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Success Advice

12 of the Most Common Signs You’re Not Ready to Be a Leader

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Over the last 20 years, I have seen leaders do amazing things. A story that sticks out in my mind is a story of a missionary who served in Thailand. He went there believing that he could make a difference, yet there were obstacles that stood in his way, and he was persecuted for his faith. Thankfully, in the last 10 years, he has been able to start a radio station, build a school, write books, and serve the poor. His life has touched tens of thousands of people and he is just getting started. 

On the other hand, I have seen leaders do terrible things. Leaders who were entrusted to lead others, but were only out for themselves. Early on, I was leading a start-up organization that was growing rapidly so I brought another leader on to manage the finances. Little did I know that managing the finances was not the best place for this person. I wish I would have devoted more time to discover the story of this leader. 

The leader and I had a friendship and it never crossed my mind to ask some hard questions. Sadly, the organization paid a price for it. A few months after bringing him on, we discovered that he was stealing from the organization. He was confronted, paid the money back, and was released from service.

Both stories are not isolated. I can give you dozens of stories of great leaders. However, I can also give you a lot of stories of leaders who have missed the mark and entered into unethical or immoral behavior. 

As much as that pains me to say, we have to face the hard truth. A leader who isn’t working on being healthy is a leader who won’t be leading long. As leaders, we all start from a place of immaturity and inexperience while making mistakes along the way. Growth is messy and you cannot grow without making mistakes just like you can’t make an omelet without cracking some eggs. The process is one we must all submit ourselves to if we hope to be a leader worth following. 

Moving from immaturity to maturity may be difficult, but it is so worth it. Leading people is a sacred honor and responsibility. Leaders who do not follow the path towards maturity will always have a lid placed on their capacity to lead. 

I am passionate about many things and leadership tops the list of those passions. I believe each of us has the capacity to be a good leader, and some people have the capacity to be a great leader. The truth is that all of us have tendencies to be immature from time to time, yet, there is a difference between being immature and having a moment of immaturity. 

While moments of immaturity are expected, being immature is not. If the goal is to move from immaturity to maturity then we must first recognize the places we are most immature. I am a firm believer that a person can never change what they cannot see. If you see it you can overcome it even if that requires a lot of help.

“You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader.” – Henry Ford

To help you recognize if you are immature, let me share a list of the most common traits of immature leaders. You might be an immature leader if: 

You become defensive when people confront you.

You ignore the facts of your situations and convince yourself nothing is wrong. 

You avoid conflict at all costs.

You think your ideas are always the best ideas. 

You blame others for your mistakes or you allow your team to pass blame. 

You refuse to allow others to speak into your life. 

You try to do everything by yourself (No Delegation).  

You think the organization is dependent on you.

You don’t fully listen to others.

You play a victim every time something doesn’t go your way 

You think what you have to get done is more important than the people you’re leading.

You are concerned that the people you are leading want your position. 

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan

Leading isn’t easy. Leading from a place of immaturity is impossible. The more you see yourself in this list, the more immature you may be. One word of caution, all leaders will see themselves in this list from time to time. That is what it means to have a moment of immaturity. For those whose lives are built off this list, that is what it means to be immature. 

The most important thing is what happens next. What will you do with the information you have been given? How will you apply what you have learned? If you find yourself only experiencing moments of immaturity, how will you continue your growth? If you found yourself being immature, who will you hire to help you grow through it? 

The most important decision you have to make is what happens next. You’re a leader! Now it is time to grow up and be one! The world needs mature and amazing leaders. If you stay immature in your leadership then your impact will be small. The time is now to grow up! The time is now to grow internally mature! It is time to lead well!

What do you think makes a great leader? Share your thoughts and stories with us below!

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Success Advice

How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements

Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.

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Image Credit: Midjourney

Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.

There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.

Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.

Embed the strength of AI and ML.

AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.  

Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.

ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses. 

In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.

Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities

Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased. 

Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information. 

Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place. 

In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development

You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.

You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.

Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.

Developing key skills to achieve goals

Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.

Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.

Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.

Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.

Development/Coding Knowledge

Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.

Hacking proof framework

There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.

Communication Abilities/Soft Skills

Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:

Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.

Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.

Agile Implementations

It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.

  • Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds. 
  • Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
  • Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
  • Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them. 
  • Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.

  • Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
  • Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
  • Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.

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Success Advice

Understanding the Power of Yes and No: How to Create Boundaries For Success

These words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds

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Creating legal boundaries
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The two smallest yet most powerful words in life, “Yes” and “No,” have a big impact on our growth on both personal and professional levels. In addition to affecting the choices we make every day, these words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds. (more…)

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Motivation

From Couch Potato to Go-Getter: A Step-by-Step Motivation Plan for Everyone

By understanding what motivates you, you can turn your dreams into reality

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How to be motivated
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Are you tired of feeling like a couch potato? Do you want to transform your life and become a go-getter? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with motivation, but the good news is that change is possible. (more…)

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Success Advice

10 Micro Financial Habits for More Wealth and Peace of Mind

The World Economic Forum still reports that half of U.S. adults lack financial literacy

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micro financial habits
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You’ve heard about developing financial habits, but what about micro-financial habits? Micro habits are the tiny things you can do every day with minimal effort that, together, transform your future. (more…)

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