I tend to tear out magazine articles that start me thinking. I have one from Pink Magazine about leadership by Laura Lee Gentry. In it, she focuses four core skills that were “critical for successful executives: results orientation, team leadership, collaboration and influencing, and strategic orientation.”
As a woman entrepreneur, you are an executive of your own business. However, until you start thinking like an executive, you will hold yourself back to a low level of profit and success. It’s true that many women business owners start businesses to gain more flexibility and control over their lives, rather than create a million-dollar business. Eventually, most get frustrated because they aren’t growing the business that they want. It’s at that point that they often hire me as their business coach.
I often find that the four core skills outlined by Ms. Gentry are what’s missing from the leadership of the woman business owner. Goals (or results) are often fuzzy, or too small or not backed by any investment of time or money. If you want to get something done, you need to be very specific about what you want (e.g. Gross revenue in 2010 of $100,000) and define strategies, tasks and milestones to support that goal. You’ll need to invest time and money in sales and marketing, as well as fulfillment and customer service.
Team leadership requires that you understand people and how they work. A common mistake I see women entrepreneurs make is that they want their employees to be more like they are. The truth is, if they wanted to be an entrepreneur, your employee would be one. He or she isn’t. They are employees with different motivators than entrepreneurs. Your job is to figure out how to motivate them as individuals and as a team.
Collaboration and influencing pertains not only to your employees and contractors, but also to those in your circle of influence. These include fellow entrepreneurs, alliance partners, vendors, and yes, even government officials and your representatives. Don’t like something? Don’t do the “woman thing” and tell everyone but the person who is causing you grief. Pick up the phone and talk to them, or write a letter to your Congressperson.
Strategic orientation is the idea of looking at the big picture. Now ladies, our brains are wired for detail. We like detail. When we’re stressed, detail is exactly where we want to be. Spice rack organized alphabetically? Check! Holiday card list made? Check! Strategies for 2010 laid out? Uh….
Make 2010 the year you embrace your inner executive!
