Traits of Entrepreneurial Leadership-Confidence
A week ago I wrote a post about the 4 key traits of Entrepreneurial Leadership; Confidence, Independence, Perseverance and Focus. I have also written another post that describes how Entrepreneurial Leadership is similar and different than Symmetrical Leadership. Today I will go into more detail about how Confidence is valuable for a leader.
When you think of the word confident, what comes to mind? For me, I see a few things. One who is confident is a person who can move ahead in a direction that is new with little hesitation. It may take time to make that initial move, but confidence must be present in order for movement to occur. Without confidence, change and action are invisible. When I see this it reminds me of my physics background and the term 
Inertia. Sir Isaac Newton’s laws said that a body will remain at rest or in constant motion unless acted upon by an outside force. We all can see this and it makes good common sense. Now take this vision to leadership and visualize this: Organizations and people will stay stagnant or in their “rut” unless acted upon by an outside force, also known as a leader. The leader who acts upon an organization requires confidence in his/her ideas or ability in order to take the first steps to make this action. I think you can now see the importance of confidence.
Confidence can also have a negative dimension. Some leaders can have too much confidence, and this excess level can lead to diminished self awareness and careless or wrongful actions. Some classic examples of leaders with too much confidence would include Hitler
and Saddam Hussein. 
Both of these men took excessive liberty with their power and they acted upon on others in a much greater degree than what was eventually supported by those around them.
Confidence in leadership is essential. Leaders effect change and they cannot make the changes needed without some level of confidence in their abilities. Tomorrow, on Super Bowl Sunday, another leader will step forward in the maelström of support and challenge. This leader is Tim Tebow and he will stand for a cause that many embrace and many others disagree with. Tebow is confident and he takes action based on his confidence. You may agree or disagree with his point, but you cannot refute his confidence and his willingness to take action as a result.
Are you a confident leader? What action are you taking as a result of your confidence?
Are Entrepreneurial Leaders also Symmetrical Leaders?
I have recently discussed the concepts of Entrepreneurial Leadership and Symmetrical Leadership. When one thinks of the words involved, Entrepreneurial and Symmetrical, you might wonder how they are related, if at all. The purpose of today’s post is to compare and contrast the two concepts with one another. In order to do so, a short review is in order.
Symmetrical Leadership involves balance. Here are the basic tenets of Symmetrical Leadership or SymLead from an earlier post:
A Symmetrical Leader is one who is balanced and responsive to the situation at hand. This does not mean that you are only reactive, but it does mean that you are flexible and able to analyze the situation or task at hand. Experience is key in becoming a Symmetrical Leader. (Posted 1/7/10)
Here is more on Symmetrical Leadership:
Leadership is an art and a science. The best leaders are flexible and able to adapt, anticipate and react to situations as they occur.
The best leaders have symmetry in their approach, hence they are Symmetrical Leaders because they are as effective in the Proactive sense as they are in the Reactive sense. (Posted 1/4/10)
Let’s contrast this description of SymLead to Entrepreneurial Leadership:
Entrepreneurs are typically trying to do something new or better than those before them. They don’t have directions, or if they do, the directions are wrong or need to be modified. Being the leader in this kind of venture requires someone with the following characteristics:
- confidence
- independence
- perseverance
- focus
I am sure I can think of a few others, but these four come to mind first. Let’s talk a little about each.
The confident leader doesn’t have it all figured out. in fact, he or she is confident in where they are going, but they may not have all of the routes figured out yet. Part of this confidence is not only internal, but there is an external component that knows who to trust and when to trust them. The confident entrepreneur also has probably failed before and has learned a few lessons from scrapes along the way.
Independence is a complement of the confident leader. Most leaders I know, especially entrepreneurs, have been told more than a few times that they are wrong, crazy or just plain stubborn. These traits can be a blessing or a curse; it just depends upon when you decide to exhibit them. The independent leader knows when to break away from the pack. As the old adage goes, the view never changes unless you are the lead dog. Quite a picture for my mind.
Perseverance; there just never is enough to go around. We live in a world of instant gratification and we want it 
“now” and easy. Life just doesn’t work out that way. The things I most appreciate in my life are those I worked hardest and longest for. One example is my experience in helping to build a new YMCA. That was a 6 year journey with many ups and downs. We had a solid core group who had a clear vision of what we had in mind and we didn’t let anything deter us from the goal we had in mind. There were many times we could have thrown up our hands and said “no mas” but God was with us and we stayed the course. That is a trait of an entrepreneurial leader.
Focus is the last trait I will discuss today. We all know focus when we see it, but having focus is much more difficult. We live in a world with much clutter and it is easy to let this stuff distract us from the goal in mind. The number of “time eaters” I deal with is painful, but the best word I know to keep my focus is the word NO. Knowing how and when to say no is a learned trait for me and one that has proven to be more valuable every day, week and year. The focused leader knows not only what he or she wants to do or has in mind, but they also know when to say no or avoid traps that will lead to dead ends. (Posted 1/27/10)
Where are the similarities? What are the differences?
