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How to be a good leader
You don’t have to be a business dynamo to lead well. Today, empathy and trust are among the most important skills you need to successfully lead a business. Find out what good leadership looks like, why it’s important and fine tune your skills.
Why leadership is important
Most people do better with someone firmly at the helm. Without a strong leader employees may work well for a time, but eventually they’ll run out of steam. This hurts both your people and profits.
Improve your leadership skills to:
- bring employees together
- help people understand what’s expected of them
- help them understand where your business is heading
- stay passionate about your vision
- get more done.
Focus on improving these three areas — it’s a win for your business and your people will reap the rewards.
The best leaders can switch between leadership styles.
Get to know your team
Good leaders use different intuitions. They lead based on the situation, their personality and values. Some people need to be led more than others. Different employees respond to different leadership styles, so it’s important to take time to understand your team.
Your leadership style may change daily, weekly or monthly, depending on who you’re dealing with and what you’re trying to achieve.
Discover how well you work trust and fairness into your business, and why it’s important. If you’re experienced or just learning the ropes, find out where you need to focus to boost your business.
At the end of this assessment you’ll get:
- an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses
- practical tips
- links to expert advice.
5-10 minutes
Find out where to focus
Make trust a priority
Why trust is important
Businesses built on trust are generally more profitable. Making trust a key part of your work culture is an essential business strategy.
It can positively affect:
- your operating costs
- employee retention and engagement
- performance outcomes.
Trust is a two-way street — the more you can trust your employees the more they will trust you and how you run your business.
Employees who don’t trust you to make good decisions or behave with integrity will struggle with morale. If people trust you, they’ll generally work harder, be loyal and less likely to move on.
Trust helps give you a competitive edge. People trusting they can experiment and make mistakes leads to a high performing team, where creativity and ideas flow.
And if you trust employees to get on with things to a high standard, it frees your time for other pursuits — whether business or personal.
Look for ways to build trust into your strategy to:
- reduce employee turnover
- build high performing teams
- encourage innovation.
When people trust you to look after them, they'll repay you by looking after your business.
Work trust into your strategy
Some employees trust more easily than others, based on their life-experience or world view. You may have to work harder to build trust with people who are more guarded by nature. Work these three key steps into your leadership approach to see trust levels grow.
Step 1: Respond to your employees’ needs
Take note of what they hold dear and do something about it. It shows your team you value them and not just what they can do for you.
For example:
- If employees are worried about safety, hear their concerns and share any steps you’re taking to improve your safety practices.
- If an employee tells you something in confidence be sure not to repeat it to others.
- If employees like to bike to work or go for runs at lunchtime, think about installing a shower.
Step 2: Communicate your intentions
Share why you’re doing things. Show how your actions benefit employees and the business. Make sure you’re honest and have nothing to hide.
- Give genuine reasons for decisions
- keep your word, or explain why you’ve changed tack
- hold yourself accountable
- tell employees what they can expect and why.
Step 3: Show how you're delivering
Sharing the outcome of your decisions gives employees faith in your ability to lead. Point out when things have gone well and be honest about when they haven’t. Explain what you’re doing about things that haven’t worked quite as planned.
This is particularly useful when leading into the unknown, eg when you’re launching a new product or service. Employees may not trust the business will pull it off. Respect this. Tell people why you think the product or service will work then share incremental results, eg sales figures or customer feedback that support your reasons.
Case study
Building trust in action
Business has been slow for Jed’s lawn mowing firm. The market is crowded with people offering the same service. Jed thinks it’s time to branch out. He gathers together his 10-strong team to share his plans.
Check your practices are fair
Employees are typically more engaged when they can count on you to treat people fairly and make consistently fair decisions. Ask yourself how fair your employees might perceive you to be in your:
1. Business processes
How you allocate resources: How do you decide who works which shifts, who gets to drive the company vehicle, how projects get approved or what employees are paid? In HR this is known as Distributive Justice.
How you apply policies and processes: Do you ask employees what they think before you introduce a new policy or process? Do you apply polices ethically and fairly, eg give everyone the same opportunity to take leave, or give everyone the chance to work from home? This is known as Procedural Justice.
2. How you manage and lead
How you share information: Do you explain your decisions clearly, do you get back to people in good time, are you mindful of who you’re talking to and tailor how you communicate to their needs? This is known as Informational Justice.
How you treat people: Do you treat people with dignity and respect? Do you avoid bias, or do you favour people with the same background and views as your own? This known as Interpersonal Justice.
Being fair looks different in different situations.
Equity, equality and needs
When thinking about what’s fair, consider treating people equitably, equally or based on their individual circumstances. Think about people’s personality and individual needs.
Equity: Sometimes, giving people what they deserve — or being equitable — is the fairest way to go. For example, giving a high-performing member of the team a bigger bonus than regular or low-performing staff may be fairer than giving everyone the same.
Equality: In the case of flexible working or time off, giving everyone the same rights might be the fairest approach. These are terms and conditions of employment and not related to performance.
Needs: Sometimes the fairest decision will be based on people’s needs. For example, it’s fair to give someone time off to grieve a death, or have an operation. But it may be unfair to give someone three months off to go on a world trip, unless you’re prepared to do that for everyone.
Good leadership checklist
The best leaders:
- Create a shared sense of purpose — clearly communicating their vision and taking people along for the journey.
- Treat people fairly — giving credit where it’s due and taking personal responsibility when things go wrong.
- Commit to doing the right thing — accepting they have a moral duty to everyone your business affects, whether customers, employees, their families or the community.
- Create a culture of continual learning — motivating their people in an environment where they can grow and learn.
- Strengthen relationships — communicating clearly and respectfully, taking time to build trust and being consistently fair.