Leadership is the pathway to profit...in all of the nuances of that word. Our passion gets us off track and gets in the way. Converting that passion to profit is my theme. A large part of that conversation is reframing leadership.

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   I Must Be in Command: Having been an entrepreneur all my life, I am sure I have made all mistakes possible. I call these mistakes, “learning opportunities.” In one business, my staff presented me with a BOSS card. It was great, until I turned it over to read the meaning on the other side. Translated, BOSS backwards is Double S.O.B.! I did what I had been taught and what I observed in other leaders--be the BOSS and have all the answers. A BOSS is an autocratic leader. It’s about them. It’s a one-way process. Today I know the leader doesn’t necessarily have all the answers—rather, an effective leader has good questions. Tip: Be the Transformational Leader who defines the vision, empowers others to fulfill that vision, and coaches others to a higher level of functioning and model what it is you want others to do.
   
   
   
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   Always be Right: You don’t know everything, so why claim to be right? Leadership is about defining our personal gaps. Inventory your skills and score them from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest. Every skill below 5 should be delegated to leaders on the team. In view of the fact there are gaps in skills, there are most likely gaps in perspective, in knowledge, and in strategy. Being right means others have to be wrong. Focus on developing leaders on teams and coach them on being right. TIP: Ditch the ego. Healthy self-esteem means that others get to shine at times and, in the end, the leader gets credit for a healthy organization achieving goals. Listening is a primary leadership skill.
   
   
   
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   Improper Language or Behavior: Certainly you are an entrepreneur because you want to do things your way. That’s why you don’t want to work for a major corporation. In doing so, however, it is vital that you don’t repeat the bad habits you observed in traditional corporations. As an entrepreneur, you have the chance to develop a better culture and a better business model than the ones you’ve observed. It requires different thinking. Thinking differently and acting differently doesn’t mean you can do or say what you please without filter. Organizations expect a leader to have high standards. The leader (that’s you) is the person of greatest influence within the business. This means there are consequences to using language and behavior in a manner that is not consistent with the image a leader of this stature represents. A Transformational Leader models what is expected of the rest of team. Tip: Set good boundaries and have an accountability partner who will speak the truth to you always, in a context of respect and love.
   
   
   
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   Pretend to Know What You are Doing Even If You Don’t Know: Ignorance is bliss - or not! The leader who pretends to know everything becomes a target for others to prove otherwise. Following the theme of #2 above, leaders should gain not only skills, but should work on gaining knowledge as well. An effective leader is able to coalesce the best thinking of the group and make better decisions based on all available facts. They are able to reframe the negative energy from disagreement into creative tools for innovative thinking. Tip: Develop skills for framing a goal or stating a problem and then allowing the team to create data for decisions. A strong leader always holds the authority and uses power wisely by encouraging creative thinking and cross-disciplinary functioning. It’s not about you - it’s about the vision.
   
   
   
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   Delegation is a Weakness of Leadership: Actually, delegation is a sign of strong leadership. Autocratic leaders become a bottleneck for decisions and processes. When the leader must make all decisions, there is a limit to how much the team or organization can do. The Charismatic or Autocratic Leadership model is not scalable. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Transformational Leadership. Companies are successful under each style of leadership, but I favor Transformational Leadership because it is about the vision and is scalable. Traits of this style of leadership include clarity of vision, the ability to build and equip leaders on teams, to support and encourage others, to provide information and coaching, and to model what you preach. Tip: Become a more serious student of leadership and never stop learning. Transform yourself first and then transform the organization by transforming the culture. Know that changing others in any group emotional system is accomplished by changing yourself.