Facing many new small business challenges? You bet. Marketplace clutter. New marketing channels. Much more competition. Some that you may not have yet even noticed. And more on the way. Requiring how leaders shape the future? Absolutely. A successful future depends on them.
There is an interesting story about how Pablo Picasso, the famous Spanish artist, developed the ability to produce remarkable work in just minutes.
As the story goes, Picasso was walking through the market one day when a woman spotted him. She stopped the artist, pulled out a piece of paper and said, “Mr. Picasso, I am a fan of your work. Please, could you do a little drawing for me?”
Picasso smiled and quickly drew a small, but beautiful piece of art on the paper. Then, he handed the paper back to her saying, “That will be one million dollars.”
But Mr. Picasso,” the woman said. “It only took you thirty seconds to draw this little masterpiece.”
“My good woman,” Picasso said, “It took me thirty years to draw that masterpiece in thirty seconds.”
A short video on inspiring young leaders in shaping the future.
What is your strategy for a successful business? Is it like the Picasso story?
While most entrepreneurs know what they would like to achieve and that they want to expand their business, few have taken time to plan out how and to what end. A plan can help you focus your efforts and align your team to achieve your long-term goals.
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.
- Lao Tzu
One of the most significant challenges facing businesses today is the need to be an effective leader. Certainly, a challenge facing businesses big and small.
Leadership is a trait many are quick to claim, but few truly deserve. So true, isn’t it?
To be a leader does not mean wearing the title of “leader.” It’s not something you choose to be one minute and then choose not to be the next. A leader is not a leader simply because he or she has been promoted. And a leader is not someone who sits in a position of management.
None of those things are what truly make a real leader. Here are the things that do:
Leaders shape the future
Leaders must be forward-thinkers who can envision a future state, set the direction, and then lead others toward that goal. Shaping the future is not just about the internal processes, it also means shaping the courses of action we have available to us in the markets.
Expanding our markets, moving adjacently, and dealing directly with customers as well as potential business partners. Forward thinks?
Leaders shape the future by creating teamwork
Leaders need to create a positive team environment where people are excited about the contribution they can make. Where they are inspired to be actively engaged. Where they understand exactly what is expected of them.
They know the bar is set high. These leaders value diversity and foster inclusion and they know how to communicate with force and effect, both inside and outside the business.
Leaders shape the future by listening first and acting second
Someone who jumps to conclusions without first seeking to understand has made a fatal error—for themselves and their team. To lead people effectively, you have to take the time to listen and see things from their perspective.
You have to put yourself in their shoes and fully understand the situation.
Listen more than you talk.
Doesn’t make decisions in the heat of the moment
Do you know those bosses that get all riled up and then start rapid-firing people? That’s not a leader. That’s a trigger-happy manager on a power trip—and there’s a difference.
A leader waits until the heat of the moment has passed so that he or she can give solid thought to the situation before concluding.
Model accountability
Leaders need to be stellar role models. Be completely accountable for all their actions. Be mentors and coaches for all around them… Leaders need to take the high road in pursuit of better performance.
Leaders shape the future knowing what they don’t know
It’s dangerous when someone claims to “know everything.” A good leader is ok with not having all the answers, and knowing that they will find the people who do. They don’t see it as a weakness—because it’s not. It’s merely part of the process.
Leaders shape the future … avoiding being the smartest person in the room
If someone hires people or surrounds themselves with people less qualified than themselves simply to remain in a position of power, then they feel threatened. You never want to be the smartest person in the room—and if you are, you’re in the wrong room.
Great leaders know this and seek to surround themselves with masters of their crafts. The leader’s job, then, is to “play the orchestra.”
Leaders shape the future … building relationships
Leaders need to be able to establish and maintain good, effective relationships with their peers, with their employees, with customers, and within their communities. All are of critical importance to the business. Good relationships can create a boundary-less flow of capability that can be channeled to customers’ highest priorities.
Gives constructive feedback
There is a difference between “constructive criticism” and plain negativity. People who spew negativity aren’t doing anything to help anyone. A great leader looks for ways they can help, not ways they can tear others down in the process.
Leaders shape the future by doing what has to be done
Anyone who says, “That’s not my job,” isn’t leading by example. Yes, people need to stay their lane and be responsible for their work, but when there’s a fire, and it’s all hands on deck, a leader doesn’t step back and say, “All right everyone, go figure it out.” They get right to work with them.
Leaders shape the future by delivering results
Leaders are ultimately responsible for delivering results. Quite simply, that means continually driving operational excellence and adapting with agility to changing circumstances.
An additional challenge will be to carry that strength forward to the next future leaders
Cultivate a positive culture
Being results-driven is great, but a culture that produces results has to be healthy in some way, shape, or form. And creating that culture takes hard work.
A great leader knows that they are not the center of attention, and what’s more important is creating an environment where others feel empowered to succeed, bring ideas to the table, and think for themselves.
Leaders shape the future by always finding a way
Anyone that says, “It’s impossible. We can’t,” isn’t fit to lead. A true leader knows that there is always a way. It might not be the way anyone had originally planned for, but it’s a way nonetheless.
Great leaders find the roads less traveled, and do whatever needs to be done to get the collective over the obstacle ahead.
Decide what you are playing for
From small business to large, executives confront a constant tension between managing what is and creating new growth. That tension manifests itself as a continual battle for attention, time, and resources. But we no longer have the luxury of choice, if we ever did.
In April 2004, HBR published “The Ambidextrous Organization” by Charles A. O’Reilly III and Michael L. Tushman. It’s one of our top five clippings for the title alone. For how many of us is ambidexterity a natural talent? Precious few: Estimates I’ve run across the range between 3% and 5%. And that’s physical ambidexterity: the ability to write, bat, or throw with either hand.
In business, as in life, we tend to be either right-handed or left-handed — “right-brain thinkers” or “left-brain thinkers” — and we stick with our strengths. But success in business demands that we be both. So we have to learn new skills (just as you can learn to write or throw with your other hand if you try).
We like to say, “You get what you pay for.” You can’t just wish or want to do something; you have to put your time, energy, and attention into getting it done. Do you want long-term growth? Then you have to stop wanting it and start doing something about it. Growth requires leadership. You don’t have to do it all, but you can’t just delegate it and hope someone else will do it for you.
Everyone speaking the same language
Long-term growth doesn’t come from doing the same things you did yesterday and hoping for a different result. In our world, growth means fostering transformational or breakthrough innovation. And, perhaps surprisingly, one of the most powerful initial steps a leader can take to pursue innovation is to define your terms. If you don’t think this matters, go ask five smart colleagues to define “breakthrough innovation.” Write down their answers and then see if you agree.
Here’s our definition: Breakthrough innovations are innovations with new value propositions that expand your business into new markets with new advantages. Whether or not this definition works for you is irrelevant. The key is that whatever definitions you use, they need to be clear, useful, and common throughout your team or organization.
Leaders shape the future by imaging the future
Alan Kay said, famously, “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” If you want sustainable growth, you must have a sense of what the future will be, what it will require, and how you will win.
Then you can direct your breakthrough innovation efforts toward achieving the vision — predicting the future by creating it.
The bottom line
These are just some ways that everyday occurrences can result in a business leadership lesson. Because if there’s one thing I’ve found to be true, both in business and in life, it’s this – people relate to real life.
If your people (your customers, your colleagues, your clients, your readers) can relate to your life and all you learn from it, it’s pretty much a guarantee that the goals you have will be easier to meet.
