TRAITS OF SUCCESSFUL LEADERS

As a business owner, you�re used to being the boss. But are you a good leader?
Brushing up on your leadership skills could inspire your employees to support your company�s vision and work toward your business goals, and that can lead to greater profits and productivity.
�Leaders have a lot of power because people respect them.� says Martin B. Freedland, president of Organizational Development associates, Inc. In Atlanta. �People want to be on a leader�s team.� Freedland gave construction industry professionals tips on becoming better leaders during an educational seminar he presented at the 2005 International Builders Show.
�Leadership isn�t about you and what you do,� says Freedland. �It�s about the people who follow you and what they think of you.�
One thing leaders do particularly well is help others achieve their goals. As a result, leaders get their egos met by watching others succeed. Leaders lay the groundwork for their employee success by:

• Having a vision. �Without one, you can�t get people to follow you,� Freedland points out.
  $ Being good decision-makers. Leaders are decisive, and tend to make decisions quickly.

• Having good values.

• Being good problem-solvers.

• Embracing change and managing it well.

• Never being satisfied with where they are. That�s not to say that successful leaders are slave drivers. They compassionately motivate their employees to innovate and improve. �The kind of followers that leaders inspire make a commitment to doing something,� Freedland says. �And they often want to do something better than the leader.�

• Being willing to take risks.

• Having high expectations

• Maintaining a positive attitude, even in difficult situations.

• Wanting other people to feel involved and important.

• Doing the tough things first (instead of hoping someone else will).
  

MANAGERS VS LEADERS

There's a mindset differential between leaders and managers.

Managers tend to do things in the present. They often oversee budgets, and generally like to organize, measure, and control. They want to avoid errors and do things right. "They tend to say things like, " That would be great, but the budget won't allow it." says Freedland.

Leader, on the other hand, like to do the right things. they won't let a budget get in the way of accomplishing something if they feel it is right thing to do. "Say a customer calls and tells you the garage floor is cracked and he wants it to be replaced. A project manager might say, "Can't we just patch it? How big is the crack? Says Freedland. A leader will investigate the situation and will make arrangements to have the floor repoured if it's the right thing to do for the customer.

Managers are concerned with tasks. Leaders are concerned with people.