Overcoming fear: How business bravery helps entrepreneurs

This generation’s crop of businessmen is characterized by a bold entrepreneurial spirit, driven by the willingness to take risks and openness to new ideas. Such traits have influenced the business landscape over the past decade or two. The emergence of Napster exemplifies this.

Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker founded Napster in 1999, revolutionizing peer-to-peer file sharing. Over 80 million subscribers registered with Napster to share MP3 music files, which caught the ire of musicians and record labels. Amidst copyright infringement allegations, the company continued operations until it was eventually shut down by court order.

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Still, the youthful determination Fanning and Parker exhibited was a modernized approach to business development and operations. Parker even went on to help launch another similar project named Facebook.

Fear, risks, and setbacks are business realities. And it takes bravery to overcome all these challenges.

Emile Haddad, one of the most trusted business coaches, often cited business bravery as one of the main factors for success. Business bravery is manifested in the curiosity to explore and openness to possibilities in the industry. Key here is the approach that in every failure and rejection, there is wisdom and lessons that can start and grow the business.

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The Seattle, Washington-based Emile Haddad has decades of experience in leading companies and individuals toward entrepreneurial success. Read more insights about business and leadership by subscribing to this blog.

A Tip Sheet On Maintaining Work-Life Balance

A hard lesson for all executives to learn is building a life outside of one’s professional persona. Maintaining work-life balance is easier said than done, with current business data estimating that almost half of financial executives sacrificing one area of their lives. The process is initially challenging, but there are a few suggestions to take into consideration.

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Treat relaxation as a goal: Executives are often driven and goal-oriented. The reason for their success is brought about by their ability to prioritize. Financial goals are set and then cut into smaller pieces so that actions can be made to achieve them. Relaxation and family time should be treated the same way. However the executive wishes to define it, personal activities should be treated as non-negotiables and in the same level of importance as their work. This way, there can be no excuses for missing out on family events or other similar things.

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Seek help: Hard-core executives should acknowledge that they may need help. This can be from their partner or even from a business management and leadership coach. This is particularly important during the first few months of trying a new regimen on better work-life balance. Individuals need to feel supported and should constantly be kept motivated.

The most important thing to remember is that work-life balance is a life-long process. It evolves and adapts with the times, and there are no hard or fast rules to this. Executives are asked to just remember the importance of the balance for a healthier and happier life.

Seattle-based Emile Haddad helps his clients reach their business goals with his excellent strategies as a recognized leadership coach and consultant. More articles on business leadership can be accessed here.

A Guide To Becoming a Better Transactional Leader

There are many leadership styles to choose from. Each style has its pros and cons, with each manager encouraged to choose one that suits his or her specific personality. A style that is increasing in popularity is transactional leadership.

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This form of leadership focuses on maintaining the status quo. Transactional leaders use their power to motivate their employees and ensure the normal flow of operations. The techniques usually employed by these leaders are proactive engagement and incentives. Employees are rewarded for their good behavior and sanctioned for detrimental actions. Thus, it is called "transactional": there is an exchange of goods. These leaders are especially important to bigger companies.

Unfortunately, many individuals are not trained on being a better transactional leader; the focus being on more creative forms of management. Business coaches usually work one-on-one with managers to create specialized programs. Still, some things can be remembered.

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The first is that financial reward is not always the right way to go. There is a misplaced assumption that all employees respond well to material benefits. Effective leaders are those that understand each of their employees and know what incentive would work best. Some employees would prefer other incentives such as extended leaves, a boost up the work ladder, or similar things. The reward system should cater effectively to the audience.

Secondly, it is important to seek guidance from one’s mentors. It is untrue to consider being a manager as the end game. One must recognize that being a leader is a continuous process.

Improve your management and leadership skills with advice from Emile Haddad, trusted business coach and consultant from Seattle. Learn more when you like this Google+ page.

The Four Building Blocks Of Transformational Leadership

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The most widely studied effective leadership concept is the transformational leadership theory. It involves creating a positive atmosphere wherein every member of the organization acts in the interests of the whole group and is motivated to perform to his full potential.

The elements of transformational leadership which leaders should understand and execute are the following:

Idealized influence

The leader should strive to be a role model – one which his followers would desire to emulate. Idealized influence is best exhibited by the leader’s determination to walk the talk in complying with the company’s core values and sets of principles. By doing so, trust can be developed in relationships with team members and other colleagues.

Inspirational motivation

Transformational leaders need to have the ability to inspire motivation, confidence, and a sense of purpose. The organization, and everyone in it, can benefit greatly if the company vision, clear expectations, and commitment to the goals are communicated properly and disseminated to everyone in the workplace.

