June 3, 2011

Theodore Roosevelt once said, "People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Those business leaders that care the most have the greatest impact on their employees and will, in turn, be the most successful leaders.
When your employees know that you care about what they think and about their lives, they will feel more valued. In turn, they will pay that back to you in the form of being a dedicated employee and giving you respect. What more could a business owner ask for? Now it’s just a matter of making sure you possess the caring attributes you need in order to lead.

Here are the five attributes of the world’s greatest business leaders.

Be of the people

People usually identify with leaders from within. This is because they believe there is a “get me” feeling. When you lead by being part of the crowd, you will be much more embraced. The ones who are “above the crowd” are seen as elitist, and it is difficult to connect with those people, or to like them.

Be humble

Great leaders know that no one, including themselves, is better or worse. Everyone brings their own value, and collectively there is power in that. Great leaders position themselves so that if they leave the group, the group stays just as strong. Great leaders develop strength in the crowd and free everyone from dependency on any one individual.

Be simple

To be a great leader, avoid communicating over people’s heads. Instead, communicate on the same level as everyone else. This, in part, will make you one “of the people.” Good communication with your employees can be a key component in helping to grow your business. Besides, when you talk to people rather than down to them, you show respect. That, in turn, will get you respect.

Block and tackle

Great leaders defend, protect and help their team. They know their most important job is to make everyone else’s job easier. And they gladly do the dirtiest of the dirty work when it supports the achievement of team goals. When you show you are willing to get in there and get dirty, you are demonstrating to them that you are humble, and you are one of them.

Believe in them

Forget trying to get the people to believe in you. Instead, get them to believe in themselves. Let them know you believe they can do their job, they can help the company succeed and that they will do what is right. That’s what great leaders do, and when you can do that, they will automatically believe in you.

Mutual Stance
Often times, entrepreneurs don’t realize that they will get what they give when it comes to their employees. You have no doubt heard the axiom that to get respect you have to give it; it works like magic in the business world. Treat your employees how you want to be treated, especially when it comes to being a part of their group, respecting who they are and believing in them. When you do this, you will make your job, and theirs, a whole lot easier.

Focus on showing your employees that you care, and you will see the rewards come back to you. People who know that their leaders care want to see them succeed. They will do everything they can to give them the support, and productivity, that is needed. What helps make a great business leader, in turn, helps to make great employees. And the cycle continues.

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Join the conversation ( 4 )

• Drewry News Network 11 months ago

  

  If there is anything [DrewryNewsNetwork] admires genuinely about American Express OPEN Forum, it's :a) The ability to connect with like-minded business individuals, CEO's and companies. b) To share opinions and thoughts freely in OPEN Forum without being criticized.c) To be apart of the wonderful OPEN Forum community, without being judged.d) To express creativitye) Continually network and contribute Thank you OPEN Forum for just being you. Keep up the wonderful work of serving others with informative and motivating information in empowering small-business owners to succeed, in their daily business endeavors! =)http://www.DrewryMedia.comhttp://www.DrewryNewsNetwork.com

• Andrea Neusa Mendes 11 months ago

  

  I believe that you will find out about a leader looking to his people. If the group has motivation, can give ideas, want to develop, learn new things, the leader is doing his job. Check how many people in his group got a promotion, check retention rate. Good leaders are the ones that promote more and has a low retention rate. Those 5 attributes are essencial.

• Ada Gonzalez, Ph.D. 11 months ago

  

  The sooner leaders recognize that the 21st century requires more connection and collaboration, the better they will be able to lead. Today's leader needs to lead in opening safe spaces for genuine dialogue. Asking questions that open participation will be a lot more influential than the old style of "I'm boss, you do what I say."

• Mike Michalowicz 11 months ago

  

  I think the key tool to successful leadership is recognizing it is "just a role", just as every capacity on the team is "just another role". If a leader sees that he is part of the team, and doesn't think he IS the team... the leader will be successful.