A great business needs great leadership. Being a leader is a difficult and never-ending task. We talked to the CEO of IdeaPros, Fred Cary, about leadership, how your why lives or dies there, and the road we have to take to turn from entrepreneurs to leaders.
From An Entrepreneur To A Leader
As an entrepreneur, you might think you are a leader too because you are taking a big leap, choosing your path, and forgetting what society thinks about it. But this is not true. Those are all the things that make you a bad leader. You are doing everything alone and missing resources to hire people and facilities that you need to realize your dream.
We start as anti-leaders because we don’t have a choice other than doing everything by ourselves. It’s important to think about leadership from the very beginning, no matter how far it looks. As you go from concept to launch, you have to let go of the reins and start delegating work.
“Making the transition from doing everything on your own, to taking a deep breath in handing things off to people you trust around you is an enormous leap.” – Fred Cary
Manager versus Leader
The difference between a manager and a leader is the difference between organizing and inspiring. A manager organizes the resources and makes sure the company is mindful of the budgets and the employees. So you are organizing people, tasks, and budgets. As a leader, you are at the top of the organization, and you have to think about budgets and people. But this doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have the WHY.
People who work with you need to believe in what you’re doing and that’s the hard part. Leaders don’t focus only on what the company does, they focus on what the company is all about. “Why does this organization exist? Why are we doing the things that we do?” are the questions you need to ask yourself as a leader. You need to know how to handle growth, conflicts, and interactions with consumers, suppliers, stakeholders, and most importantly, employees.
Examples of Good Leadership
When you are a leader, there is always someone who doesn’t like you, and there are fires to put down every day. People will doubt you because nothing operates perfectly.
“It’s how you react to things when they go poorly that makes you a good leader.” – Fred Cary
You want to get the entire organization to focus on the WHY instead of the WHAT. It creates more loyalty from employees and customers, builds brand awareness, and allows for mistakes to happen. You can’t talk to a company to understand its core beliefs.
The company projects an image that becomes its persona. Let’s take Apple. If they had started with the WHAT, they would have said:
“We make great computers. They are user-friendly, beautifully designed, and easy to use. Want to buy one?”
Instead, they had started with the WHY:
“With everything we do, we aim to challenge the status quo and to think differently. Our products are user-friendly, beautifully designed, and easy to use, but we just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?”
Much more powerful, right?
So, if you want to be a good leader, make sure that everyone, from the receptionist to high-level executives, understands WHY they are there, WHAT the company does, and HOW it’s done. It will make all the difference.
Good Leader = Good Follower
Changing your mindset and trusting other people is critical for success. They will make mistakes, too, and it will be scarier because you can’t control them. But take advice from the experts that are better than you in what they do.
“To be a good leader, you need to be a good follower.” – Fred Cary
The “Idea Pros” at IdeaPros have the resources, experience, and tools to help you at this step or any step in the entrepreneurial journey.
We partner with entrepreneurs at any stage and who are ready to invest their ideas. Apply for an interview and let’s explore partnering together.
The “Idea Pros” at IdeaPros have the resources, experience, and tools to help you at this step or any step in the entrepreneurial journey.
We partner with entrepreneurs at any stage and who are ready to invest their ideas. Apply for an interview and let’s explore partnering together.