What are the 7 Traits of the Inspirational Growth Leader? What or who has inspired you this week?
We will loosely describe a growth leader as one who is tasked with a sales growth number, or leads a business from a growth and profitability perspective.
Personally I was hugely inspired by a leader whom I volunteered to do a sales podcast for a few weeks ago. This week, he simply posted about sales growth leaders to follow on LinkedIn; and tagged me in.
I was 
subsequently humbled and overwhelmed with gratitude by the sheer number of people who reached out to connect with me as a result.
You know who you are, and I simply want to say – Thank You, You Inspire me!
So, I digressed. Let’s get to the topic at hand. Here are 7 of the traits that I (with others), have seen exhibited by hugely successful leaders in various roles and across various industries. It’s also worth noting that this is our 8th article in our 12-part leadership series.
Vision
The inspirational growth leader sees beyond the ‘now’ and the perceived challenges.
Commitment
Commitment is about bringing the business vision into reality. It comes with a huge decision (with no boundaries) to succeed and an an ability to transcend beyond individual to group level success. A strong sense of purpose.
Trust
Being trustworthy requires a high level of ability to trust others to do the right thing. This can also be called ‘connected leadership’ – self, teams, clients, stakeholders etc. coming together to achieve the growth goals of the organisation. Trust leads to less micro-managed environments and high performing teams.
Inspiration
Of course a we can’t get far without talking about inspiration. True growth leaders take inspired action in support of the vision and the results they want to get to. It involves communicating, delegating and empowering other leaders and their execution teams to fall in line with the ‘oneness’ of the corporate vision. Check out some inspirational leaders in the Forbes article….
Balance
It’s a balancing act; possessing the ability to dream big for the business while keeping your feet firmly grounded to ensure the nitty-gritty is done. This brings home the right business deals and growth pa
rtnerships. Balance is an invaluable inspirational growth leader trait. It is where strategic overview effectively meets tactical execution at it’s best!
Sense of Completion and Fun
Without a great sense of completion an accomplishment, balance will be difficult to ach
ieve. Seeing the vision and execution through to the end; even if through delegation is key. Great inspiration growth leaders can’t do without a sense of completion. This is why some make it a point to celebrate every little success along the way!
Servant leadership
Finally, we talk about an aspect of leadership which is becoming increasingly popular. Leaders who have mastered the above 6 traits find it easier to serve. You’ll recognise them as the ones who easily check out their ego at the door before they enter the meeting room. They find it easy to walk across the sales floor to connect and bond more with people. On occasion, they even serve teas and coffees to celebrate the successes or even the commiserations; when great lessons have been learnt.
Actionable advice:
So I now invite you to score yourself on a scale of 1-10 for each of the above traits. Are you done? Which traits did you score the lowest? Which were your highest? There’s no right or wrong scores; just imbalances that prevents us for attaining our highest potential, both in life and in business. Should you want a more accurate interpretation of your score and the steps to take in order to improve, do get in touch here now.
Inspirational Growth Leadership is about breaking barriers, creating larger sales and partnership deals, longer term relationships and better bonds?
Maggie Sarfo is a passionate author, speaker, advisor and mentor for ambitious business executives, entrepreneurs and professionals looking to explode sales revenue, create new markets or access their highest potential. Her blog is her playground, where she explores the topics of business growth, personal growth and peak performance. Learn more about her programmes.
