Leadership is a complex and multi-faceted skill. There’s no single right way to do it, which can leave new managers confused or struggling about how best to develop their own leadership style.
If you’re just starting out as a leader, you might look to others for guidance on how to become the best version of yourself for your team. That’s why we asked a group of women from Young Entrepreneur Council to share some important leadership lessons they wish they’d known from the beginning. Here is what they said.
1. You Need a Strong Professional Support System
Surround yourself with smart people who will challenge the way you think. Ask them for help and share your successes and failures. Follow what they are reading, writing, blogging, saying and tweeting so you can better develop your point of view. In doing this, you can be more productive, deepen your relationships and nurture your curiosity. Remember to lift up other women along the way! — Susan Rebner, Cyleron, Inc.
2. People Have Different Motivations (and That’s OK)
As a leader, it can be tempting to look for employees who think like you do or who are motivated by similar things. However, diversity of ideas is important to the success of any business, and hiring only people who think like you can be a recipe for disaster. It’s important for new leaders to evaluate how each team member is best motivated, supported and taught, and to adapt accordingly. — Brittany Hodak, Keynote Speaker
3. Align Your Personal and Company Values
Define your personal values and transform them into company values — then drive them home in everything you do. This helps you make important decisions. As a leader in a company, especially at an executive level, you make decisions all day. Have this guiding light so when tough decisions come, your values will help. At MKG it’s easy to ask, is this in line with our No. 1 value, “People First”? — Kerry Guard, MKG Marketing
4. You Have to Learn to Explain and Teach
I often know exactly what I think I want, but explaining that to an employee is much harder than I ever would have expected. It’s easy to find myself thinking, “It’s easier to just do it myself,” but in the long run that doesn’t help the company. I really have to be willing to take the time to show my team what needs to be done and then allow them the freedom to do it their own way. — Jessica Larrew, The Selling Family
5. Done Is Better Than Perfect
You absolutely must delegate to get anything done in business, and employees won’t always do things exactly as you’d do them, but that’s OK! Getting it done is better than getting it done perfectly. Having some flexibility in this space is seriously helpful for effective leadership. — Rachel Beider, PRESS Modern Massage
6. Lead With Facts, Not Emotions
If you come by a challenging situation, take a step back before you react. It is easy to get emotional, especially when you put everything into your business, but it is best to lead with facts. Remember that handling a situation in a calm and reasonable way will get you further than just reacting in the moment and having your emotions get the best of you. — Sarah Yeverovich, Empowered Staffing
7. You’ll Never Have All the Answers
It never gets easier. With each milestone, we face the next new challenge to overcome — one we may not have a solution for. We won’t have all the answers; we just need to come up with the strategy to find the resources to get us there. — Suneera Madhani, Fattmerchant
These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year and have created tens of thousands of jobs. Learn more at yec.co.