Symmetrical Leaders gain their strength from Experience. So do Entrepreneurial Leaders. Experience is by far the best teacher for many traits of successful leaders. I could describe so many situations that support this statement, but I think most will agree with this assertion.
One major difference is that Entrepreneurial Leaders may not always have the balance that SymLeaders have. This balance is critical at certain times, but Entrepreneurial Leaders may be a little more driven and proactive than SymLeaders. It comes with the territory.
Enough on this today. We’ll come back to this more in future posts.
What do you see as a major difference between Symmetrical Leaders and Entrepreneurial Leaders.
Traits of Entrepreneurial Leadership: Confidence-Independence-Perseverance-Focus
Leadership is tough. No one wants to make the tough decision, but a real leader, an experienced leader, can make the tough call. Even tougher is the Entrepreneurial Leader. He or she is not only making the tough call, but they are also typically riding into the wind, uphill, at night, with minimal assistance. (can you picture that?) The traits of general leadership differ slightly from entrepreneurial leadership and I will discuss those briefly here today.
Entrepreneurs are typically trying to do something new or better than those before them. They don’t have directions, or if they do, the directions are wrong or need to be modified. Being the leader in this kind of venture requires someone with the following characteristics:
- confidence
- independence
- perseverance
- focus
I am sure I can think of a few others, but these four come to mind first. Let’s talk a little about each.
The confident leader doesn’t have it all figured out. in fact, he or she is confident in where they are going, but they may not have all of the routes figured out yet. Part of this confidence is not only internal, but there is an external component that knows who to trust and when to trust them. The confident entrepreneur also has probably failed before and has learned a few lessons from scrapes along the way.
Independence is a complement of the confident leader. Most leaders I know, especially entrepreneurs, have been told more than a few times that they are wrong, crazy or just plain stubborn. These traits can be a blessing 
or a curse; it just depends upon when you decide to exhibit them. The independent leader knows when to break away from the pack. As the old adage goes, the view never changes unless you are the lead dog. Quite a picture for my mind.
Perseverance; there just never is enough to go around. We live in a world of instant gratification and we want it “now” and easy. Life just doesn’t work out that way. The things I most appreciate in my life are those I worked hardest and longest for. One example is my experience in helping to build a new YMCA. That was a 6 year journey with many ups and downs. We had a solid core group who had a clear vision of what we had in mind and we didn’t let anything deter us from the goal we had in mind. There were many times we could have thrown up our hands and said “no mas” but God was with us and we stayed the course. That is a trait of an entrepreneurial leader.
Focus is the last trait I will discuss today. We all know focus when we see it, but having focus is much more difficult. We live in a world with much clutter and it is easy to let this stuff distract us from the goal in mind. The number of “time eaters” I deal with is painful, but the best word I know to keep my focus is the word NO. Knowing how and when to say no is a learned trait for me and one that has proven to be more valuable every day, week and year. The focused leader knows not only what he or she wants to do or has in mind, but they also know when to say no or avoid traps that will lead to dead ends.
So now you have the four traits of entrepreneurial leadership: Confidence, Independence, Perseverance and Focus. These trait also play a key role in Symmetrical Leadership. They are a mighty team and one that can help you and your venture go a long way.
When is Free Speech not Free Speech?
Our society really tests my patience on a variety of issues and a unique circumstance is about to surface that will test the mettle of those who are supposedly charged with making our airwaves free. This situation involves the Super Bowl too!
Tim Tebow and his mother have shot an advertisement that will be funded by Focus on the Family. This advertisement,a 30 second spot, will examine that circumstances around the birth of Tim in 1987. During her pregnancy, Tim’s mother was quite sick and had been advised by her doctors to abort the pregnancy. What a tragedy it would have been if she had accepted that advice?
A consortium of Women’s Groups, led by the Women’s Media Center, are encouraging CBS to not carry this advertisement because they find it “divisive”. That is code for anything that does not agree with their viewpoint. In the order of fairness I went to the Women’s Media Center site to see just who this group is and to see who supports them.
I was not surprised when I read the names on their board of directors, which included acknowledged Pro-choice, abortion advocates such as Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda.
I find it interesting and troubling when I see groups in our country who try to talk out of both sides of their mouth at the same time. In this instance, the WMC would argue to their final breath to plead their right to advocate their position, but they will do everything they can to prevent those who disagree, especially someone with the integrity of Tim Tebow and his family from presenting their’s.
I look forward to seeing more about this situation as it plays out. Stand up for your rights! Freedom isn’t free and the freedom to live is being encroached upon every day by those who do not honor life.
STEM Careers and our Economy
I had the pleasure of speaking to an audience this past week of leaders from the Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Huntsville, Alabama communities. I was the keynote speaker for a conference that discussed the future of their workforces as well as how STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) could be encouraged and emphasized at all age levels. You can download and view this presentation by clicking on this link.
My presentation helped set the stage for some lively and meaningful dialogue that afternoon. Our country has a severe problem in that we do not produce enough engineers and scientists to meet the demand that does currently exist as well as what will exist in the future. The result of this gap is that our country will continue to fall behind many of the economies in other parts of the world, especially in India, China and Singapore. Not only do we not produce enough of this type of talent, but we also have such restrictive immigration policies that it prevents many with Masters and Doctoral degrees from remaining in this country after they receive their degrees.
