The principle you dare not ignore if you want to succeed.

By Paul Hogan

Most entrepreneurs don’t set out to be leaders, but simply pursue a passion. They dream about ideas taking root and growing, but really don’t picture themselves leading an international organization with hundreds of franchised units generating hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. And, as entrepreneurs, they struggle with the tendency to cash in successful businesses long before they get to this point.

Even more telling, most of people in authority, especially in the beginning, never think about how important leadership is to building and sustaining long-term success. But eventually the day arrives when they realize that the business means more to them than money and that it has evolved into a way of shaping their purpose in life. At that moment, they need to be more than entrepreneurs; they need to be leaders.

Most people feel ill-prepared for this change in role, generally, because they are, in fact, ill-prepared.

Leadership is the difference between success and failure. It touches every aspect of a company from productivity to creativity to employee morale to safety and, ultimately, the bottom line. It may be the most written-about subject in business. Amazon.com, for example, offers 17,000 titles related to leadership. Consulting organizations by the score make a living helping businesses small and large improve leadership. And legendary leaders like Jack Welch devote their lives to teaching and talking about leadership.

Since founding Home Instead Senior Care 12 years ago I’ve learned seven critical leadership principles. They don’t necessarily guarantee success, but it’s hard to imagine success without each of them, especially Principle #7.

Leadership styles vary, but truly great leaders embrace these seven core principles. And, they are especially committed to nurturing leadership at every level, in every department and in every operating unit throughout their organization no matter how small or large, how homogenous or diverse, how simple or complex the business.

Principle #1: Leaders Are Driven by Conviction.Back in 1994, Home Instead Senior Care was just a fledgling business generating all of $68,000 in annual revenue. We had the original pilot office and one franchise owned by the daughter of my mentor. That office was struggling to make a business out of our new concept, a non-medical in-home care for seniors. My mentor, whose advice I’d come to trust, warned me that the business may not work.

Sooner or later every entrepreneur encounters such a pivotal moment. My response was simple: “I know the concept will work, so I’m going on with or without you.”

This unwavering confidence in my idea and myself inspired commitment in others that produces results. Today, Home Instead Senior Care generates almost $68,000 revenue every hour. So needless to say I’m pleased that I stood by my convictions, and I’m even happier to say that my mentor did too.

Leaders know who they are and what they stand for. They’re willing to fight for it. They never compromise. They never let the ship get blown off course by popular trends that come and go.

Principle #2: Leaders are values driven.
Too many organizations just create a set of values, something that sounds good but is really just made up. That’s okay, as far as it goes, but values don’t mean anything unless they’re authentic. The test of authenticity is what happens when times get tough, as they inevitably will. How real are those values when revenue misses goal? When an employee makes a mistake? Or, a when a competitor starts to sling mud?

Leaders never let adversity or growing pains alter their core beliefs or how they apply them. They live out their core values reflecting clearly what they really believe and that determines the kind of organization they’ll build.

Nike dominates the market for athletic shoes in part because of a core value which calls for that company to crush the competition. That’s a pretty strong value. I don’t necessarily identify with it, but they attract talented people who do. Give them credit for knowing what they value. And, does anyone doubt Nike lives this value and reaps the results?

Principle #3: Leaders hold to the core of their vision, but allow it to evolve at the margins.
Every leader needs a vision of what could be. Just as important, leaders must articulate that vision so others (franchise owners and employees) can understand and make it their own. Then, they must keep it out front–always. When others relate to your vision, something almost magical happens: They choose to sink their heart into their work, not just their teeth or fingers.

Great leaders also recognize the value of allowing their vision to evolve at the margins while holding true its core.

In 1981, Bill Gates famously pronounced that he couldn’t understand why anyone would ever need more than 640k of memory. Today, in spite of this misjudgment, Gates is revered as a tremendous visionary. Why? Because he allowed his vision (that personal computers are for everyone) to evolve at the margins (increased power of the personal computer) in ways which enhanced his core vision.

