While prodigies and natural-born leaders exist worldwide, becoming an inspirational and model business leader is all about experience, learned behavior, and effort invested in learning the ropes of connecting with people. So, even if you may have been on the quieter side of the room when you were younger, that’s not to say you can’t flip the switch and learn the skill sets necessary in today’s business climate to launch a successful startup and manage an entire team.
However, if you plan to go that route and want to become a business leader that sparks the catalyst for change, then the first skill you must work on is the ability to influence others and become a person of significant influence throughout your firm. And if you can establish your leadership role by impacting others and directing the flow of work, then you’ll be one step closer to making your business startup a success story.
Rigorous Self-Evaluation On Character And Leadership Style
Before you can start influencing others with your words, actions and steering your company’s roadmap with a single decision, you must always begin with yourself and conduct a rigorous self-evaluation on your character to determine your inherent capacity to be an influential leader. You see, one can’t simply practice the strategies and programs that will impact your team because the effectiveness of each step rides on your ability to persuade and connect with your employees.
- Distinguish Positional Vs. Personal Influence: Firstly, you must distinguish the influence that naturally comes with your position and the influence that stems from your personal power. Often, newbie business leaders practice influence through the former, which means people follow you because employers can assign, delegate, and even fire them. However, your goal is to use the latter of which is personal influence over people, meaning that you work through them and gain their respect out of action and not position alone.
- Decisiveness And Highly Action-Oriented: In addition to personal influence over your team members, becoming an effective and influential business leader for your organization requires decisiveness and a highly action-oriented mindset. You see, not only will you be making the day-to-day choices for core operations but also decisions that impact business growth like technological integration and digitalization. And need your employees to see the conviction and determination that comes from your decision-making skills.
- Practice And Demonstrate Integrity To A Tee: Lastly, one core value that you will see tested time and time again is integrity, and as an aspiring influential business leader, you must lead by example, practicing and demonstrating integrity in everything you do to a tee. At the end of the day, your team desires a leader that is honest, open, and reliable, a person that chooses moral uprightness and ethical aspects of his words and actions. And, in doing so, you will gain their respect and support, making you more influential in the workplace.
Place Team Cohesion And Collaboration Above Yourself
Once you’ve established a solid and robust foundation for your influence on others to grow, the next step in cultivating your ability to impact your team is by placing team cohesion and overall collaboration above yourself. Remember, a startup’s success may be steered with the help of an influential leader, but the extent to which influence helps is limited to the work and effort put in by every member to make the ship sail the seas of success.
- Team Players Succeed By Lifting Others: For starters, to put your influence into action and amplify the magnitude of effect it has on others, you want to adopt a team player’s mindset that aims to attain success by lifting the people around them. And if Meta can team up with Microsoft Teams for integration, you’ll want to mimic the same action plan by placing the benefit of everyone and the firm first before any self-interests. Of course, don’t forget that teamwork and harmony will take some time before it blossoms, so don’t expect a well-oiled machine from the get-go.
- Winning Both Hearts And Minds: Apart from prioritizing teamwork and the collective benefit of everyone in the company, you shouldn’t just look at the objective aspects of influence but look toward winning the hearts and minds of your team as well. Just like how industry-standard fabrics and vinyl sheets emphasize varied applications for their products, you want to reach for the emotional and logical merits of working with your people. And whether it’s through reciprocating healthy discussion or providing sound reasoning behind decisions, your leadership style must be convincing.
Control Over Your Influence On Others Marks The First Step.
In conclusion, launching a successful business startup, managing your day-to-day operations, and leading your company is no small feat by itself. But if you start by learning to control your influence over others, then you’re one step closer to realizing your dream.
