Just because entrepreneurs are natural-born leaders doesn't mean that leadership necessarily comes naturally. Growing into an effective leader of your team and your business takes a ton of learning -- and some have to do it the hard way.
What are the hardest business lessons to learn as a leader? We asked 11 successful entrepreneurs to expose their past shortcomings while on their way to becoming strong business leaders:
1. Trust Your People
You have to be capable of stepping back and trusting the people around you from time to time. I think a lot of us entrepreneurs have the habit of trying to do it all. We prefer to be very much in the weeds and try to take on too much. It takes a certain level of maturity and experience to know when to step back a level and let the situation play out versus diving in and tearing things apart.
- Danny Boice, Speek
2. Realize Employees' Motivation Comes From Within
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. You cannot transform teammates into something they're not. You can inspire as best you can, but some motivation has to come from within. They have to have an inner fire to make a difference, and without that, no amount of effort on your part will allow them to realize their full potential.
- Alexandra Levit, Inspiration at Work
3. Thoroughly Define Co-Founders' Roles
There was a dark moment in our company history when my co-founder wanted to leave the company because of me. It was scary to think that I would be alone in China running the business, and I knew once she left, others would follow. Our staff liked working for both of us because we complemented each other's background and personality. The solution was to define roles, goals and accountability.
4. Don't Make Employees Into Something They're Not
It is one of the hardest -- but most valuable -- lessons I have learned: Don't try to make employees into something they're not. You want employees to be their true selves so they can excel. Rather than improving on their weaknesses, continue to improve on what they are already good at, making them the best at what they enjoy.
- Bryan Silverman, Star Toilet Paper
5. Give Context to Explain Why Something Is Important
I had no patience with errors, and it took me a while to understand why I wasn't able to teach the importance of accuracy. After a lot of self-reflection and conversations, I realized that when you tell people to do something without providing the context of why it's important, they will not give it their best. As a leader, it's important to do things right -- but to also do the right things.
- Shradha Agarwal, ContextMedia
6. Don't Try to Do It All
Scaling a company is a constant struggle of identifying what you can let go of and who you can entrust with making decisions without your oversight. Hiring great people and giving them the freedom to create and fully own projects is the ultimate goal -- and the sign of a good leader. The challenge is deciding when, after hiring, they're ready to take the ball and run with it.
- Jordan Fliegel, CoachUp, Inc.
7. Realize That People Are the Most Important Part
People are the most important part of any organization, but they are also the greatest weakness. I have discovered that business is about these three primary areas: (1) your people, (2) your offering and (3) your processes, including technology, automation, etc. Having great people who love what they do and do it with passion and focus can often make up for a weaker product or process.
8. Focus on Leadership First, Management Second
Until recently, I thought leading and managing were the same -- if I was a good manager, I was a good leader. Last year, I watched a video of an Inc. 500 CEO that helped me make a major mindset shift. Until then, I was a decent manager, but not a great leader. Now, I focus on being a great leader and building the vision first -- management skills second. Leaders aren't born; they're created.
- Trevor Mauch, Automize, LLC
9. Accept That People Need Leadership
I've had a sort of utopian vision of a flat management structure, but I'm realizing that it only works to a certain point before my employees need me to take control and offer guidance. I thought I could just blend in, but as we grow, I'm realizing that I need to say how I want things to be and then stand behind it -- most people are more productive and do better work under leadership.
- Jim Belosic, ShortStack/Pancake Labs
10. Confront People Behind Closed Doors
If you have to confront anyone, don't do it at your office or in front of your employees. Do this out of respect for the person and for your image as a leader. For that reason, those matters should be handled behind closed doors.
- Yosef Martin, Merchandize Liquidators
11. Document Everything
One of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn was how important it is to document everything in your company, even though it’s a pain for everyone at the time. When you start to grow, there comes a point in time when not having good documentation can really hurt, and I’ve been there.
- Benji Rabhan, MorrisCore
