Leadership is not all about being served by others. Being a leader is more of providing service to others. Unfortunately, some leaders forget this and focus on overcoming all odds to become successful. You’ve probably seen people who have grown to become successful leaders. The only which brought them down is their irrational ego. As a leader, your goal should be to help others achieve their goals by mentoring them and not being a boss.
Below are some tips on how a leader deals with his or her role in a company in order to succeed and achieve profitability:
Build your people
True leadership is so much more than just gaining authority and respect from your team and the outside world. It is about your ability to mentor people and help them reach their potential. It is about equipping your team and community with the right strategies and the necessary tools to maximize not only the organization’s success but also people’s lives. Transforming the lives of people is a quality every memorable leader you can think about has thought of because they know that if they can change people, then they can advance their mission.
Hari Ravichandran, the founder, and CEO of Jump Ventures, for instance, engage in social responsibility. This enabled him to make meaningful contributions to his community as well as leave a positive social impact. He happens to be the founder of the Ravichandran Foundation, a philanthropic foundation that the funds to help promote education, improve health, and empower youth both locally and internationally.
A good leader should not only focus on helping their team and organization in dominating the marketplace and reach new milestones. However, they also need to take genuine care for other people to truly understand the privilege they have of being a leader.
Acknowledge effort
Everyone, even the most junior member of your team wants to be recognized for the things they do. One of the primary reasons why people leave employment is because they feel under appreciated. As a leader, you should never take the credit for the work that your people have done.
Learn to recognize other people’s effort and acknowledge them. Make a point to mention your top performers in staff meetings and during an executive conference. When others see a coworker being recognized, they get motivated to work harder.
Empower your team
As Steve Jobs once said, it does not make sense to hire top performers only to tell them what to do. Instead, you should hire smart professionals so that they can tell you what to do. That is the epitome of true leadership. Everyone wants to be trusted enough to make decisions. Allowing your staff to make certain decisions is an excellent way of empowering them and letting them know you trust them. It is a way of saying that their talents and capabilities do matter.
Once in a while, allow your team members to shine. Instead of ignoring their ability and doing the tasks by yourself, allow the workers to handle them to show that you believe in them. If for instance, you have a presentation or exhibition coming up with your executive team, allow one of your top performers to give it instead. This will help build their confidence and help them strive for larger than life goals.
Walk the talk
When starting out, most entrepreneurs start their business as a one-man show. However, as the business scales, it becomes a team working towards one common goal. Usually, as the company grows, so does the workload and stress. As a result, most entrepreneurs isolate themselves from being hands-on with their business as the team members have been established. Once in a while, join your team on the grounds to engage with them and do the work with them.
Majid Al Futtaim, a reputable CEO, and owner of multiple malls walks through his malls every single week. He does this to witness first-hand how things are being run on the ground. While many would argue that as the owner of a multi-billion-dollar business he should sit in his office and put his feet up on his desks. Yet, he uses this opportunity to interact with his employees, redirects their focus and makes necessary changes.
Conclusion
In the early stages of entrepreneurship, it is normal for people to focus on themselves. However, as your business expands, it is important to heighten your focus beyond yourself. This will motivate your team and deliver value to your customers.
Once a leader understands the essence of true leadership, they will not only help build their organization but also transform their lives like never before.