|
It's lonely at the top. While running your own company has its
merits...you get to call the shots...it also has its drawbacks. One is
that as the leader of the organization you need to do the work of
leadership. Your job is to set the direction, motivate the troops, and
define the vision for the organization. It doesn't mean you can't
include your team in helping to set that vision, but you are the
ultimate decision-maker. After all is said and done, you need to make
the tough choices.
In his book, E-Myth Mastery, Michael Gerber identifies the essential skills of leadership as:
1) Concentration
- focusing your attention on the work of leadership, especially when
you are confronted with the choice of doing the technical work of the
business or focusing on the longterm direction of the
organization.Remind yourself that you are the "Leader" and you need to
do the work of a Leader. This is the skill of how to work on your organization.
2) Discrimination - learning how to choose between alternative courses of action.This is the skill of where to focus your attention. According to Gerber, The most important things you as a leader should focus on are the vision of the enterprise, its substance and how it's communicated; the business model, the unique way your business works that sets it apart from the competition; the consciousness of the organization
(often called company culture), how people are treated, compensated and
how work gets done, which translates into the look and feel of the
organization; and the end game, when and what is expected to happen and the strategies needed to take you from today to that future outcome.
3) Organization
- defining the organizational structure of the enterprise and the
relationships between the various departments or divisions. You have to
set up the proper structure for collaboration to ensure everyone is
working together to achieve the same outcome, your future vision.
4) Innovation
- continually improving on everything you do in the enterprise. This
means staying abreast of changes in your external environment and
making the necessary adjustments to create new products, deliver new
services to your customers, and stay competitive.
5) Communication
- how you communicate what you expect of your people is, how you listen
to their understanding, and ensuring that your communication is clear,
compelling and inspirational. This is the skill through which you
motivate your staff to excellence.
|