Let’s face it – being the leader has its perks. You’re no longer the bottom of the totem pole in a business and have your hands on the reins. You get the hire the people you want to, build the product you love and run the business the way you see fit. The joys about being an entrepreneur can range from one person to the next but when it comes down to it – being the leader is great. Below we asked some entrepreneurs to share their vote on what makes being the leader so great.
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Being able to train various personalities
The best part of being a leader is your ability to train others with varying personalities to collectively accomplish a common goal. A great leader makes everyone on their team feel equally great. It is amazing to be able to draw out the seemingly small talents a lower level employee possesses and incorporate it into the bigger picture. A leader is only as great as their team, so equipping them is essential to accomplishing your tasks.
Thanks to Shannon Battle, Family Services of America
Life changing relationships happen regularly
In order to effectively lead in my community, I need to be armed with as much quality information as possible. I happen to be in the unique position to receive that information from extremely diverse sources and have the honor of meeting people from opposite ends of the proverbial spectrum and everyone in between. I have the privilege of learning from homeless citizens to the mayor of San Diego; from freshman in college to WWII veterans; from people who live on the street to law/policy makers who directly impact their lives from a board room. The quality of one’s life can be directly traced to the quality relationships that are present or lacking. Being a leader allows for life changing relationships to develop regularly…..and you can’t beat that!
Thanks to Sean Sheppard, EMBRACE
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Building a company culture that works
The best part of being a leader is building a company culture that works. Creating a list of values, rules, priorities, and goals and seeing them implemented correctly is very rewarding. For example, our culture has a strong “work hard, play hard” attitude. We work 60+ hours per week, but break up the stress by including a basketball hoop, Nerf guns, fun office decorations, and free food. It’s been working wonders.
Thanks to Chris Kilbourn, TOFU Marketing
Helping the people you lead achieve more than they ever dreamed possible
The best part of being a leader is helping the people you lead achieve more than they ever dreamed possible. Nothing is as rewarding as chaperoning someone through the process of self discovery, setting big hairy audacious goals, achieving personal accountability, and learning the power of persistence. No matter what the goal or the outcome, you and the person you’re leading realize that the journey is the thing. And if you both reach this at the same time while drinking a beer, you may both experience the pain of shooting beer from your nose!
Thanks to Ben Landers, Blue Corona
The thrill of victory
There is a moment in our lives that can not be planned, manipulated, or faked. It is that exhilarating moment in sports when you win the big game, the championship, or the national title. We have all seen it on television. The last pitch of the World Series. The batter strikes out the winning teams starts a massive dog pile in the middle of the field. The emotional energy created by working hard over a long season with a group of teammates to achieve the big victory is unlike any other high available. Having experienced this feeling as a young player who lacked the talent to play sports at a higher level, I thought I would never have that chance again. But then I found that you can get pretty close by coaching others to success. I coached fastpitch travel softball teams for over ten years and had some great experiences but then again life seemed to intervene and business demands increased. All my energy went in to building a business. And then an amazing thing happened. I found that the only thing keeping me from experiencing that moment of exhilaration was my own self imposed limitations. I was stuck in the mindset that only sports could provide that experience. I read a book called , The Zen of Golf that talked about resetting par in your mind so that anyone can achieve par. And I realized that my work team presented the same opportunity to get that winning feeling I just had to allow it to happen. Now I am excited when my team wins the bid, closes the deal, and makes the sale. There is no rush like it.
Thanks to Greg Alston
Watching individuals succeed past what they thought was possible for themselves
The best part of being leader is watching individuals succeed past what they thought was possible for themselves. This occurs through a rare combination of small successes that are sequential and growing in achievement. Seeing a team member shift their thinking and thus able to access this new level of achievement means their life has forever changed. This shift that has occurred is systemic and permanent. It’s not a short-term boost of motivation. It is a lasting and meaningful change — one that affects all area’s of their performance and life. As a leader I know my role is to do much more than create better performance. That bettered performance comes from those that advance personally and, as mentioned earlier, thus in all area’s of their life. You could say that the best part of being a leader is ‘the life transformation’ that comes with the evolution and ultimately the peak performance we are able to create in our team members.
Thanks to Shaune Clarke, Your BIG BRAND Strategy
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Changing wall street for women
The best part of being a leader is that I can use my experiences and challenges as a woman on “the Street” to try to make things better for all women in finance. My goal is to inspire and encourage more women to pursue a career in finance. I hope women everywhere see me and think, “If she can do it, I can do it.” I want to show them that this work can be fulfilling, rewarding, and fun. Women need to know that Wall Street is their street, too.
Thanks to Elle Kaplan, Lexion Capital Management LLC
A domino effect
I work in the senior care industry. The best part of being a leader in this industry is that when I do a good job leading or empowering the care staff not only do their lives improve in and outside of work but the lives of the seniors they care for change for the better. I think for me that watching the ripple effect of how my leadership skills can affect those at work is incredibly rewarding. As a leader I can give them tools during the workday that will improve business practices and revenue. The second piece of that is how those same tools, which are empowering, begin to affect their personal lives, families, friends and how they engage with their communities outside of work. The feeling when I see positive change happening can’t be replaced for me. Being a leader gives me the opportunity to make small changes in the world everyday.
Thanks to Kelly Sheets, The Spunky Caregiver
Being able to bring out the best in people
The best part of being a leader for me is, being able to bring out the best in people. Sadly enough to say there are more people looking for someone to guide them in accomplishing their goals. A big reason why people are scared to lead, simply because they lack self confidence, or they resent the fear of failure. With that being said it opens up plenty of opportunities for a person like myself to fill a huge void of being a leader. There is no greater feeling knowing that you have helped someone conquer their fears by stepping out and achieving their goals and aspirations. Being a leader rocks!
Thanks to T.J. Hines, Mr. Flipper House
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Making the impossible a reality
The best part of being a leader is seeing a desirable destination that at first appears impossible to others, and then making the impossible a reality. At first no one can even think about the idea. They may look at you like you are crazy. The majority are quick to respond to obstacles; how long it will take, how much money it will cost, that it has never been done before and how if it could be done, it would have already been done. The real leader, never swayed by the majority, rises and says,”the fact that most agree it is difficult even impossible is exactly why it must be done.” Inspiration then propels the group to formulate a plan to focus on the how, not the can’t and then achieves something that everyone once thought impossible. Watching that shift happen is always great.
Thanks to Grant Cardone
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