What is one tip for millennial entrepreneurs to improve their leadership skills?
To help millennial entrepreneurs improve their leadership skills, we asked established entrepreneurs and business leaders this question for their best advice. From leading with empathy to learning good decision-making, there are several tips to help you develop the leadership skills needed to boost your entrepreneurial career.
Here are 12 tips for millennial entrepreneurs to improve their leadership skills:
- Lead With Empathy
- Believe in Yourself
- Connect With Both Older and Younger Generations
- Lead By Serving
- Develop Your Patience
- Be a Lifelong Learner
- Strengthen Those Around You
- Find a Mentor To Learn from
- Lead by Example
- Aim for Inclusion and Diversity
- Surround Yourself With a Team Better Than You
- Learn Good Decision-Making
Lead With Empathy
Some think it is better to be feared rather than loved as a leader, but this is not a long-term recipe for success. Fear can temporarily motivate employees, but it fades fast, and resentment will often take its place. Truly successful leaders lead with empathy. Empathy and gratitude will keep you in check, so be genuinely interested in others, and put yourself in their shoes. Successful leaders see the humanity in others and inspire them to reach their full potential. When you lead with empathy, you lead in a way that is guaranteed to have a positive impact.
Ashleigh Wilkes, A World For Children
Believe in Yourself
Believe in yourself. Millennials have been dealt a rough hand and through no fault of their own, they may not be where they thought they’d be at this point in life. These factors are huge contributors to the loss of self-esteem and confidence. But so much of the entrepreneurial secret is the confidence to believe in yourself and what you have to offer others and the world. When you believe in yourself, others will join you in that belief, and you’ll soon be leading a team that is built out of self-empowerment and self-love.
Staci Brinkman, Sips by
Connect With Both Older and Younger Generations
Millennial entrepreneurs must be able to connect with the generations above and below them if they want to lead a company. While the baby boomer generation is approaching retirement age, they still make up a significant portion of the workforce along with generation X. Individuals from these older generations are often in key positions within organizational hierarchies and millennial leaders must be able to connect with them if they are to operate their organizations effectively. Gen Z is an ever-growing portion of the labor market and millennial leaders who are unable to connect with them will fail to attract new talent to their teams. Connecting with older and younger generations is the key for millennials who want to lead successful organizations.
Sean Doherty, Box Genie
Lead By Serving
They should ask what their team needs from them. A millennial entrepreneur needs to focus on their team and what their team needs for a healthy work-life balance. With Gen Z entering the workplace, there has been a huge shift in priorities, and a renegotiation of traditional norms. Now, the individual is the priority, not the company. If you are a millennial entrepreneur and you want to improve your leadership skills and keep your team happy, you need to open up the discussion and ask what they need to be fulfilled by the job. After all, leadership is a service position, and what better time than now to put that to practice?
Tony Staehelin, Benable
Develop Your Patience
From what I’ve seen, patience is an important part of being a leader. Not only does it appeal to your better nature, but it also keeps you from making big mistakes that could cost you a lot of money in the long run. Learn to wait for the correct time and location before making a critical operational or business decision. To be a good leader, you must first understand your interlocutors’ priorities and ensure that they are completely aligned with your own.
Max Whiteside, Breaking Muscle
Be a Lifelong Learner
The world is constantly changing, and as a business leader, it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices. Attending workshops, reading books, and subscribing to leadership blogs are all great ways to continue learning. By continuously developing your skills, you’ll be better equipped to lead your team to success.
Asako Ito, Divine Lashes
Strengthen Those Around You
Did someone accomplish something spectacular? Enlighten them. Say kind words about coworkers who aren’t in your immediate vicinity. Your pleasant remarks are often returned. In my opinion, it is important to encourage people to achieve. Offer to train persons who are lacking in a certain skill. Allow others to take on more challenging jobs and develop their skills. Great leaders understand the value of developing others.
Tanner Arnold, Revelation Machinery
Find a Mentor To Learn from
Some of the best tips and advice can come from other business leaders or entrepreneurs who have “been there and done that.” Try to find a mentor- someone who you can look up to in your industry. A mentor can help you develop your leadership skills by providing guidance and advice when you need it most. You can find a mentor by getting involved in networking events and groups. This will help you meet other like-minded individuals who can offer support and advice. You can also learn from the successes (and failures) of others in these groups.
Darren Litt, Hiya Health
Lead By Example
Leading by example shows you’re willing to take risks and put yourself right alongside those on your team. Don’t underestimate how inspiring this can be. When you lead by example, your team would be inspired to follow. You never want to shy away from your leadership potential. By leading by example, you can help to uplift. There are many different kinds of management styles, but none is as appreciated as leading by example.
Mike Orchard, College Athlete Advantage
Aim for Inclusion and Diversity
In today’s workplace, a leader who knows how to ride the waves of change and embrace diversity and inclusion is the one making headlines. The workplace you lead is an extension of everything you believe in, and similarly, the skills you add to your list are an extension of how experimental you are in your approach. So, if you’re looking to improve your leadership skills, pick up the pace on your plans to make your workplace a more diverse and inclusive one. In addition to the people-friendly outlook, this move also enables you to experience the many ways of a diverse workforce, and since leadership is also about learning from those you lead, you will find so many lessons to learn here.
Kris Harris, Nootka Saunas
Surround Yourself With a Team Better Than You
To build the best team, you need to make key hiring decisions at an early stage. Your goal should be to surround yourself with a team of individuals that have a strong skill set that you do not have. When building this team, it is important to find people that are smarter than you and never settle for mediocre people. It is your job as the founder to convince people why you need them and why they should want to work for your company.
David Watkins, EthOS
Learn Good Decision-Making
One tip for millennial entrepreneur to improve their leadership skills is to learn how to make good decisions. This is not just about the decisions you make in your business, but also the ones you make in your personal life. The best leaders can see all sides of an issue and make a decision that works for everyone involved. This means they have a lot of information at their disposal before they decide on something. If you want to be a great leader, then you need to know everything about every aspect of your business and life if possible so that nothing gets missed when making these decisions.
Ben Price, Heatable
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