How To Become A Business Leader: What It Is and Career Path

What is a business leader and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A business leader guides an organization toward success. They set goals, develop strategies, and make decisions to achieve growth. They also create a vision for the company and communicate it effectively to employees, stakeholders, and customers. Business leaders oversee operations, manage finances, and monitor performance to ensure that the organization is on track to meet its objectives. They build relationships with key partners, investors, and clients to drive new business opportunities and maintain existing ones.

ScoreBusiness LeaderUS Average

Salary

7.1

Avg. Salary $90,430

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.6

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 6.38%

Black or African American 6.19%

Hispanic or Latino 15.24%

Unknown 4.34%

White 67.38%

Gender

female 35.60%

male 64.40%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress Level

9.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.2

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

3.6

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a Business Leader?

Pros

Ability to shape the direction of a company
Constant learning and development opportunities
Networking with other industry leaders
Flexibility in work schedule and location
Exposure to diverse business areas and industries

Cons

Long hours and demanding work schedule
Constant need for adaptation to changing market conditions and competition
Conflict resolution between team members or departments
Responsibility for maintaining company culture and morale
Criticism and scrutiny from stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, employees, and media

Key steps to become a business leader

Explore business leader education requirements

Most common business leader degrees

Bachelor's

68.7 %

Master's

19.2 %

Associate

6.5 %

Start to develop specific business leader skills

Skills	Percentages
Analytics	9.43%
Project Management	8.49%
Customer Service	6.74%
Business Development	6.22%
Lean Six Sigma	4.44%

Complete relevant business leader training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New business leaders learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a business leader based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real business leader resumes.

Gain additional business leader certifications

Business leader certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific business leader certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for business leaders include Six Sigma Green Belt and Project Management Professional (PMP).

More About Certifications

Research business leader duties and responsibilities

Create and manage SharePoint portal site for SFA department.
Lead process and results metric development for all components of Medicaid business system.
Develop project plans, project status reports, manage the team and resolve day-to-day issues with emphasis on SDLC.
Set up a governance document to be share throughout all of department which outline how SharePoint would be manage.

Get business leader experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a business leader. The most common roles before becoming a business leader include project manager, business analyst team lead and manager.

Prepare your business leader resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your business leader resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a business leader resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Business Leader Resume templates

Build a professional Business Leader resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Business Leader resume.

Apply for business leader jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a business leader job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do business leaders rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

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1 Star

Business Leader reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

keeping the company vibrant in the marketplace and returning maximum shareholder value

Cons

have to change my mindset