Whether you’re building a startup or launching a new ecommerce venture, developing your leadership skills is critical for long-term business success.
Becoming a leader isn’t only about being in charge; it’s about setting bold, big-picture goals, shifting focus from short-term wins to building something that can last, and inspiring a team to own and achieve a shared vision.
Keep reading to learn more about what it means to be a leader, and the steps you can take to become one.
What is a leader?
There are many different leadership styles. All leaders can set a clear vision, rally others around it, and drive results at any level of a business. Leaders use the 7 Cs of effective communication, provide mentorship, express appreciation, demonstrate empathy, and create a positive, empowering workplace culture. Company culture starts at the top, so leaders have to invest in themselves to lead by example.
Let’s say a small business owner notices their sales team is making a lot of small mistakes in client communications, leading to delayed order deliveries. Practiced in leadership skills, the business owner asks questions and actively listens to the team to understand why mistakes are happening. The business owner also empowers the team to be part of the solution. In the process, they discover as a team that there’s a step missing in the process they use to send orders to the fulfillment team. Together, they rework the process to fix the communication gap and work toward getting orders filled more smoothly. This inclusive approach boosts morale and the likelihood of teamwide buy-in.
What are the main characteristics of a leader?
These are common leadership qualities that successful leaders share:
- Vision: Vision is the ability to craft and communicate a goal, grounded in research and real-world insights. Leaders see the big picture, paint it for others, and carve the path to getting there.
- Communicative: Leaders are effective communicators and set the standard for how teams at every level communicate with each other. This means leading by example, but also standardizing a communication plan that everyone across their organization can reference.
- Creative: Typically, those in leadership positions are creative, generate new ideas, and foster a culture of creativity to empower others to think outside the box. Creativity isn’t only about new ideas; it’s also about problem-solving and navigating change.
- Empathetic: Modern leaders emphasize empathy, kindness, and the collective well-being of the team because they know this approach (sometimes referred to as servant leadership) fosters trust and creates a sense of psychological safety in the workplace. In fact, more and more employees are coming to expect kind, empathetic treatment from their leaders.
- Authentic: The authentic leadership style prioritizes ethics, emotional intelligence, and the good of the overall team. In practice, that means listening to your staff and creating space for them to share ideas and opinions. It could be as simple as the head of a company hosting weekly lunch open office hours with employees in order to get to know them better, or as structured as a rotating schedule of one-on-one meetings.
- Courageous: Great leaders are courageous—especially in the face of adversity. In addition to cultivating effective decision-making skills, they lead without fear and calmly communicate and defend their choices, even when it’s difficult. Courage isn’t just about winning or staying strong; it’s also about knowing how to face failure without fear and learn from it.
Take, for example, Steve Schwartz, the CEO of Art of Tea, who shares on the Shopify Masters podcast that his courageous leadership is rooted in community and a sense of self-awareness. Steve embraces vulnerability by seeking mentorship and leaning on his team’s strengths, saying, “I’m really good at only a couple of things, and I’m really bad at a lot of others. So leaning on my team and trusting them has been crucial.”
Steve’s humility and openness have helped him weather challenges with resilience. As he puts it, “If I’m the smartest person in the room, something is wrong, right?”
Leadership vs. management: What’s the difference?
Management focuses on coordinating day-to-day operations to ensure a team meets its overarching goals. Leadership centers on the big picture, establishing and communicating an overall vision for an organization. If a manager and a leader are aligned, you have the best of both worlds: a strong vision and a team working to make it a reality.
This chart helps visualize the differences between leadership and management when it comes to certain organizational aspects:
| Aspect | Managers | Leaders |
| Vision | Focus on short-term goals | Focus on long-term goals and the big picture |
| Goal | Efficiency | Innovation |
| Approach | Organize and control resources | Inspire and motivate team members |
| Attitude | Focus on stability and minimizing risk | Show a willingness to try things, even if it means taking a risk |
| Change Management | Refine systems to maintain the status quo | Push for change and create a culture that embraces it |
How to become a better leader
- Foster a culture of innovation
- Define clear goals for your team
- Delegate tasks to empower your team
- Give feedback regularly
- Invest in growing as a leader
As the Center for Creative Leadership puts it, “Leaders are made, not born.” According to the center’s research, leaders expand their potential through practice and experience. So how does a leader-in-the-making take the necessary steps to reach their goals?
Here are some tips to cultivate your own leadership qualities:
Foster a culture of innovation
Create methods for team members to surface new, interesting ideas and encourage staff to experiment. You can create a Slack channel where any team member can share new ideas, or leadership can hold a monthly, Shark Tank–style meeting to pitch a potential project.
Provide clear, consistent templates for how ideas will be evaluated, and communicate how new projects should ladder up to company objectives so team members can ideate successfully.
Define clear goals for your team
Provide your teams with clear benchmarks to work toward and exceed. It’s helpful to use a system like the SMART framework as a guide; this system says goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
If you’re setting a target for growing a social media account, for example, don’t simply say you want to increase your online presence, but instead use a specific goal like increasing engagement on Instagram by 20%.
Create a system for reevaluating and updating goals, such as regular, monthly check-ins (depending on specific goal deadlines).
Delegate tasks to empower your team
A critical part of leadership is the ability to delegate tasks. This not only evenly distributes workloads but also helps staff members remain motivated by giving them more opportunities for growth. Let’s say the marketing team’s leader has always written the company newsletter. They might pass it on to a more junior team member who’s expressed a desire to take on more writing opportunities and coach them through the process. The marketing team leader is then freed up to take on more long-term growth opportunities.
Great leaders trust their teams to take initiative and contribute to organizational success, which in turn can help them feel invested in their work. Delegating responsibility also creates space for employees to learn and improve their skills. Micromanagement, on the other hand, can leave employees feeling disempowered.
Give feedback regularly
Creating an open channel for feedback within your team helps create trust and makes your business stronger and more efficient. Leaders should give employees regular opportunities for feedback, beyond the regular review and promotion cycle. Try tools like anonymous surveys to gather honest feedback.
A leader’s job doesn’t stop at the gathering stage. Effective leaders should use active listening skills, follow up, and act on feedback so team members know they are sincere about improving processes.
Invest in growing as a leader
One way that worked for Steve was to turn his car “into a university” and lean on podcast interviews with successful leaders as a resource. Steve would “just listen and consume their information and insights and wisdom.”
There are a number of online and digital resources to help leaders refine their approach. You can also sign up for dedicated coaching or training courses that teach effective leadership.
What is a leader FAQ
What is the definition of a leader?
A leader is, quite simply, one who leads a business or organization. A great leader is someone who communicates a clear vision, encourages creativity, listens with empathy, and provides feedback regularly to improve processes.
What are the five qualities of a good leader?
Good leaders have confident, courageous personality traits that inspire and motivate team members. They regularly work on their communication skills, problem-solving skills, and personal growth so they can lead by example and prioritize the well-being of their team.
What is the role of a leader?
A leader’s role is to establish a vision, set goals, and rally others to make that vision a reality. Great leaders take a thoughtful approach that incorporates diverse perspectives to make informed decisions for their business.
