Leading into the future

Becoming a leader is one of the most important qualities of running a successful small business. Simply put, leadership means setting an example that others have the desire to follow and believe in. Since you own the small business, you are already a leader in your own right even if you don't think you are. Working hard to develop a good business plan and obtaining the financing for the business is leadership in one form. The other involves getting your employees to rally behind you and support you along this journey.

Qualities of a leader
In order to take your small business into the future, you need to sit back and come up with a list of all the qualities that you see in a leader. What leaders have you had in the past that helped you on your career path. What qualities did they have that caused you to follow them and how can you exemplify them to your current staff? A good leader has core values that other people are attracted, some include:

• Honesty


• Integrity


• Trust


• Respect


• Vision

As a leader you also need to have presence when you are in a room. This means when you walk into the room, people instantly turn their heads and pay attention. People want to listen to what you have to say, they want to follow what you say, and good communication will help you get this message across easily.

Leading means listening
In order to gain your employees trust and respect, you need to spend time listening to them. This means shutting off your cell phone and getting rid of all the distractions when you are talking to them. Give them eye contact and non-verbal communication cues like nodding your head and smiling to let them know you are listening to their every word. When you do this, your employees will feel like they can come to you with anything and your open-door policy will make it easier for everyone to work as a team.

Have a vision
To inspire people to follow you anywhere, you need to have a vision that they want to follow. What do you want to take the company in the future and how do you plan on going there? When you have a vision, it will be easier for employees to find their niche to see how they fit into the picture and what they can do to help this vision become a reality. Don't be afraid to listen to your employees as they give suggestions on how your vision can become even better. Accept their criticism and look for ways to include it in the bigger picture. Learning from the people around you is a great quality that not every good leader possesses.

Think positive
As you are working on becoming a better leader and inspiring your employees, you need to stay positive. Your goal is to get your employees to follow you and it's extremely difficult to follow a person that thinks negatively all the time and cannot see their vision becoming a reality. Stay positive about all the setbacks that will pop up here and there and assure your employees that you will lead them in the right direction if they give you the opportunity to do so.

Teamwork
A great leader only exists because of the people around them. Work hard to build a team atmosphere where everyone is treated equally. Your employees need to know that you do listen to their comments and you actually look for ways to implement their suggestions. With great teamwork, a great vision will be born and your small business will be off and running in no time.