Blog

Lessons in life and Business come from personal, learned experiences, peppered with successes, failures and everything in between.   

And we know leaders come in all shapes and sizes and leadership has many styles. Amongst those are the ‘self-taught’ leader. 

These are the self-starters, self-motivated that often morph or merge into leadership positions, often beginning on the job, at the coal-front of Business or as small Business owners. Many don’t start at the top but go about their tasks with commitment forging a pathway that fosters development and growth. 

Characteristics, traits and habits include: 

• self-directed   

• self-belief  

• interested and open to learning  

• flexible  

• resilient   

A desire to go further, gain skills and knowledge, improve and succeed drives their endeavours, sometimes in small steps but still with purpose and an end goal.  

If you are a small Business owner, ‘self-made’, you might recognise yourself. 

And speak with ‘self-taught’ ‘successful’ leaders and many will share the following 7 ‘takeaways’.

1. Start by understanding your leadership style – this insight helps to get the most and best out of you and your Team. Know your values, vision, goals. 

2. Be a role model – Be true to yourself. Lead by example with honesty and integrity. Be accountable and stand by your word to build and foster trust. 

3. Passion, purpose, persistence and positivity– these traits and behaviours drive and motivate you and have the power to influence those around you.  

4. Learning agility – is about knowing how to learn from experiences and applying it in new ways, adapting to new circumstances and opportunities.  

5. Lead when needed - read the play, know when to step in to resolve problems, steer the team or make a Captains call. 

6. Delegate – let others do their ‘job’ with the opportunity for them to step up. You don’t have to do and be responsible for everything. 

7. Open-minded – being open to learning and change, seeking feedback, others' ideas and opinions can serve any leader well. 

Closing thought: To be a Leader of substance, no matter how we learn or gain our skills, formal, informal, self-taught, books, or from mentors, most importantly, it is about how we conduct ourselves, treat others and contribute to society.