Entrepreneurs are highly motivated and ambitious people who later become proficient in leadership, especially female entrepreneurs. A common path entrepreneurs go through is to be highly successful at whatever position they end up in, even early on in life well before adulthood. When they land their first job, laser-like focus on success often drives them above their peers.

From there, these motivated individuals recognize that working for someone else has its limitations and they will most likely never make it “to the big leagues.” These entrepreneurs then come to the conclusion that in order for them to reach their full potential, they must go out on their own. That often means starting a business and ultimately hiring and building a team to help your business grow.

But leading others towards organizational success is no easy feat. And very few people on the planet know this more than Trudy Jacobson. Trudy built her trucking empire from owning just a handful of trucks to thousands. You can imagine how many hundreds of people need to be involved in being a part of a business that size.

Trudy’s incredible success didn’t happen by accident. It took hard work, dedication and most importantly, effective leadership. In this edition of our Trudy Jacobson Chats interview, Trudy tells us all about leadership and how it can be the difference between females being thriving entrepreneurs and mediocre ones.

Interview

JTP: How important is communication between a leader and a subordinate?

Trudy: Very. I say that’s where women really shine. You really need to look someone in the eye and listen. That’s where empathy comes in. You really need to understand where that person’s coming from. Whether it’s a customer, potential customer, employee… you really need to focus not on what they’re going to say next but what they are saying.

You need to be articulate, you need to not belabor an issue. So, communication is extremely important.

JTP: Interpersonal skills are also important to leadership. It’s similar to communication but goes a little deeper. What’s your philosophy about interpersonal skills?

Trudy: My philosophy is that one should try to meet whomever they’re speaking with on their level. Put yourself in their place, again that empathy comes in but more than that. Your warmth… if you exude warmth you will encourage the person with whom you’re talking to, to respond in that same vein. Unless of course it’s a situational issue that’s not so happy. But I think the warmth, along with taking their conversation seriously.

JTP: Empathy is the ability to understand what a person is going through and how it’s affecting that person. Would you agree with that?

Trudy: I agree completely. In the 80’s, maybe still now, the ‘boss who doesn’t care’ what his or her employees are going through, they just keep focused on what their goals are for the business, the profits. If you don’t really put yourself in another person’s place, whether it’s an employee or customer; if you slant that with a positive eye, say ‘I understand what her job needs to be’ and ‘I want to understand them’.