12 Characteristics of Leadership Critical of Business Success

Posted by Ann Evanston in Business, Featured Articles on September 22, 2009 | View Comments

Recently, Dick a person I have loved and respected died. I knew this man on a personal level, as a father, friend, husband, and grandfather. He was a great man! At his memorial, many that worked with him also shared how great he was there. Here is what I realized. Dick chose to lead not just at work but in life. He chose to possess characteristics and traits of leadership. He was:

Visionary
Mentored and was a role model
Didn’t take himself too seriously
Chose to see the best in every person
Saw the potential in others
Practiced giving without ever expecting
Had high standards
Challenged you to be your best
Came from a place of adventure
Always came from love
Knew solutions were possible
Made family first.

So what’s the point? As small business owners these characteristics are critical for your success. People in his life wanted to follow him. And you need others to want to follow you: your family, your community, your customers. So:

Make a choice
Understand leadership is key
Pick one of these amazing characteristics above and incorporate it in your life 100% of the time and I guarantee you will:

Get better results
Increase loyalty from others
Enjoy life more
Truly be successful
Always have what you need.

I highly recommend Leadership 101 by John Maxwell to explore leadership and how important it is to you as an entrepreneur. What will you do to choose to lead?

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Max Bellasys

I like this post. I believe the language in the title should be "...Critical For..." instead of "...Critical of..."
JeannieShea

I just found your article, and I appreciate how you honored your friend. I have just lost a dear friend to cancer, and he exemplified #3 and #8.
Ann Evanston

Showing parts of you and your life as you write about what you know can be powerful!
Gate Lady Publishing

I can see why your friend was a leader. Thank you for the examples. There are many of the above points which I plan to utilize. One of them... not taking myself too seriously... can use some work on my part. This article prompts me to improve. Thanks!
Ann Evanston

Don't Take Yourself so Seriously! Such a powerful lesson to learn isn't it?
Sarah Camp

This is a great list of leadership characteristics. I completely agree that they are critical of business success, but also just personal success! I think many of these characteristics should be applied personally as well, to truly have a happy life, even if your goal isn't to be successful in a "business"
Ann Evanston

Leadership is about life -for me Sarah that is exactly the point of the article -- not a corporate job and it will affect your success in ALL areas of your life! PopPop knew that for certain!
Sarah Camp

Yes! and I think that is missed by a lot of people in leadership positions. Hopefully it opens their eyes :)
jrnuerge

Great characteristics of leadership! I personally am working harder on # 4. Thanks for a great post.
JR Nuerge
Eco-friendly+Eco-nomical=Eco-fabulous!
http://www.jrnuerge.com
candacecdavenport

I bet Dick also knew and loved himself first and foremost. To be able to be all he was (and like you said, for us to be the best small business owners/leaders we can be) we need to love and understand ourselves to be able to give that much to other people and be a leader. That is sometimes the hard part- to know and love yourself first.
Ann Evanston

So true Candace and glad you thought of it! We do need self love to lead!