There’s no mistaking the simple fact that leadership styles differ enormously from person to person. There are, however, a number of shared traits that successful, effective leaders possess. Research has proven that these traits of sense and success are deeply linked to the thriving of effective leaders. Good leaders are immediately open to new understanding. Leaders do not necessarily understand complex concepts immediately, but they must be open to learning efficiently. Effective leaders are constantly asking themselves how to make sense of something new, and how to do it quickly. Good leaders create safe spaces. In order to lead effectively, good leaders are warm and welcoming, rather than intimidating or aloof. By allowing room for other people to speak up and share their thoughts, perspectives, and opinions, good leaders can use their inherent executive power to create an empathetic environment that encourages colleagues to approach them with tact and professionalism, knowing that they will be heard. Good leaders approximate, and this is because they have to. Not every project will provide every single snippet of detail that may normally be considered necessary to move forward, but leaders are able to continue to inspire their colleagues to progress without having all the information. Rather than charging blindly ahead, leaders are able to foresee what effect each step will have, whether or not they have all the information right away. Good leaders are accountable. Everything about being a leader means being available and open to feedback, but that does not mean leaders are doormats. In fact, accountability is quite the opposite: by being accountable, effective leaders are able to implement feedback they receive to more effectively move forward individually, and to help the entire team move forward. Good leaders are self-aware, and this means that they are also aware of others. In order to effectively build a team, they must understand the effects of their own actions - before they implement them. As such, they must complement the actions of other teammates, and they must be able to act well on the actions of others. Good leaders act fast. In cases where there are a lot of unknowns, leaders have to move forward with limited information. This usually happens under a time crunch - after all, if there were more time to act, then leaders would be able to wait on implementing projects until they have all the information. Rather than waiting around, effective leaders move forward with whatever they have. The workplace is a highly unpredictable space, especially when things are constantly happening on a tight deadline. Nonetheless, with good leaders in place, projects get done - even with limited resources. As a leader, the best way to start is to ask the right questions - both of yourself and of your colleagues.  

If you’re in sales, then you know that the achievement of transactions is the bread and butter of keeping a business going. But your relationships with your clients should not be "transactional" in the same way. Strategizing effectively takes a little more care and insight, and it all boils down to being proactive. Know Your Client’s Business The concept of knowing your customer is a basic aspect of business, and for good reason. If you are invested in helping your client achieve their business goals and objectives, then you need to know their business inside and out. You don’t need to have quite the level of comprehensive knowledge that, say, a manager in the industry might, but you definitely need to have a full working knowledge of your client’s business model. Can you answer a simple question? How does your client make money? If you’re coming up empty, then you have some homework to do. Be Proactive If you know the ins and outs of your client’s business, including their business motivations and objectives, then you should have the tools to bring ideas to the table when you are working with the client. It’s important to work in collaboration with the client in response to their needs. After the client delineates their needs, you should be able to meet these needs so they can better accomplish their business goals. That’s a pretty basic model - and you’re probably already doing that. But what if you could take it a step further? If you want to help your client succeed, then you need to be innovative rather than reactive. If a client has already diagnosed their own needs, that’s great. But here is the biggest reason you need to have a comprehensive understanding of your client’s business: you should be able to pinpoint where the client’s business needs are, even if the client can’t see it on their own. If you have an intimate sense of what they do and why they do it, your outside perspective will be invaluable when it comes to building on what’s working and fixing what is not. Help Them Strategize Helping your clients strategize means that you can help them figure out how to leverage online tools available to them. You can figure out how to help them meet their needs in a way that works for their budget. You need to help them figure out how best to serve their own clients. By being an advantage for your clients, you drive results and take responsibility for the outcomes. Sources: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alanhall/2012/06/14/to-succeed-as-an-entrepreneur-know-your-customer/ http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2011/11/28/how-to-be-a-strategic-advantage-for-your-clients/ http://www.searchenginejournal.com/data-to-help-your-clients-strategize-for-2012/38356/

