What Makes a Good Leader in a Business?

At the head of every successful business is a leader who stops at nothing to help their business grow, but not everyone is born to be one. Instead, leaders must cultivate a select bank of skills to motivate their employees and lead their business to success. The trick here is knowing which skills all great business leaders have in common, and why these qualities remain so important.

Compassion

An old myth in the business world is that leaders must be ruthless to get to the top. Though there will be some sacrifices that need to be made, leading with compassion may have a more positive impact on your business.

Leading by example may pave the way for a welcoming, supportive workplace, whereas leading without compassion can actually damage a company’s chances of success. In fact, the Mental Health Foundation has found that having a supportive environment and addressing wellbeing can increase productivity by up to 12%.

Communication and cooperation

Before anyone reaches their full leadership potential, they are taught that communication is key within the workplace. These essential communication skills are needed more so when you reach higher levels within a business, as it ensures smooth, efficient cooperation.

Presenting ideas, reaching out to new clients, and writing campaign materials are all important skills that are necessary to have in almost all areas of the business you will be managing. As a result, they will need to be refined to expert levels when you become a leader, using courses from bespoke providers like corporatecoachgroup.com.

Respect

A great leader is someone who commands respect without needing to ask for it, and this is the same within a business. Without it, employees may struggle to have confidence in a leader’s decisions, regardless of the choices they make.

Employees are more likely to give respect when you have confidence in your own abilities, but it also helps to remain humble and honest with those around you. People can become wary of those who offer no respect to others in turn, even if you are higher up in the business than them. The age-old saying ‘treat others as you want to be treated’ certainly applies here.

Vision

One of the most common traits in all leaders is having a vision for the future of the business. It’s not just having this vision, but articulating it effectively to those in the company. Unfortunately, only 35% of leaders in business rate themselves highly on setting a clear vision. This highlights how most leaders need to work on their delivery, not their ideals.

Ultimately, making your vision accessible to everyone in the company will inspire a larger group of people, who may then feel motivated by a shared goal. When delivering this vision, make sure your drive and commitment to the cause truly shines through, and showcase exactly how your vision fits in with the future of the industry. Try out everything from motivational speeches to cementing a company ethos to inspire current employees and attract new ones into the fold.