Among entrepreneurs, as in other fields, the truly effective leaders are those who know their own strengths, and build on them. They tend to use the art (or skill) of persuasiveness. Today’s small business owner persuades through leadership rather than dictates to their employees. "The old style of management, which would rule with fear and intimidation, is over," says Stuart R. Levine, chief executive of Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc., the training company, based in Garden City, N.Y.
For many small businesses in their early startup stages, the owner’s financial skills are far more important than leadership skills as they're usually defined. Likewise, the fledgling business owner cannot worry too much about motivating the employees (if there are any); the important thing is the business owner's own motivation. It's when a company is maturing and growing that the other skills take precedence.

“Purposeful managers appear more self-aware than most people. Their clarity about their intentions, combined with discipline, helps them make careful, high-quality decisions about where and how they spend their time. They pick goals---and their battles---with far more deliberation than other managers we studied. Source: A Bias for Action by Heike Bruch and Sumantra Ghoshal. Visit LeadershipNow for more discussions of leaders and purposeful business decisions.