It’s no secret that good, effective leaders drive forward a successful business. But what makes a good leader? Technical leaders in particular, including as people working in marketing, finance, and sales, have a specific set of needs. Leadership Needs for the Technical Workplace Effective leaders should be the driving force behind achieving business goals and objectives, which requires that they meet a number of business needs. Supporting colleagues. This is the first point on the list for a reason. Business leaders are not just there to crack the whip on their team members. Employees and teammates who feel well supported in their work are going to work harder, as long as the leader balances support with the importance of meeting deadlines and accomplishing goals. Autonomy. In business, employees should have some level of freedom and discretion over the work that they do. Tying in with support, the autonomy awarded to colleagues also means high expectations. Employees who have a lot of free reign over their work also have high responsibility, and it is the leader’s job to motivate and check in. Leaders should also be able to reassess what is and is not working when it comes to employee responsibility. Achievement. Ultimately, the greatest needs of businesses are those of actually meeting business objectives and goals. Common Leadership Pitfalls When leaders are ineffective, businesses suffer. But just how much? While it may be obvious that productivity decreases, it’s also true that retention falls short, employees are unengaged, their talents go undeveloped, and time is wasted. What makes for some of these pitfalls? Micromanaging. It comes back to the question of autonomy in the workplace. If teammates feel that they have more freedom, they are much more likely to take on greater responsibilities. Failing to step up. Leaders need to improve their skills and take on new responsibilities just as often as their employees, if not more so. Leadership is not solely about delegation. Not managing at all. The opposite issue of micromanaging? Leading without a sense of the whole. Being a leader means managing all the projects in the workplace. Training to Achieve Essential Leadership Skills It all boils down to a few very important essentials. Good leaders know how to build trust and collaborative relationships with their colleagues and their clients, as well as how to communicate successfully with all of the above. Technical leaders face a lot of challenges in the industry, but with good training that addresses ways to leverage limited resources and balance all the various aspects of teamwork in the profession, good leaders can become excellent leaders. Sources: http://www.trainingindustry.com/training-outsourcing/products/research/leading-technical-professionals.aspx?display=ig http://www.shapironegotiations.com/blog/6-leadership-best-practices-how-to-make-sense-of-the-unfamiliar/  

It’s not easy to be in the sales industry. Buyers may not have a sense of what products and services are available to solve their problems, or even that your company exists. The solution they need may be right under their nose the entire time, and that’s where effective sales people come in. Smart sales people know the ins and outs of lead conversion and how to make sure everyone wins. What Makes a Good Sales Person? A good sales person meets a number of criteria. Great sales people focus on results. They are goal oriented, and can figure out an effective path to take to achieve their objectives. Great sales people are self-starters. They manage themselves without becoming distracted, and do not need to be immediately supervised. Autonomous sales people have a lot of freedom, and carry a lot of responsibility as well. Great sales people do not take rejection personally. This is one of the basics of being in the industry: you’re going to get a lot of "no" in comparison to "yes." Great sales people are persistent. In sales, it’s important to be resilient, and not to give up if they are rejected or lose a deal. They remember that selling is a time consuming process and that they need to be patient and keep at it. Great sales people are good listeners. They often listen more than they talk, because without an intimate understanding of a client’s needs, they will not be able to provide solutions. They can then provide honest answers about the products and services available to meet - or not meet - the needs presented to them. Great sales people are balanced. They approach the work with a good blend of introversion and extroversion, and know when to step up and when to pull back. It Isn’t Easy to Find Good Sales People It’s difficult to find great sales people. Many managers lower their standards because they have trouble finding the best performers out there under pressure. A lot of this is because of the bad reputation that sales people are pushy and are only in the business to make money on products that people don’t really want. There is little education and professional development available in sales. This makes recruiting all the more difficult. Aim High in the Face of Adversity It’s not easy to recruit a good sales person in today’s market, but with the will to work hard and learn the language, it’s possible to become an excellent sales person. It takes resilience, an ego that won’t be bruised, and self-motivation, but with the right tool set, a person with sales potential can become exactly what recruiters are looking for. Sources: http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2013/04/12/the-unexpected-secret-to-being-a-great-salesperson/ http://www.youngupstarts.com/2012/03/29/infographic-anatomy-of-a-top-performing-salesperson/

