The art of leadership in business

By Rasheed Ogunlaru

Leadership has been at the fore of public consciousness in the political arena this year and it is constant key issue for business, says Rasheed Ogunlaru.

At different times in recent years, all three major political parties have had major question marks over their leadership and it’s had a major impact on their fortunes with the public and at the polls. Within your business too, be it large or small, effective leadership is playing a major factor on the productivity and effectiveness of your business.

The stakes and the challenge

Surveys suggest 24% of UK employees are ‘not inspired’ by their boss (Mori / Work Foundation). Evidence from coaches within businesses also suggest that staff often say that they are working at as little as 50% of their potential. Not all of this is down to leadership, but it plays a huge part in ensuring a business is running effectively, keeping existing customers and bringing in new business.

What makes a great leader?

We actually have a rich history of inspiring, effective and respected business leaders in the UK from Richard Branson and Alan Sugar to Anita Roddick. Overall, great leaders have great vision, drive, commitment, passion, purpose, flexibility, charisma, courage and take action. It is a wonderful mix of strategy, strategy and the ability to win over hearts and minds. Depending on the size of your organisation, the role and ‘job title’ of the leader will vary.

It is no surprise that the phrase ‘captain of industry’ has been coined to describe great business leaders, because running an efficient company or team - regardless of size - requires the same vision as that of a captain of a ship (for sole traders / SMEs) or an admiral of a fleet (if you’re an MD or CEO).

But ultimately whether you are a captain of industry or a team leader the task is very similar, insofaras you need to:

have a clear vision and mission…great leaders develop these if they’re not in place
Set a clear course for your business, team or department in line with your mission
run a smooth and efficient ship
lead from the front with integrity
monitor your progress and the terrain in your industry
Stay on course
Act flexibly, confidently and decisively.

In addition, a good leader will:

Gather, inspire, motivate and guide a tight knit-team – people skills are key
know their team and their individual roles and strengths and ensure that they are pulling as one in the same direction
Delegate and create management, reporting, administration and commutation systems to deliver the business objectives
Develop good supply lines /services, partnerships, skills and allies to help support the organisation, teams and its goals.

Building respect and motivation with your team

A great leader is someone who gathers respect and support. This comes from having vision, integrity, being visible, leading from front and motivating, valuing your team…and keeping them on board. Clearly this also means that you must ensure that all your team and officers pull their weight and all pull in the same direction.

Here communication is very important. The larger your organisation the more challenging this becomes. If yours is a large organisation or a growing one you must develop a clear line of communication throughout your ‘fleet’ and you may well over time have several captains within your ships. Communication is one of the most common areas where leaders and organisations fail. Great leaders will develop a clear line of command and ensure that the objectives of every mission are clearly and accurately communicated throughout the entire force. If you run a large organisation ensure that you keep a clear eye on the big picture, and that you gain detailed reports from all sides of your organisation. It is clear that there are no blind spots. This means that you must be on top of personnel, communication and publicity issues as well as sales, finance and productivity.

Tips for sole traders / and SMEs

You are your business. Here it is quite clear that the entire fortune of your business relies on in your ability to motivate and inspire yourself, partners and suppliers and your potential marketplace. Here an effective leader will be visionary, canny, proactive, persuasive, creative, confident, flexible, often a maverick. You must develop great people skills. Many of the most effective of entrepreneurs go on to build very successful organisations. Some of Britain’s most famous business people fall into this role.
If your business is growing or is SME then strategic planning is key to effective leadership and growth. By viewing task as you would a ‘military campaign’ will help you to realise the importance of employing the right staff, working alongside the right partners who share your values and getting the most apt systems and equipment on board that will serve. You should adopt a short, medium and long term goals to this.

Tips for managers within organisations

You may well need to manage upwards as well as downwards. Ensuring that you are kept informed by the lines of command above, managers laterally and the staff below is vital. You must maintain a clear picture of where your team sits within the overall organisation. It is also key that you ensure ALL your staff are know the big picture of what the business and department is about and where it is going – and their specific role in it. Wars are won by soldiers knowing the overall goal as well as their role. Only keep back the information that is essential to withhold. It is this clarity of purpose and openness that inspires. Good managers will always keep their staff informed.
Communication is the breath of a team. Dissent and the rumour mill will build when this fails. Interestingly managers who are most respected have a good rapport with their team, are visible and openly give praise and encouragement. The clearer the team knows its goals and the more positive the messages they receive on their performance, the greater their support will be toward you, the team overall and the organisation. Their performance will also rise.

Tips budding admirals of the fleet

Some leaders within business, especially those who have worked their way up through the business and know it inside-out, will need less advice than others.

However, it’s worth noting that many people will be appointed and promoted from outside the organisation – or from specific parts of the organisation requiring differing skills. At the top of the tree ‘creativity’, vision, strategic vision and the ability to command respect and inspire those below once again come to the fore. It’s vital that you have the right team (of managers) with the mix of skills required to deliver. It is important that you keep your eye on the big picture (with your business and the wider market and economy) but also have your hand firmly on the pulse of the organisation and keep one eye on how both your ‘captains and ships’ are doing.

Sometimes you will be rather like a doctor - paying special attention to the heart and the head of your business. In many ways you will seek to be the head and heart– being able to get all the key information that you need without needing to be everywhere else in the body of your business.

Leaders will direct sensibly with the head and drive passionately from the heart. Information about performance of the company and any problems should then reach the head early enough for you to intervene when necessary. Similarly watch out for the irregularities and major dips which may require more serious action across the heart of your business.

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