Now a note on overcoming obstacles and other leadership traits

Editor’s note: Michelle Stockman works with Little Rock-based Arkansas Capital Corp. to promote entrepreneurship development around the state. Stockman earned a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University-Chicago in communications and fine arts, and earned a master’s in entrepreneurship from Western Carolina University. Her thoughts on business success appear each week on The City Wire.

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things” says Peter Drucker. Leadership is not a title, an award or reserved for a selected few. Leadership is a passage and a passion. True leaders seek change in their world, promote that change, build the needed capacity to address the sought after change, ensure change will occur and move on to the next challenge.

Leaders are people who rise to that role as needed during the course of time. True leaders seek results from their actions rather than recognition or fame. Leaders organize, inspire, encourage, overcome obstacles and attract others to them. Leaders see the big picture then empower followers to navigate the details.

There are many types of leaders. Leaders come in the form of people seeking intentional leadership roles (like elected officials) or they are average people seeking to fulfill a goal (like a high school student organizing a mission trip to fulfill the needs of others). Business leaders also come in various sizes. CEO’s are often sought out and respected as good leaders simply for the title they hold. Meanwhile, an administrative assistant may be organizing a community fundraiser to help a co-worker whose child is terminally ill. The admin is as much a leader as her CEO, but her goal is different.

Business leaders are typically found in management roles. Business leaders, especially entrepreneurs, carry the goal of moving the business forward in a successful fashion. Successful business leaders are able to hire the right staff around them to inspire, encourage, guide and provide the big picture in order for the staff to wade through the details. Business leaders set the direction and provide the tools for employees to take their work and apply it to the overall vision.

Business leaders need to keep an eye out for the market place, finances, employees, business development, vendors and more. Like any good leader, business leaders need to attract the right followers to the company by means of customers, vendors and employees. A bad egg in the mix can spoil the whole operation, and good business leaders will address problems quickly.

From addressing customer complaints quickly and satisfactory to addressing the complaints of an employee not performing, business leaders set the tone for the overall business. From Toyota blaming their troubled parts on vendors publicly to Arthur Anderson’s response to the WorldCom crisis, it is clear that some people we call leaders are not leaders at all.

Everyone has the power to be an effective leader; it is a trait that some people are born with while others learn. Leadership is a journey that more people need to walk so they can address the many needs of this world. Certainly more business leaders are needed within Arkansas (and the country) as new jobs wait for leaders to step up and start the next company using technology waiting to be introduced to the market.

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Stockman can be reached at [email protected]