Your prospective clients, like any clients, are bound to see the business world in their own way. Their experiences in the industry will undoubtedly influence their point of view. It all comes down to their understanding of the industry and how their own business or personal needs relate to the products or services they are going to pursue in order to get a leg up in a competitive industry. These aspects of business give clients a particular outlook on their own business model, as well as the challenges they face and the opportunities available to them. This outlook is a major factor in how your client understands and deals with the concept of value in business - that is to say, just how much products and services are worth in relation to their own needs and objectives. Breaking it Down: Point of View and Value It should be a given that you have an intimate knowledge of the industry and of your prospective client’s needs and goals in business. With this in mind, you should be able to create a value that is aligned with the client’s objectives. When the value you generate is in the ballpark with your client’s outlook on value, then making the transaction is easy and doesn’t require any further analysis. This makes for a smooth relationship between you and your client, because they understand the worth of your product or service in much the same way that you do. Distortions of Outlook Difficulties arise when the client’s outlook creates a distorted sense of value. For example, if your service has been proven to create much more effective results than those of your competitors, with solid statistics on such fundamental aspects of business as improved ROI and lead conversion, then it should be clear that your service could be an invaluable aspect of any client’s strategy. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Many people opt for lower quality for a lower price, so being the best is not always going to cut it for these clients. If this particular client does not see that your price is lower, then you will not be able to win them over. What to Do? What does this mean for you? Well, there are two options: either change your own value, or change your client’s perception of value. Neither of these answers are particularly simple. It may not be worth it to realign your sense of value with your client’s; then again, it may not be worth it to put in the work to change that of your client. Either way, the aforementioned understanding of your client’s needs and goals will be a crucial factor in making the next steps forward. Sources: http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2013/07/05/your-clients-value-lens/ http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2013/06/25/the-urgent-case-for-business-acumen/

When you’re seeking out talent to bring your organization to the next level, you generally have two options: go fishing for a new hire, or take a closer look at your existing pool of employees. Leaders might assume that starting the hiring process and recruiting talent from the outside is the simplest option. Smart leaders, however, understand that they already possess the workforce resources that the business needs to succeed. With smart leadership and strong management practices, you can simultaneously avoid the hiring process and grow the talent of the people you already have on board.   Why Nourish Existing Talent? Simply put, hiring is expensive. Between direct and indirect costs like advertising and a gap in productivity, you could be looking at a few thousand dollars for replacing a low-level employee and over $100,000 to replace or add on an upper-level employee with specialized skills. Expanding talent within your organization generally requires far less financial investment, and comes with little risk. A mis-hire, however, could set you back even further. Additionally, nourishing existing talent increases the productivity of your organization as a - or the equivalent of hiring an additional 25 employees. Meanwhile, morale is boosted when employees are more engaged and feel like management in invested in their growth.   How Smart Leaders Get the Most From Employees Clearly, investing in the talent you already have can dramatically strengthen your organization from multiple standpoints. But how can leaders go about helping employees perform their best? These smart leadership practices form the foundation of growing your existing talent… Give employees more freedom. Talent needs room to grow, and providing opportunities for employees to take initiative and develop their own ideas creates that space. Learn from mistakes. People slip up, and at the beginning, giving employees room to grow may result in a few errors. Create teachable moments out of mistakes, and your employees will come closer to finding solutions on their own. Take a hands on approach. All of that said, it’s important to take an active role in nourishing talent. Bring employees on to new projects to see how it’s done, keep an open door for inquiries, and provide regular feedback on performance. Lead by example. Demanding excellence won’t get you very far, but showing employees what excellence is will. Present leadership opportunities for employees. There’s no better way to learn something than by teaching it. When appropriate, allow your talent to take a leading role on a project. Offer advanced leadership training for those with the most potential. Investing in the talent that you already have takes time, commitment, and leadership savvy, but the return on that investment comes in the form of increased productivity, greater employee satisfaction, and a high bar that you’ll consistently be able to meet. Start nourishing your talent today to begin reaping these benefits, and you may be surprised by just how great your talent can be!

