Tweet

Business Leadership - What it Takes to Differentiate Yourself in the 21st Century

Written by: Cecile Peterkin

Article Overview: What can you do to incorporate the principles of leadership into your life so that you will be able to achieve your goals and rise to the top in your career field? Business leadership is not about any single quality so much as it is about a number of qualities that come together to create something much stronger than any of those qualities alone.

Business Leadership - What it Takes to Differentiate Yourself in the 21st Century

Business leadership is not about any single quality so much as it is about a number of qualities that come together to create something much stronger than any of those qualities alone. Business leadership is not so much about managing others and "taking charge" as it is about motivating by example.

So if business leadership is something that is difficult to pin down, what steps can you take so that you will find yourself recognized as a leader in this, the 21st century? What can you do to incorporate the principles of leadership into your life so that you will be able to achieve your goals and rise to the top in your organization or your career field?

One step is to look at those leaders who you admire. Whether you're inspiration comes from political leaders - those who have been able to unite the people of their country during difficult times - or from leaders within your own field, when you are looking for information that will help you to take on a business leadership role, it's important to understand what makes someone a leader.

In other words, when you are thinking about business leadership, it's important to take the time to understand courage, determination, and to learn more about the ways in which leaders speak to those who follow them. Ultimately, what you will find is that by embracing those qualities within yourself, you will be able to persevere and to reach the goals that you have set for yourself and for those who you are working with.

Ultimately, what you are likely to discover is that, in order to differentiate yourself in the 21st century and to take on a business leadership role, you will need to:

* Learn to set aside excuses. The majority of people who are in business find a way to come up with a number of excuses when something that they have been asked to do isn't done. Leaders, on the other hand, focus on getting the job done.

* Learn the value of making mistakes. When we make mistakes, it's important to take advantage of the lessons that come out of them so that we can use that knowledge to move forward.

* Learn to lead from within. When you are looking at business leadership characteristics, you'll see that those who are in a supervisory role are not just watching others and telling them what they do wrong; instead, when they see a problem they jump into the trenches and work with their staff, helping them to solve problems and to find creative solutions.

Business leadership is about working with others and motivating them to do more – to be more. When you're looking for a way to differentiate yourself from others, one of the best things that you can do is to work well with others, put forth your best effort at all times and to make sure that – at all times – you're making an effort to bring a team of people together.

Finally, remember this: business leadership is about having a willingness to try something new. To set yourself apart from the crowd, you need to look at the big picture – and then to get everyone else to see it too.

Copyright 2008, Cecile Peterkin.

Related Articles
  Population Perspectives
  Sales 2.0 - Answer to Our Prayers or Costly Distraction?
  LEADERSHIP IS CREATIVE THINKING NOT REACTIVE THINKING
  Trust in a New Age
  The essence of the soft stuff

Article Tags: 21st century, business leadership



Related Forum Posts
Re: Business Women Peer Mentoring Spotlight - Hi Everyone, Gosh, I REALLY appreciate your concrete feedback. This was far more than I expected and I'm glad you said what you thought straight out. Each of you have shared something of value and I want to take some more time to think and really go over what each of you have said. However, I can see there are some things I need to change right away. What an interesting point about a NEW program perhaps making people think they are guinea pigs! This is NOT what I want to convey! It's funny how we can see some things so clearly in others while not always seeing it for ourselves! I must admit there are a few things I've been meaning to change (like my bio which is very outdated). Obviously, these things need to be higher on my priority list. You caught me like the plumber who puts his clients first and doesn't get around to fixing his own tap! As far as my target market, I do feel quite strongly about working with Women Leaders and doing Leadership Coaching with them. It's non-negotiable in my books. In my Executive Coaching training, the terms "Leaders" and "Executives" are interchangable. To me, an Executive is a Leader and so is the Business Woman or Entrepreneur who is CEO of her own business. I love working with decision makers! What I did learn is that I need to avoid opening up the Leadership term beyond what I described above. I'm also wondering if there is a misunderstanding with the general public as to what Leadership Coaching really is. Leadership Coaching is all about developing your leadership skills, both as a people manager and in more effectively running and growing the business. There is ALWAYS room for growth in some way. As well, sometimes, we just need a sounding board to clarify what our next BEST step is. In fact, if a woman thinks she has nothing to work on, then we aren't a good Client/Coach fit anyway. How can she grow if she doesn't see the value of expressing ALL of the great ability within her? How can her company grow if she doesn't see the value of strategic planning for the next best level? Thanks again to you all! I will go back to my website and really question whether I am conveying the right message. I got more than I bargained for in this Spotlight... you generously offered way more than I was asking. I think we could be on to something great for the Forum. Now it's time to let someone else have the spotlight. It would be great if everyone took a turn! In gratitude, Tami
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Building credit - Credit is like reputations, I suppose. Takes a lifetime to build, and only a second to destroy.
Re: Ideas For Business - Hello Lucy, you may consider this list for Ideas for Business: (Top 23 list) Rank Company 1 Google 2 Genentech 3 Wegmans Food Markets 4 Container Store 5 Whole Foods Market 6 Network Appliance 7 S.C. Johnson & Son 8 Boston Consulting Grp. 9 Methodist Hospital Sys. 10 W.L. Gore & Associates 11 Cisco Systems 12 David Weekley Homes 13 Nugget Market 14 Qualcomm 15 American Century Invest. 16 Starbucks Coffee 17 Quicken Loans 18 Station Casinos 19 Alston & Bird 20 QuikTrip 21 Griffin Hospital 22 Valero Energy 23 Vision Service Plan
Patent Walk-Through - Hello everyone! My name is Alex, I'm 18 years old and I'm constantly drawing up new ideas and inventing stuff. I sketch stuff down everywhere I go and on anything I can write on. I'm a big member of our local Future Business Leaders of America chapter (FBLA). In the future I hope to work my way up to being a Venture Capitalist. I think of myself as a pretty creative person who is very motivated. Some of the ideas and inventions I come up with are pretty far out but others I consider marketable and to have great potential. Being 18, I have little to no connections and no resources. I've been surfing this site pretty frequently for the last year and have finally decided to join the forum group. Anyway, here's my question... Basically, I have no idea how to get a patent together the costs and the overall process. As of now, I think I have a great idea that, as far as I know has not, ever been done before. I'm really excited about this idea. I'm a total novice at this and am willing to learn all that I can. Any information that you can provide me with would be great. Again the main things I want to know are: 1.Overall Process. 2.How Long It Takes. 3.Costs. 4.Anything That You Think I Should Know. 5.Tips/Experiences. 6.Confidentiality. 7.Must I Make A Physical Model of My Idea? Thanks guys! -Alex


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

The Death of the Sales Magazine

20 MORE Must-Have Search Engine Marketing Tools

Looking for an Easy Online Business Opportunity?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.