Leadership today – the vital cog for business success

Did you know? Within three years of starting up, around 60% of new businesses fail. That alarming statistic comes from a 2021 Fundsquire survey. These failures have numerous causes – insufficient capital, understanding the marketplace, lack of innovation, not to mention plain old bad luck.

However, there’s one factor that’s responsible for 23% of business collapses – and it has nothing to do with fortune – it’s simply the failure to build a winning team of top talent. And yet – winning teams don’t just happen on their own. What comes first is leadership. Let’s look first at teams.

Why teams matter

Behind every business success lies a great team. Whether you’re a start-up or a global corporate, the same applies. You may be the most innovative of entrepreneurs, but you’ll never succeed in scaling your business if you don’t put in place the right team.

Not just any team – but a team that’s strong and effective – that functions cohesively towards a common, shared, understood set of goals and which respects the hierarchical structure of your organisation.

Your team’s role is to enable your organisation to flourish in a way that no single individual could ever do alone. The business team you pull together needs to contain complementary skill sets. These need to be skills that the CEO or the team leaders have neither the time nor the ability to carry out themselves.

But, of course, in order to succeed, what your team needs most of all is leadership.

What should you look for in your team leaders?

When it comes to creating high-performing leaders, there’s no magic talent tree. Successful leaders have a strong sense of values, goals, and a robust code of ethics. Without this approach to leadership, your people are nothing more than co-workers. So – what makes great leaders?

1. The ability to set expectations

Expectations are to do with much more than sales goals or a five-year plan. They’re concerned much more with the team environment and company ethos you want to generate. A successful leader will play a vital role in communicating such values from the very start.

2. Respect for the individual

Teams are not made up of identikit automatons. Yes – you need your employees to be part of a team, but their true value will lie in their individuality – real people with real stories of their own. A robust team environment flourishes when individuals are cherished and respected for their unique gifts and their ability to contribute toward your common goal. Your leaders need to be able to recognise and foster this approach.

3. Enable connections within your team

Whereas respect for individuality is vital, your leaders also need to encourage within their teams a culture of mutual care and respect. They must encourage team members to see their colleagues as business partners – striving towards shared and individual goals.

4. Practise emotional intelligence

Successful leaders value emotional intelligence. Their leadership style should include treating individual team members as real people. They need to appreciate the different factors that motivate each member of the team. Do some thrive on the pursuit of shared goals? Or do they prefer healthy competition, maybe with an outside competitor or against another sales team in the same office?

5. Positive motivation styles

Carrot or stick? The days of motivating teams through fear and criticism are long gone. We all recognise the benefits of shaping behaviour through positive reinforcement. Your team leaders need to foster a positive team environment by celebrating successful behaviours and results. Positive reinforcement is way more motivational than shaming those who screwed up.

6. Making team members feel valued

In every walk of life – work and personal – we all need, and deserve, to know where we stand. Is the standard of my work satisfactory? Are my colleagues happy with the work I’m doing? Do I need to improve on anything? Am I of value to the organisation? Am I contributing towards the goals of the organisation? If we sense that we’re falling short, but no one’s saying anything, stress and resentment can start to build up.

7. Giving effective feedback

Your leaders need to be adept at constantly communicating feedback – not overdoing it with repetitive, empty praise. Making team members feel valued is achieved by subtle forms of communication. A mixture of regular, structured feedback, combined with everyday courtesies, expressions of gratitude, and thoughtful, considered conversations.

8. Recognising the value of wellbeing

Successful workplaces are the ones that take wellbeing seriously. The mental and physical health of your employees is essential to engagement and productivity. Your leaders should be willing and enthusiastic about buying into your wellbeing strategy.

9. Leadership and trust

This isn’t easy – but if you can find and nurture leaders you can entrust with ‘big’ decisions, the rewards for your organisation will be considerable. You need to hire someone you can empower to make decisions on your behalf.

Specialist HR advice

In times of challenge and change, leadership matters more than ever. At Gravitas HR, we have the experience and know-how to help you to find and foster the leadership talent your business needs.

For straight-talking HR advice – 01604 763494

Or email – info@GravitasHR.co.uk