His experience freed me from the self-imposed pressure of feeling that as an entrepreneur I had to be able to see the end from the beginning. If Bill Gates could be so short-sighted on such a central issue and still build a successful enterprise, I knew that I only needed to be committed to looking ahead.

Principle #4: Leaders build a great team and trust it.
Building and trusting a team is deceptively simple. In reality, it is one of the toughest aspects of leadership.

It begins with making the best hires possible. Most leaders intuitively understand this, but that doesn’t free us from the temptation to compromise in building a team. We tend to pass up the best talent by choosing cost over quality. Or, we may be intimidated by hiring those who are smarter or more experienced. Being an entrepreneur doesn’t provide any immunity to these tendencies, but succumbing to them denies us and our organizations the one thing needed most to prosper: talent.

While hiring the best is a no-brainer, many people stumble on the “trust” aspect of this leadership equation. We hire well, but ignore or reject the advice of our team.

For example, I’m a big believer in keeping the cost of home care affordable. Doing so has contributed immeasurably to the success of Home Instead Senior Care. But my stubborn commitment to this ideal led me to resist a recommendation from our marketing team to upgrade the quality and look of our marketing materials. I insisted on sticking with two-color brochures to save a few dollars and older photos (including one of my grandmother) for sentimental reasons. As a result, for a couple of years we didn’t project the image of an industry leader and our franchise owners were disadvantaged in networking for new clients.

I learned a valuable lesson: Just being the founder doesn’t make me right. In fact, the only right thing to do is to both hire and trust.

Going forward, I’ll always hire the best and the brightest. Then I’ll trust their counsel.

Principle #5: Leaders are obsessed with listening and learning.
Some of the best advice to offer leaders is to get outside of the four walls of the office and listen. If you’re not listening to your customers, employees and franchise owners, you’re making a big and costly mistake. But be prepared, doing so may bruise your ego.

It’s not just enough to listen inside your organization or industry; get outside of it. The business world offers hundreds of opportunities to learn and grow through seminars, business schools, organizations serving entrepreneurs, consultants and mentoring programs. Find those that best fit you and the needs of your organization. Exposure to new information and ideas from other perspectives will broaden your capacity for being a more effective leader.

Principle #6: Leaders are what they do, not what they are.
There’s not much credibility to the idea that leadership begets respect. In fact, about the only things that automatically come with the title of “chief executive officer” are more mail offers and more professional telephone solicitations. Everything else must be earned, including the respect of the system’s franchise owners, clients and employees.

You’ll be judged by what you do, not what the business card says. There’s no better way to demonstrate and earn respect than by complete and consistent honesty in everything from personal dealings to business dealings.

This company is totally committed to saying only what’s true about the organization and then acting on what is said. For example, the franchise system promises clients a trained caregiver. The discovery that franchise owners were having difficulty in meeting this commitment led to a completely revised and improved caregiver-training program. The program not only lifted the integrity of the organization, but improved the quality of care provided to seniors. It was a huge investment, but squaring what the company does with what it says was not only the right thing to do; it was also a great business decision.

Principle #7: Leaders nurture leadership in others.
Finally, leaders recognize that leadership isn’t only the purview of one person, and it doesn’t reside just at the pinnacle of successful organizations. Genuine leadership must be expected in every role from every employee, every manager, every franchise owner and every staff member in each individual franchise.

Leaders devote the time and resources to develop others as leaders by training and preparing them for the leadership roles they play. They build teams which display experience, integrity, charisma and intelligence. They involve these teams in the planning process which leads to greater involvement, understanding and productivity.

Truly wise leaders know there is no such thing as leadership “on-demand.” Leadership is nourished within the organization. Paul Hogan is chief executive officer of Home Instead Senior Care based in Omaha. He can be reached at paul.hogan@homeinstead.com.