Table of Contents
Why Leadership is Important in Business
If you are a leader, you know that mistakes and challenges are a part of the journey. However, mistakes are also opportunities to build character. Leaders need to admit their mistakes and share them with their teams.
This builds trust and respect. Also, good leaders don’t do things alone. They ask their team members to help them out. This results in a more engaged workforce.
Positive Leadership Style
The upbeat leadership style is one of the best frameworks for leading teams during volatile and uncertain times.
This type of leadership has been credited with reducing confusion, clarifying expectations, and boosting morale. A positive leader is a person who supports, empowers, and cares about his or her team.
Positive leaders use their strengths and values to motivate and inspire their teams. They believe in positive thinking and encourage people to express their opinions. They focus on creating a work environment where people feel safe to express themselves.
They also focus on fostering an environment of psychological empowerment and holding themselves accountable for their actions.
The democratic style emphasizes collaboration but is also challenging for some people. The downside of this style is that it reduces the possibility of favoritism because of the central duties and job security.
However, this type of leadership can lead to a lack of freedom and creativity, which may hinder innovation. It may not be suitable for companies with ambitious goals.
Laissez-faire leadership is most effective when the company is facing a difficult decision. It gives employees a clear direction and can help compensate for a lack of experience in a team. Nevertheless, most organizations cannot sustain this culture without losing employees and lowering morale. Moreover, it decreases the ability of employees to solve problems creatively.
In a world where low employee morale, an upbeat leadership style is critical in motivating employees. Positive leaders inspire people to follow their lead and strive for success. One recent study shows that 80 percent of work accidents result from stress caused by a negative workplace culture. In addition, 70 percent of employees don’t feel appreciated at their current position.
Ability to Set and Achieve Challenging Goals
A person’s ability to set and achieve challenging goals is essential to success in business. Setting goals for oneself helps to increase self-efficacy, and they can help direct attention to worthwhile behavior.
The specificity of a goal makes it easier to gauge whether one is performing well. Moreover, people with challenging goals are more likely to keep at it even when pressure is high and more likely to increase the effort they put into a task.
Setting goals can also deepen employee engagement. While it can help a person become more productive, setting challenging goals should be done with caution. The wrong approach can make the employee lose focus and become discouraged.
It is, therefore, essential to avoid framing goals as competition or contests among employees. Moreover, goal-setting should not be framed to stifle a positive work environment and cause frustration and resentment.
Once you have set goals, it is important to review them regularly. Try to revisit them daily or weekly. This will help you recognize your progress more frequently.
Frequent recognition of your achievement will help you stay motivated to meet your following goals. When setting long-term goals, break them up into smaller, more manageable ones.
Achieving goals is an essential skill for any business owner. Whether a big or small company, the ability to set and achieve challenging goals is essential to business success.
You can act as a role model and guide your employees by setting and reaching challenging goals.
The theory behind setting goals says that the goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, and time-bound. This will increase the chances of meeting expectations and enhancing performance on the job.
While stretching SMART goals is beneficial, it can also cause frustration among high-performing teams. In this case, the goal may be too ambitious, resulting in low morale and productivity.
Besides, setting stretch goals requires rethinking current processes. Moreover, employees can feel frustrated and demotivated if they cannot meet the goal.
Ability to be Agile and Resilient
Resilient organizations can break down organizational silos to focus on significant issues. They also leverage “tiger teams” to develop solutions to problems in a particular domain. When the task is complete, the teams return to their original domains.
A recent example involved a financial institution that needed to sell off significant assets. The finance team formed a “tiger team” that identified the steps to be taken over the next nine to twelve months.
In the digital age, disruptive change has changed the business landscape. In addition to rapidly developing new technology and business models, incumbents are being attacked by asset-light, hyper-agile newcomers with an increased ability to copy and imitate. This requires new leaders with new skills and a hyper-awareness of the fast-paced, changing environment.
Businesses with resilient leaders are more likely to grow, improve customer support, and increase employee retention.
They also strengthen GDP and increase productivity. In addition, these companies invest in their people and create environments where people can be flexible and adaptable. A resilient business environment attracts top talent.
Resilient leaders value their team members and know they are the company’s greatest asset. Developing empathy is a critical skill for building resilience.
It is also important to understand and value the challenges and changes in the workplace and develop a strong sense of purpose to motivate the workforce.
Resilient leaders often exude confidence and optimism. Optimism is an essential ingredient in effective leadership.
Intel co-founder Bob Noyce famously said, “Optimism is the fuel of innovation.” The attitude of optimism helps individuals to accept change and embrace adventure.
This attitude allows resilient leaders to thrive in an uncertain macroeconomic environment. They can play the long game and inspire others to share their vision.
Resilient organizations can rebound quickly after a disruption in the business environment. These organizations are adaptive and resilient, and their leaders view change as an opportunity for growth. They incorporate processes for response, recovery, and contingencies. Resilience involves balancing long-term needs with short-term needs.