I cannot address all the solutions in this post today, but I will suggest just one that will make a difference. The first thing that we need to do is to find ways to better educate our young people about what STEM careers are. Consider this; when you think of the words scientist or engineer, what do you see? I suspect you think of someone with a pocket protector or someone who is a “geek”.
This stereotype is the first thing that needs to be addressed. Modern culture and media do not glorify the benefits of the scientist or engineer in nearly the same positive light that we do the artist or the lawyer. Don’t get me wrong. I do not have anything against any career, but there are vital needs for science and engineering graduates for roles that exist now as well as in our future.
Do your kids and friends a favor today. Find an engineer or scientist and thank him/her. You might even find something nice to say about what they bring to the world. If we thought of engineers in the same manner that we think 
of star athletes, such as Tim Tebow, the world would be a much different place. The next thing you could consider is to take your children and their friends to a science museum or something comparable.
Our future is dependent on your encouragement!
Symmetrical Leadership-How to get back on track
Symmetrical Leadership ideally identifies a leader who is in balance. This balance provides for an even consideration of Outcome and Relationship when considering how work gets done. It is inevitable the leaders get off-balance and become non-symmetrical. The key is understanding when you are off-balance and also knowing how to get back in balance and restore your symmetry.
Leadership Self Awareness is a tried and true basic, but it is also one of the most widely ignored aspects of leadership by leaders. On the flip side, it is one of the most instantly recognized attributes of leadership by the followers. Every follower knows when their leader is out of balance and lacking in Symmetry.
Feedback is the breakfast of champions when it comes to Self Awareness, balance and Symmetrical Leadership. We’ll talk more about how to restore this leadership balance which is the real core of Symmetrical Leadership. You can learn more about giving and receiving feedback at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). I have attended several of their sessions and have benefited greatly from these experiences.
Consider this: What is the most signficant piece of feedback you have received in the last 30 days? What did it relate to and how did you receive this feedback?
Tell us more-I’ll tell you more in future posts.
What makes up Symmetrical Leadership?
We previously talked about what a Symmetrical Leader is? We will talk briefly today about what the key components are of Symmetrical Leadership.
All leadership is a balance. There is a dynamic tension between the relationship and the result. This tension causes many leaders to error in one direction or another. Symmetrical Leaders are aware and able to maintain a good balance between these two distinct poles in our worlds.
Which direction is your preference? Are you more concerned with getting things done or are you more interested in maintaining the relationships involved? Furthermore, how can you maintain and excel at both.
This area is especially concerning to new business owners and entrepreneurs. Many in their first business have little or no perspective of their effect on others and they are typically unbalanced. They benefit from understanding how to bring Leadership Symmetry into their lives and their work.
More to come about this new view of leadership-the Symmetrical Leader.
您是对称的领袖？
对称的领导，这是什么意思？
对称负责人是一个谁是平衡的，顺应目前局势。这并不意味着你只被动的，但它确实意味着你是灵活的，能够分析手头的形势和任务。经验是关键成为对称负责人。
考虑这个例子：你是领导一个团队，企图把一个项目在线和预算之内。该项目是充满了可能永远不会被预测的挑战。目前已在团队成员的营业额，你都没有得逞，质疑，愤怒，和缺乏耐心。对称的负责人是一个谁知道如何应对的情况，因为它的发展。
怎样才能学会如何分析形势，然后如何进行正确的计划，以应付目前局势。我们将讨论更多，在未来数周。
什么是你的榜样，你发现你的领导对称？你什么时候情况下事情并没有你想要的方式，你怎么反应，你从中学到了什么？
你怎么能成为一个更对称的领袖？
Are you a Symmetrical Leader?
Symmetrical leadership-what does that mean?
A Symmetrical Leader is one who is balanced and responsive to the situation at hand. This does not mean that you are only reactive, but it does mean that you are flexible and able to analyze the situation or task at hand. Experience is key in becoming a Symmetrical Leader.
Consider this example: You are leading a team that is attempting to bring a project online and within budget. The project is fraught with challenges that could never have been predicted. There has been turnover in team membership and you have been frustrated, challenged, angry, and lacking in patience. The Symmetrical Leader is one who know how to respond to the situation as it develops.
How does one learn how to analyze a situation and then how to carry out the right plan to deal with the situation at hand. We’ll talk more about that in the coming weeks.
What is your example where you showed your Leadership Symmetry? When have you had situations where things didn’t go the way you wanted, how did you react and what did you learn?
How can you become a more Symmetrical Leader?
What is Symmetrical Leadership?
Leadership is an art and a science. The best leaders are flexible and able to adapt, anticipate and react to situations as they occur.
The best leaders have symmetry in their approach, hence they are Symmetrical Leaders because they are as effective in the Proactive sense as they are in the Reactive sense.
Are you a Symmetrical Leader?
I’ll be posting more about Symmetrical Leadership in the days to come and I’ll include a short assessment that will enable you to measure your Symmetry or Balance as a leader.
