Ending Soon! Save 33% on All Access

The Secret to Successful Leadership? Make and Break Plans. Leaders come in all shapes and sizes. However, the one thing they should all have in common is the ability to make and break plans.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Editor's Note: In the new podcast Masters of Scale, LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock partner Reid Hoffman explores his philosophy on how to scale a business -- and at Entrepreneur.com, entrepreneurs are responding with their own ideas and experiences on our hub. This week, we're discussing Hoffman's theory: to lead an organization to scale, you have to be as skilled at breaking plans as you are at making them.

Leaders should be decisive, have a vision and be self-aware. But they also need to be flexible.

"I believe to lead an organization to scale, you have to be as skilled at breaking plans as you are at making them," says Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock partner, in the fifth episode of Masters of Scale, a podcast series in which he explores counterintuitive theories to growing a company.

Related: When It Makes Sense to Release an Imperfect Product

Nicole Lapin, a best-selling author and co-host of business reality show Hatched, couldn't agree more.

"The most important part of being a boss or a leader is being self aware and knowing when something doesn't work is more important sometimes than knowing when something is working," Lapin tells Entrepreneur's editor-in-chief, Jason Feifer, in a video.

This sort of approach takes guts, the ability to make hard decisions and execute.

According to Lapin and Feifer, this helps companies pivot quicker, scale faster and be successful.

Related: Mark Zuckerberg Reveals the 5 Strategies That Helped Facebook Grow at an Insane Rate

Check out the video to see what they both say are other important skills for leaders to possess, their weak points and the need to own up to your mistakes.

Rose Leadem is a freelance writer for Entrepreneur.com. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

More People Are Exploring Entrepreneurship Because of This Unexpected Reason

More new business applications were filed in 2023 than in any other year so far.

Business News

TikTok Reportedly Laid Off a 'Large Percentage' of Employees as the App's Fate in the U.S. Remains Unclear

Laid-off TikTok employees were notified Wednesday night through Thursday morning.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Four Seasons Orlando Responds to Viral TikTok: 'There's Something Here For All Ages'

The video has amassed over 45.4 million views on TikTok.

Growing a Business

5 Strategies to Know As You Scale Your Business

Scaling a service-based company requires a comprehensive approach that goes beyond simply increasing revenue. It requires careful planning, strategic decision-making and a deep understanding of market dynamics.