Lynn D Carlisle, DDS

Here are my 12 hallmarks of a good small business leader (a dental practice is a small business). They are based on my 55 years of being a life-long student, dentist and leader in my dental practice and various organizations. They also come from years of studying research on what makes a good leader.

I am taking a yearlong leadership class in the Roaring Fork valley where I live. My first assignment is to create a picture or collage of what my personal concept of leadership is.

Since I am artistically impaired when it comes to drawing or painting, I have chosen to do a collage. I have asked a neighbor who loves to do collages to help me create one. (A good leader asks for help.)

She asked me to list 10 attributes of a good leader.

I had been thinking about writing an article for In a Spirit of Caring about this, so I am combining the two. I am limiting this list to a small business (a dental practice is a small business) because I think there are some significant differences between what it takes to be a small business leader versus a large business or organization. The vast majority of articles and research are on large businesses or organizations.

Here are my 12 hallmarks of a good small business leader. They are based on my 55 years of being a life-long student and leader in my dental practice and various organizations. They also come from years of studying research on what makes a good leader.

A good small business leader:

Here are my 12 hallmarks of a good small business leader.

1. Knows him or herself
2. Is genuine or congruent
3. Knows his or her work
4. Has integrity - Is trustworthy
5. Has a good sense of humor
6. Is emotionally intelligent
7. Is moral and ethical
8. Is organized
9. Cares about people and his or her work
10.Is a good facilitator

These are in no particular rank order because each hallmark can be most important in a given situation. These kinds of lists are always incomplete. Many iterations can be listed.

I had a hard time limiting this list to 10 - I have to add two more hallmarks of a good leader:

11. Is financially astute.
12. Communicates clearly - including his or her vision of what can be in the organization.

You may have noticed that I did not put "is a good motivator" in this list. This is because I think motivation comes from within a person - not from a boss, coach, facilitator or leader. However, the above hallmarks can create an environment that activates a person's ability to motivate him or herself.

Owning a small business does not automatically make you a good leader. Fortunately being a good leader is a learn-able skill. I began learning to be a good leader as a teenager, when I was a Boy Scout camp counselor at Camp Osceola in the Ozarks of Missouri. Later, these skills served me well in my dental practice and as president of many organizations.

Running my dental practice also taught me how to be a good leader. I had to learn new leadership skills on my own by hard experiences and diligent study. (It is ironic that there are no leadership institutes like Roaring Fork Leadership in dentistry.)

This is a work in progress. I will develop these concepts and report to you along the way of what I learn in this class and will revisit this list in one year. I will let you know then if I would change it.