AHA! Recruiting Experts
The top leadership mistakes often made by entrepreneurs fall into four areas:
The mistake I see most often with entrepreneurs is that they don’t separate themselves from their business.
Authors Sugerman, Scullard and Wilhelm in their book with the same title described, “The 8 Dimensions of Leadership.” The book lays out a model of eight dimensions of leadership behavior. As leaders, we tend to have natural tendencies in one of these dimensions. These natural tendencies are sometimes called our strengths.
A few months ago I facilitated a leadership workshop for a local chamber group. Many of the participants were small business owners. The energy was just incredible during the workshop. There were lots of “AHA!” moments. After the workshop, the sponsor came to speak with me. He has owned several businesses in the area for several years. I was very interested in his feedback about the workshop.
Great ideas are everywhere. There are a lot of great ideas out there. A great idea fills a need. It makes something easier for the client, customer, or organization. In order to develop great ideas, we need to not only be open to them, but also encourage them. Ask your customers for ideas on how to improve your service. Ask your employees on all levels of the organization for ideas on how to improve operations.
I once knew a woman named Priscilla who embodied great customer service. Over the years I’ve attended many workshops on customer service. I’ve also read countless books, yet when I think about GREAT customer service, I think of Priscilla.
I met Priscilla in 2000. A friend of mine had recommended a certain type of make-up to me. It was a brand you could only buy at a department store.
Andrea explains that often leaders are too close to the problems within their organization and outside consultants can bring a fresh perspective, coupled with years of experience to the table, to create a perfect process to help with that individual issue.