22/02/2011
Overview
What is good business leadership? It’s a very good question, but the answer will depend on whom you ask. What answer works best for you and your business however will depend heavily on your own abilities, strengths and weaknesses. Good business leadership is not really about being a better director, or about telling people their responsibilities and how they put them into practice. Business leadership is the ability to lead and motivate your staff to be effective in their work. Good leadership is also about having experience. It is about your own values, ethics and character. It’s about having credibility - or the ability to inspire loyalty and to keep it. This factsheet looks at what makes a good leader and how you can put these skills into practise.
Do I need better leadership skills?
Just about everyone can improve their leadership skills. Most people dramatically underestimate their leadership abilities. This can be down to not having had to ‘lead’ before, or sceptical of leadership styles they have witnessed in previous jobs - for example, old style top table edicts being handed down with little thought on how they affect staff on the ground. The old adage that leaders are born not made (which is misleading and unhelpful) is depressingly deep rooted. Many leadership skills indeed do not come naturally, and have to be worked at right through a working life. But new behaviour, in time, changes into new habits. So don’t limit yourself. Of course many people who start their own business develop it in their own style in order to get it off the ground. But as a business grows and changes, then new ways of communicating also needs to be learnt.
What exactly is leadership?
Choices and decisions are at the heart of leadership skills. In business that means taking decisions and handling the consequences - good or bad. It means taking the praise (and sharing it) and shouldering the blame (though not sharing blame too liberally – because, as a leader, you are ultimately responsible for your company’s success or failure). Leadership is also about communication skills: how you relay what you want to happen to your business to others, and your ability to listen to others. It’s about knowing where to go next, even when you not sure of the outcome yourself. And it’s about being big enough to admit to these doubts and worries sometimes, too.
Good leadership also encourages leadership in others. When people become motivated to handle problems and responsibilities, action gets taken and responsibility shouldered. In that sense, everyone then becomes his or her own leader. Getting people to believe that are leaders in their own job, however lowly, is a big part of an effective leader’s job.
What good leaders avoid
Being unrealistic - They avoid sounding unrealistic. People have enough pressure on them at work without constantly being told to achieve even more - you don’t need to browbeat your own expectations onto others. Far better, on the other hand, to help people help themselves. Encourage discussion around a work issue. If there is a problem, ask how the member of staff intends to tackle it – they might even surprise themselves with their answer.
Time wasting - Good leaders also avoid wasting time. It sounds obvious, but heading a business is enough of a headache without having to deal with the constant smaller stuff, the pettiness of office politics and the “who is responsible for this, that and the other?” A sure way to avoiding being bound up with the small stuff is to make sure everyone’s responsibilities in your company are very clearly defined. Make sure your job descriptions and any HR policies cover staff absence and holidays, so you’re not caught out.
Communicating only through technology - Good leaders avoid being over reliant on technology. Communications such as email and the internet are terrific tools, but they should be treated as just that – useful kit to have. So try and only use email when you absolutely have to. Encourage people to call you instead, which can be a more effective use of time. And when you do email, try and avoid endless cc’ing of colleagues and associates (this can be highly annoying when you consider the amount of email people get these days). Effective leaders make sure, also, they don’t get trapped. So make time to get out of the office and meet people: suppliers, other companies or professional associations. Talk; compare notes; exchange ideas. Get some distance on where your business is going. Everyone needs some perspective on where their business is going, and how they – not to mention other people – cope with the pressure.
What good leaders encourage - Employing the right people Good leaders encourage the right people to join their company. Leaders don’t want to employ people with the right technical skills but the wrong attitude. Even if someone might not have the right skills on paper, hiring someone with the right attitude and a willingness to learn is often the better bet.
Some company leaders increasingly recognise this, even going as far as writing “people” job descriptions. This approach ties in directly with character and a willingness to learn new things. If you hire people who are unwilling to learn new roles, then you are building inflexibility into your business. In other words, putting the emphasis on other people’s flexibility not only makes your business more flexible, it also puts the stress on someone’s character, not just their skills. Some company leaders even make a point of putting this into practice themselves. When was the last time you did switchboard duty at lunchtime?
Good leaders are also able to give a clear idea to staff on where the company is currently, where it’s going, and how their staff will help it get there. That means not worrying about doing everything well, but concentrating on doing the really important things a leader needs to do well (like communicating effectively and motivating people to have more pride in their work). No leader is good or even competent at everything. That’s why you hire other people: to do the jobs you can’t do.
Recognising good work - Good leaders recognise great work - and they get specific. Broad messages of thanks from management to employees can often have little impact. But when a leader is specific about an excellent piece of work – whether done by an individual or a team – then it can have far more force. Being specific about good work often has the attractive habit of encouraging other good work. People love being praised and will work harder if they feel their good work will be recognised. So next time you recognise excellent work, know exactly who it was that produced it, and let people know it.
While good leaders recognise good work, they also know there is little point in making staff feel bad for poor work. If poor work is being produced, then you need to find out why, and how the person can be helped. Responsible leaders encourage good communication, especially with people who may be having problems with their work. Talking behind that person’s back won’t solve the situation, but talking directly and openly to them may. Do always get their side of the story. It’s a simple sign of fairness.
Day to day leadership - Good leaders make an effort to talk to their staff every day. Even when they walk through a busy main office they know exactly what their staff are there to do, the sort of pressures they are under, and they show they know. Being positive, even at 8.30am on a Monday morning, or at the start of another gruelling month with more targets to hit, is another facet of leadership. Some people mistake being consistently positive as unrealistic or even retreating into self-help gobbledy-gook. But building basic rapport and loyalty depends on the belief that you and your team can succeed. Without it, morale suffers and focus can become hazy. Of course, being positive every day takes energy, especially when you feel far from positive inside. But negativity is even more draining, and has a direct knock-on effect on your staff. Even if you think they don’t notice it, it gets picked up - negativity has a habit of leaking out.
Day to day leadership is about keeping people motivated, not to mention motivating yourself. If you can’t motivate your staff, then you need to learn the leadership skill of motivating them – or give your job to someone who can.
Knowing what’s going on - Effective leaders are often people who have worked their way up through an industry from scratch and are just as comfortable on the shop floor as they are in a boardroom. Many do not like the boardroom culture and would far rather operate closer to the thick of the factory floor. But however you prefer to operate, be approachable. Lower level staff often can tell you a great deal about how your company is doing than, perhaps, even members of your management team. Also, the more open you are with other people, the less risk of misunderstanding there is – and the less you are likely to be bothered by trivial issues. Do remember that good leaders don’t need to get on or like everyone they employ, but spending an hour in the pub regularly with your team will help both sides understand each other. Do make the effort to spend time with people you find difficult to naturally build a rapport with. It could pay off for both sides.
Summary
Good leaders can inspire and motivate. They can get the best out of their employees by encouraging them to try new things and providing constructive feedback and support. Good leaders also make sure they don’t disappear and are around for their staff when they need them. They are flexible and approachable and know what they want to achieve and how they are going to achieve it.