5 Must-Have Leadership Qualities For All Entrepreneurs

4. Decision Making

You are the person who gets to make the tough decisions. Being able to make a decision and get your employees to understand why it was made is important. Your decision making skills can mean the difference between a successful business and a failed startup.

This doesn’t mean you can’t consult with anyone or that every decision must be made alone. That is a self-defeating attitude. Consult with (and hire) intelligent and experienced people to help you. It would be very short-sighted not to use the resources around you.

5. Relationship Building

Do not underestimate the value of creating good relationships with others. Whether it is the members of your team, suppliers or even your competitors, creating and nurturing relationships can create opportunities that are not readily visible.

Building relationships is an often undervalued aspect of leadership, but it is the glue that will allow you to create every other skill on this list.

A Final Thought

Although it isn’t on this list, one of the most valuable qualities a leader can have is character. It is hard to succeed in business without character. If your word can be trusted and your employees, partners and customers can trust what you say is the truth you will find most of these other skills come easily to you.

This article has been edited and condensed.

Simon Crompton is an entrepreneur running several online businesses. Currently focusing on his marketing firm, Threecolors.blue, he is also a trained journalist sharing his knowledge via several internet blogs. In his spare time he’s an avid programmer and videographer. Connect with @PermanentStle on Twitter.