Leadership is an art form. There is no right or wrong way to lead, but what all great leaders seem to have in common is the ability to influence people. If you are blessed with the skill to inspire a team, then you have a distinct advantage. However, there is another attribute that is just as powerful – honesty. Honesty rings out like a bell and is instinctively recognised and valued by your team.
The qualities of leadership
Leading is fluid; it requires a mix of constancy and agility, along with times of needing to be reactive and proactive.
Leaders are driven by what’s in their heart and what their guts (instinct) are telling them. Their business is an extension of their soul and they are constantly looking to mould it into something better, while taking into account all the diverse elements of the eco-system called a business.
Leadership is challenging but the reward, for those who become good leaders, is not just business success, but also an immense personal satisfaction.
At a minimum, business owners should:
Identify those on the team who have leadership potential and provide them with the opportunities and training to hone these skills.
Evaluate your own leadership style. Is it the old “Command and control” style or do you lead with authenticity and transparency?
What you should be doing:
- Feed your curiosity – true business leaders are always wanting to learn, to improve, to move the business to the next level.
- Be fair, enthusiastic and understand the value of honest, frequency communication.
- Be flexible in how you motivate understanding that individual team members will have different triggers which light their enthusiasm.
- Leaders inspire people. They go first, they need courage to take the risk and the resilience to find a way through if things do not pan out as expected.
What not to do:
Bullying is not leadership. “My way or the highway” is not leadership.
