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4 Leadership Skills You Can Learn Right Now

Leadership is a cornerstone of the business education. Yet, there are leaderships skills that you can learn with or without an MBA.

At least, that’s what Sujan Patel, VIP Contributor at Entrepreneur and co-founder of Web Profits, says.

“The message here is that there’s no right path to success, but there is more to learn in business than lessons on strategic differentiation,” Patel writes. “If you’re waiting to step into a role as a great business leader, with an MBA in hand, you could be taking a detour to success. Instead, focus on some of the leadership lessons you can acquire right now.”

“Scale Slowly and Organically”

Scaling a business shouldn’t be rushed.

In fact, Patel argues, it’s better to scale your business slowly and organically.

“The time to scale is when you have revenue in place to sustain the growth,” he writes. “Scale too fast without a solid process and revenue model in place, and your business will topple like a house of cards built too quickly.”

“Get Ready To Sacrifice”

In order to get ahead, you’ll need to be okay with giving some things up from time-to-time.

“In theory, anyone familiar with hard work and growing with a company knows that sacrifice is required to realize success,” Patel writes. “The reality of what those late nights in the office and missed moments with your family really means only starts to sink in long after you’ve gotten your MBA.”

Not everything will go as planned, but that’s part of the journey to success, Patel says.

“Be prepared to make your own sacrifices to capture the success you’re looking for,” he writes. “That might mean sacrifices…of working for someone else or moving back in with your parents — as 30 percent of today’s millennials are doing. Just remember that these sacrifices are temporary and can make your success more satisfying in the long run.”

“Diversify Early and Often”

Patel says successful leaders diversify early and often.

Having a number of different pay streams is a strategy that will set you up for success, especially if you want your dream business to become a reality.

“Recognize that you may need to launch side gigs just to make ends meet to get your business up and running — because unfortunately, securing funding isn’t always a reality for business owners and entrepreneurs,” Patel writes. “But using your income streams to bootstrap your business is within your control.”

“Practice Gratitude”

A little bit of gratitude can go a long way. Gratitude can be especially helpful in opening doors to new connections.

“I’ve discovered that relationship-building is a big factor in success, and so make a habit of helping others, as a way to network and forge more personal connections,” Patel writes.

Expressing gratitude can also help to empower those around you.

“In many respects, expressing gratitude is the sister to giving feedback,” Camille Preston, a CEO, speaker, author and renowned coach, writes for Forbes. “Fortunately, it is easier to be grateful than to give any type of feedback. It costs us nothing, builds our own internal resilience and empowers those around us.”

Sources: Entrepreneur, Forbes