10 lessons of life as a leader in business
As a senior business leader with over 15 years in the telecoms industry, 9 years in business development and Owner/Founder of Client Matters for the last 10 plus years, Alex has learned some valuable lessons in: building networks, supporting leaders and their people, how to be heard effectively by decision-makers and how to mentor business owners. Along with her success in business, Alex gives her time as a Police Chaplain, Samaritan’s volunteer and radio presenter on Men’s Radio Station. She has also brought up 2 children, now in their late 20s. In celebration of International Women’s Day, Alex shares her 10 life lessons for business leaders.
1. Treat everyone the same - you have no idea where people come from or what their backgrounds are and you should never assume anything – it’s the old adage, “never judge a book by its cover” and it couldn’t be truer.
“Be interested in others, find out about them and it will surprise you what you learn and how useful it is”
2. Never simply tell someone to do something - explain why you’re asking them to do this and how it fits into the bigger picture. It seems obvious when written in black and white but it astounds me how many leaders shout out orders without explaining the implications behind them. To build a good team around you from bottom up and top down, you must include them in your vision.
3. Be honest and loyal.
4. Work at building relationships – I have been doing this throughout my career.
“I am still in touch with people I met 30 years ago who have been instrumental in my own journey and continue to be a part of my growth”
5. You have to earn respect as it doesn’t grow on trees (a bit like money) – respect comes from the above lessons but you must always be true to yourself and if something doesn’t sit right with you don’t sit silently pondering – make sure you are heard which can be particularly difficult as a woman. This is not whining or whinging, this is a point of view with quite often a better outcome than the original one!!
“you must always be true to yourself”
6. Show empathy – a simple ‘there, there’ doesn’t cut it – sympathy and empathy are miles apart and in fact, I don’t use sympathy in my dictionary at all.
“Empathy is getting down and dirty and crawling up with the person who needs your support, not a pat on the back saying ‘everything will be okay’.”
7. Make sure your people are in the right job – if you see someone struggling in your team/business find out what is causing them difficulties. Find out if this job they are doing now is the job they started out doing or thought they would end up doing. It might surprise you to find that many people are in the wrong job and this can cause a lot of stress.
“Let your people tell you what they are good at as there may well be a position for them that is more suitable”
8. Own your mistakes – you learn from them.
9. As a leader, arrogance gets you nowhere – be grounded and open.
10. Be direct; don’t waste time.
“Ask difficult questions, the questions you really need to know the answers to – you will be thanked for it in the end”
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