the business.
Just because you are a talented landscaper, interior designer, or marketing professional doesn’t mean you can create a successful business doing it.
As a leader, you must keep the bigger picture present and inspire the manager to manage tasks, and the technician to do the work (even if they are all you).
Roger Sturgis, who has owned a landscaping business for over 40 years, improved his business dramatically when he started looking at the bigger picture.
He credits his participation in business development groups with helping him to think differently. He said, “having regular contact with a consultant and a community of peers enabled me to establish better success practices.”
Now he has a plan that includes more extended periods of time at his second home, developing his leadership team, having professional office management, a system for recruiting and training workers, and an exit strategy.
New business owners also need a vision and a plan.
Diana Pruzinsky, a certified health coach, wanted to attract clients to her new business. Luckily, she saw that her experience as a public accountant and senior district sales manager gave her insight into the issues faced by those kinds of professionals. Thanks to her past experience and new skills, she now delivers corporate wellness programs to many of her past clients.
So what can you do if you want to improve or start a business?
You have to step outside the day-to-day activities and be that visionary leader who has a plan for a future. Then set up the team, establish accountabilities, and have technicians and managers who buy in and take pride in doing their jobs. Have regular meetings to re-inspire your people to take action and accomplish their goals, assess progress and make corrections.
Each individual within a team can be an entrepreneur, manager and technician. Have them create their own bigger picture and inspiration, manage daily activities, and get the work done. There is a leader in everyone.
Cultivate leadership to yield inspired, committed partners in creating the future of your company.