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Intellectual stimulation

Consistently challenging followers to be innovative and creative is a result of transformational leadership. They should be involved in decision-making and solution-based processes to bring out in them their best performance.

Individualized consideration

Each member of the team has specific needs and goals. An effective leader should recognize and understand how followers can give their most productive efforts, how they can holistically grow, and how they can become fulfilled in their careers.

Emile Haddad, a business consultant from Seattle, Washington, helps entrepreneurs and business leaders achieve success by teaching them effective strategies and management practices. Learn more about his leadership insights by subscribing to this blog.

Developing a Leadership Style that Suits Your Personality

Leadership remains a vague concept despite the many online resources discussing it. To make it more distinctive, business consultants have classified different leadership styles, adjusted to various personality types. Each style is used differently; although it must be emphasized that a truly effective leader blends certain traits from each style. Additionally, some styles are more suited than others to particular situations.

Nevertheless, each individual should at least master one style that suits his or her personality. There are six, namely: visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding. Interested businesspeople should take time to research on the specific skillsets for each. What is explained here is how to develop a style, which is a three-step process.

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Introspection, impression, and initiation
Good leaders have an understanding of their selves, achieved through introspection. This is a lifelong process but a few introspective activities can help. What is important is determining short- and long-term goals and what one is willing to achieve them.

The second step is impression. It has been studied that many people generate impressions in less than a second, and such impressions are hard to alter even after years without contact. Thus, if a person decides on a commanding leadership style, he or she cannot afford to give off the first impression of a mild-mannered person. Again, this is dependent on introspection and recognizing one’s strengths and weaknesses.

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The last step is initiation. This means practice and engagement. Employees respond well to consistent management. It is important that individuals develop a style that they can consistently practice over a long period of time.

Emile Haddad is a Seattle-based consultant specializing in effective leadership development and business management. To learn more, follow this Twitter account.

The Importance Of Curiosity To Business Management And The Bottom Line

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Current business coaching thinking emphasizes the importance of curiosity to company management. Studies have been made on the chief personality traits of hundreds of successful entrepreneurs. One of the common traits shared by these individuals is curiosity. 

There are a lot of theories about it, but mostly because there has yet to be a comprehensive definition of curiosity. Analysts are now refining this and have suggested that curiosity is the ability to question current practices with the foresight of several ideas that could potentially be done to alter them. Curiosity has the inherent characteristic of trial-and-error. 

This is important in a business setting. Successful entrepreneurs are those that are constantly evolving and adapting their practices to suit the status quo. In the middle of maintaining stability, business people should also be curious enough to see how one can change regulations for the future. Businesses that thrive are often ones that can see several steps ahead. It is comparable to a chess game, but one with higher, financial stakes. 

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As mentioned earlier, this does require a stage of trial-and-error. It is not expected that entrepreneurs will be successful in all their curious endeavors all the time. There will be failure, and this is where another business trait is needed: patience. Entrepreneurs understand the importance of patience. They persevere regardless of how many times they fail. It is their curiosity that drives them. Inevitably, entrepreneurs who keep their sense of passion and curiosity are the ones that succeed. 

Respected business coach and consultant Emile Haddad of Seattle has helped many business executives hone their management skills. More business tips are featured on this Facebook page.

Learning How to Give Constructive Criticism

An essential skill all upper management executives must learn is learning how to give constructive criticism. It is a necessary part of the job to constantly give feedback to team members, and understanding how to do so can determine the productivity levels of employees. Recent business data show that unsatisfied employees are more likely to do their job badly. The reasons for this can vary, although the inability to communicate with superiors is known.

An employee will inevitably commit mistakes. These should be dealt with as quickly as possible – and using constructive techniques.

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The first step is addressing the problem and not the person. Many employees feel that their character rather than the mistake is being attacked during feedback. Leaders must make the distinction from the get go.

The cause-and-effect argument works to great effect in this case. That is, explaining the faulty nature of the action and its repercussions to the company will allay feelings of blame. This gives a sense of responsibility to the employee and would hopefully reduce the risk of recurring mistakes.

The second step is asking the employee how the mistake was made. Again, it should be asked in a tone that is curious and not accusatory. There is a nuance here that must be understood. Both manager and employee should understand that this line of questioning is meant to resolve the issue and not for to defame the employee.

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In worst-case scenarios, a third-party observer can intervene to soften the tone of proceedings and prevent emotional injury.

These incidents of miscommunication can be easily avoided with the strategies and techniques placed on this Twitter account. These insights are credited to Emile Haddad, a Seattle-based business consultant.