Business owners place a huge amount of trust in their leadership team. Ensuring that team has the skills needed and work cohesively together to deliver the objectives of the business is key to driving operational success and leading successful teams.
Utilising leadership effectively within a business means that issues are dealt with early on, and working cohesively as a leadership team will ensure that a business’ more strategic objectives are achieved.
But what makes a good leader, and how does good leadership impact your business? In this article we demonstrate how strategic leadership can drive success.
What makes a good leader?
Leadership that inspires, encourages collaboration and provides clear direction in a way that resonates on an individual basis will certainly set a business up for success.
A strong leadership team creates a stable foundation on which to build and lead an organisation. Having a shared vision, effective problem solving, complementary strengths and a diverse mix of skill sets will ensure that your business has the best opportunity for success.
High levels of emotional intelligence and a flexible approach to communicating will ensure that leaders build strong relationships and maximise results when it comes to engaging and motivating their teams, which in turn will drive productivity.
A good leader listens to colleagues and takes the time to understand their values, strengths and what works for them. They can then manage in a flexible way that works for different members of their team in order to get the best out of everyone. Successful leadership teams will ideally include a group of people all possessing this skill.
How strategic leadership can drive your business
Beyond managing employees on a day-to-day basis, leadership teams should be involved in the wider business strategy, creating objectives for their teams that contribute to the bigger picture and drive the company’s success.
A successful leadership team can:
- Oversee the day-to-day ensuring the business runs smoothly and efficiently
- Motivate and lead their teams
- Support business owner decision making by providing valuable insight into their individual areas
- Spot and develop talent
- Maintain relationships internally and externally
- Encourage a culture of continuous improvement
- Ease the burden on a business owner
- Implement strategy by breaking down the vision into actionable and achievable goals before allocating these effectively across the business
That last point is integral – leaders need to ensure business objectives are translated in an actionable way to their teams. The personal objectives that are then put in place to help achieve these wider goals should make more sense to employees. This means that everyone has a clear understanding of what’s expected of them, why it is and how their performance will be measured.
How HR can H.E.L.P
Providing your leaders with access to HR expertise in order to empower them in leading their teams and managing their people is a safe way of not only ensuring that the correct process is followed, but also to ensure they get access to the best support possible to do what they do best which is lead.
Progeny HR Consultancy & Advice have developed a new leadership program to HELP business owners to prepare for these changes, our Helping Empower Leaders Program is suitable for businesses of all shapes and sizes and will equip leaders to navigate the changing landscape of employing people.
Our Essentials program can be delivered in 90-minute blocks, either in-house bespoke to your team, or why not join our remote cohort and join other leaders from a variety of sectors to share knowledge, skills and experience as well as gain exposure to the wider business world.
We will explore the following areas:
- Positive line management
- Procedure training
- Dispute resolution
- Legislative training
Our Plus program takes this a step further by using DiSC, a behavioural assessment tool that helps groups and individuals understand their own styles and preferences to improve communication and collaboration.
Using DiSC profiling to underpin all people processes, maximising successful interactions in the workplace and enhancing understanding of people in general. In completing individual and team DiSC profiles we will support leaders to better understand each other and their strengths and limitations as a group to better make decisions and drive business forwards in a positive and impactful way.
The Plus Program includes the above modules as well as:
- DiSC – understanding ourselves and others
- Using DiSC to support effective leadership
- Using DiSC to support strategy & culture
If you want to discuss your business with our team of HR professionals, whether it’s to develop your leadership teams or review your policies in preparation for change, we are here to help you. Contact our team today.
This article is distributed for educational purposes only and should not be considered advice. We recommend that you seek professional advice.
This article is based on current UK legislation, that is subject to change at any time.