Teamwork is the cornerstone of creativity, innovation, and problem solving. While one person might be limited by the constraints of their own experience or mode of thinking, a whole group of team members working in conjunction can come up with and implement far more solutions to the problem at hand. On a more qualitative scale, team building is crucial to maximizing employee satisfaction and engagement. Employees who have positive relationships with their coworkers and feel like they are contributing to a greater whole tend to be happier - and employees who are happier tend to be more productive. This is true of both a business in general and smaller work teams created for the purpose of taking on specific projects. That said, putting together a work team isn’t as simple as throwing a few employees together and telling them to get to work. A poorly constructed team can lead to interpersonal conflict, unclear objectives, and decreased productivity. Looking to build work teams that achieve goals rather than hamper your success? These tips can help.   Tips for Team Building: Define your expectations. Teams perform best with clear guidelines and expectations. Make sure that your team members know the purpose of the team, why they were chosen, and finer details such as how much time they have to complete the task and whether there is a chosen leader of the group. Value diversity. If everyone on the team shares the same perspective, they’ll be less likely to generate innovative solutions. Choose team members with a variety of backgrounds and skills to maximize the potential for creativity. Be aware of how team members work. Different people process information in a variety of ways, which can either complement each other or clash in a team setting. One person who thinks out loud may be seen as an annoyance in a team made up entirely of people who generally have a fully developed plan before they speak, whereas a quieter member’s input might get lost in a more assertive group. Know employees’ strengths and weaknesses so that you can best match them. Don’t over-complicate. The old adage "too many cooks spoil the soup" can apply in team settings. Understand which tasks are best suited to teams, and what size team can best accomplish it. Keep an eye out for teams that seem to be going in circles instead of forward. Evaluate and provide feedback. Just like individuals, teams can benefit from an outside observer, and leaders can improve team-building skills from seeing what works and what doesn’t. After every project involving work teams, spend time evaluating what could be improved. Great work teams not only perform better on individual tasks, but they can also foster positive relationships between coworkers and help individual employees hone their skills, gain leadership experience, and improve communication. What can you do to improve your team building skills?

Strengthen Your Company with These Building Blocks of Corporate Culture Successful businesses across numerous industries are all finding the same thing: a strong company culture can go a long way. Zappo’s, for example, credits their corporate culture for a 5% employee turnover rate and a 75% customer return rate. Tech startup SumAll credits their culture for a massive talent application pool, which allows them to cherry-pick new hires with the experience, skills, and personality necessary for success. Hospital call center experts BerylHealth used their corporate culture to situate themselves as a premium provider, drumming up increased business and profits. Beyond the measurable effects of strong corporate culture, there are more personal benefits, too. A strong identity can help employees feel like a part of a larger, meaningful organization, and can reduce the feelings of alienation, stagnation, and frustration that can often occur from spending one’s days in an office environment. And of course, when employees feel better about where they work, they tend to be more productive. Growing Your Corporate Culture Looking to build your company culture, but not sure where to start? These building blocks provide a strong foundation to expand upon. Define yourself. The first step to building a corporate culture is deciding exactly what you want that culture to look like. Identify your priorities and values, figure out how your business model fits into your desired culture, and strategize ways that you can turn abstract culture into actual practice. Encourage open communication.Culture is only possible when the whole company comes together to create it, and one of the best ways to foster this togetherness is to value each person’s input. Transparent management also goes a long way toward keeping everyone in the loop and ensuring that even entry-level employees feel like part of the decision-making process. Celebrate success. Positivity is one of the shared traits of many of the successful start-ups (and some more established companies) noted for their strong company cultures. Take every opportunity to praise employees, turn every mistake into a teachable moment, and reward hard work and results. Hire for your culture. Personality is often overlooked during the hiring process, but you can’t build a culture without employees who support it! Search for talent with the skills and experience you need and a shared sense of values. Have some fun. Some companies are known for the break room air hockey tables and on-staff massage therapists. While you don’t necessarily need to take those routes, make sure that your employees have opportunities throughout the day to relax and take breaks. Performance goes up when employees feel positively about their environment! Corporate cultures don’t just spring up out of nowhere - they take innovation, effort, and a willingness to shake things up to truly work. But if you’re willing to invest in the spirit of your company, you may be pleasantly shocked at the results!

Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Successful Entrepreneur? A fresh take on things is necessary for successful entrepreneurs, but those independent spirits who really make it in the business world definitely have some major personality traits in common. Of course, hard work, good timing, and just a little bit of luck help, too. If the following apply to you, you might have just the right personality for making your business dream a reality.   Confidence In Your Success Entrepreneurs don’t succeed by not being entirely sure about their ideas. In fact, building a business venture from the ground up requires jumping over plenty of hurdles that can stop you right in your tracks if you don’t have faith in your ability to scale them.   A Little Humility That said, being overconfident can bring you down just as quickly. The most successful entrepreneurs keep an open mind and have a commitment to constant growth and learning. Humbly seeking out mentors and peers is an important part of making it all work, as is giving credit where credit is due.   Dedication and Tenacity  Starting from the bottom isn’t easy. Your first business venture may fail, an economic downturn could put a wrench in your plans, or a competitor may simply outdo you. Successful entrepreneurs get back on their feet and dust themselves off when things don’t go according to plan, and they’re always ready to learn from their mistakes and do better next time.   Serious Self-Motivation As an entrepreneur, you’re not going to have anyone telling you what to do, when to come into the office, or when you can do better. Successful entrepreneurs have a fire under their feet that they feed themselves.   A Penchant for Rule-Breaking Paradigm shifts and game changing ideas come from an ability to defy convention. Detractors may claim ideas are crazy or impossible to achieve, but successful entrepreneurs know that such claims mean that they’re on the right track.   Willingness to Take a Risk (Within Reason) Entrepreneurship requires a good deal of risk-taking, from financial investments to innovations that present the world with something a little bit unfamiliar. A recent study actually found that successful entrepreneurs engaged in more risky activity in their youths than unsuccessful ones! Of course, the key to success is to take calculated risks.   An Eye for Opportunity Finally, successful entrepreneurs know how to spot gaps that they can fill with their own ideas, and the most successful ones can spot those gaps across multiple industries. Richard Branson, for instance, has managed to grow successful business ventures ranging from transportation to communications.

  Join SNI at the 2013 World Business Forum. On October 1-2, thousands of business leaders will gather from around the globe for this event at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Speakers include: Jeb Bush | Gordon Brown | Ben Zander | Jack Welch | Sam Palmisano | Nancy Koehn | Claudio Fernández-Aráoz | S.D. Shibulal | Bob Moritz Maggie Wilderotter | Denise Morrison | Clayton Christensen | Alec Ross | Steve Levitt | Stephen Dubner. When is SNI’s session and what is it about? On September 30th, our Co-founder and Chairman, Ron Shapiro, hosts an official pre-Forum workshop, "The Power of NICE: How to Negotiate So Everyone Wins - Especially You." Discover the systematic process to negotiation that helps you close more deals, faster, and at higher margins while maintaining an ongoing relationship. Find out why companies such as ESPN, Sherwin Williams, Ryland Homes, PwC, Verizon, San Antonio Spurs, and the Corporate Executive Board choose SNI for sales, negotiation, and influence training. To find out more about SNI’s pre-Forum session and to register with the discounted price, please go to: http://www.wobi.com/events/additional-opportunities-0.