How to Be a Better Leader in 2011
By Eve Gumpel
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
If you're eager to put the past year behind you and start fresh, you've gotplenty of company.
More companies are shifting focus from tactical topics, such as sales, tomore strategic topics, such as leadership, according to AmyK Hutchens of AmyKInternational Inc., a leadership and sales training company based in San Diego, Calif.
"Everyone was so focused on surviving and cutting, they're just nowlooking up and realizing they have no clear next steps, limited vision and noenergy," Hutchens says.
Want to become a better leader in 2011? Here are three tips from Hutchens
1. Focus on energy, not time. "What's sucking out your energyand what refuels it?" she asks. "Your answers will influence yourstrategy for energy management within the constraints of time."
2. Ask better questions. Leadershiphappens one conversation at a time. When preparing for a meeting, spendfive minutes coming up with three to five questions that will lead to a moreproductive, more thought-provoking meeting. "Those five minutes will saveyou hours down the road," she says.
3. Create internal alignment. Step back and ask yourself: What am Iresisting? What am I judging? What am I attached to? Answer these threequestions and you'll gain clarity, insight and a foundation for momentum.
