4 leadership lessons all entrepreneurs should know about

Expand your leadership and amplify your business success

If you are an advisor, a representative, a consultant, a coach, this means you’re an entrepreneur, and to be an entrepreneur also means to be a leader.

A leader for your team who look at you and models your daily actions.
A leader for your clients who share with you their dreams, their aspirations and absolute confidence.
A leader for the people around you who are inspired by your determination, your strength, and your persistence.

Whether you believe that leadership is acquired or innate, it is a strength, a quality which we can feed and develops. The greatest leaders are those who are always on the lookout for new approaches and new strategies to achieve significant results, motivate their team and thus become leaders of exception.

Here are 4 lessons I have learned throughout the years through my studies in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, neuroscience, and human behavior and as an entrepreneur and business coach for entrepreneurs:

No. 1. The Law of 33 %

“If you wait until you can do everything for everybody, instead of something for somebody, you’ll end up doing nothing for nobody.” – Malcolm Bane

Do you know Tai Lopez, the guy who reads one book a day? In one of his TED talk, he brought up an interesting concept: the Law of 33 percent – which is a great concept to live by.

The rule requires you to spend 33% of your time with the people you can mentor, a third with those on your level, and a third with people who can mentor you. And there is greater reasoning behind spending time in such proportion. Precisely,

You keep helping people,
You also enjoy your success with equals, and
Last but not the least, you keep challenging and placing yourself out of your comfort zone by spending time with your mentors.

Take action: This week, identify who should be in each of your three circles and schedule a time for you to watch Tai’s TED talk.

No. 2. Take the time, to take some time

“You have to work hard to get your thinking clear, to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” – Steve Jobs

Making time for thinking is vital. Not only will it keep you, as a leader, fresh and invigorated, but it will also help you to be a more efficient, effective and motivating leader. In fact, you’ll become a better leader all around. It’s not easy to become a clear thinker, but it’s important to give yourself the space to master it.

Strategic thinking is the “what” and “why” of the planning process. It answers the question, “What should we be doing, and why?”

As a leader, you have a responsibility to make the required time and undertake strategic thinking in your business planning. It won’t just happen – nor can it be done between two daily tasks.

Take action: Dedicate one day per month for strategic thinking. Determine which day you will dedicate to strategic thinking this month and block-off that day on your calendar today.

No. 3. The essential actions of a leader

“Leadership is an action, not a position.”- Donald McGannon

Thought leaders are always looking to improve themselves. In two basic yet profoundly powerful steps, you can begin to improve and become a better leader right now:

Do more of certain things. Do more of those things that are of greater value to you and your business and more important to achieving results. These are activities that bring you energy.
Do less of certain things. At the same time, you must deliberately decide to reduce the amount of time/energy you spend on certain activities that hamper your success as a leader. These are things that drain your energy.

Take action: Take a sheet of paper and make two columns, one entitled “What gives me energy?” and the other one “What drains my energy?” Then, as you go about your day, list activities/tasks in the right column.

No. 4. The Golden Rule of Leadership

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” – Ronald Reagan

The Golden Rule of leadership states: “Leading others is a privilege that is earned, not a right.” Leaders who understand that leading others is a privilege understand that leading, first and foremost, is about service.

Whether you have been granted the title of a leader by others or take it upon yourself, you must remember that leadership is an honour and a privilege and something that must be earned – because others are counting on you and they placed their trust in you.

What if you ran your business based on actually, genuinely caring for every single person in it? How would that impact your people’s engagement, the way they serve clients and the bottom line?

Take action: Find one idea to make work more fun and meaningful for your people.

In closing, I would like to share with you some of my favorite books on leadership, those who have really changed my world and expanded my way of thinking:

Good Leaders Ask Great Questions: Your Foundation for Successful Leadership by John C. Maxwell (Executive book summary here)
Zappos Culture Book (request your free PDF copy here)
Unique Ability: Creating the Life You Want by Catherine Nomura, Julia Waller and Shannon Waller (synopsis)
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason (free online version)

Personally, I’m currently reading “Millionaire Success habits” of Dean Graziosi – a book based on the philosophy of people with great success, followed the book “Ask”, a sure way to continue my learning continues in leadership!

What do you have as bedside reading? Send me your comments

To your success!