Business Management Essentials: Strong Leadership

Small businesses need both leaders and managers to create a positive and productive business culture. A good leader is the reason everything within a business works together, with effective leaders creating company success through strategic direction and motivation.

Marino Robert Sussich is an international business advisor that understands the importance of leadership in the running of a successful business. Find out more about its significance, how it differs from management and how to be a good leader. 

Importance of good leadership

Strong leadership allows you to bring out the best in your team and enhance their performance. Leadership helps to inspire, motivate and guide employees to achieve individual, business-related goals. This creates essential focus, engagement, motivation and performance improvement. 

Management vs. leadership

Management and leadership can often be confused. While managers focus on organisation, time management and delegation, leaders inspire teams and encourage employees to achieve business goals. 

Managers and leaders complement each other, and are both necessary within a company to ensure tasks are completed and completed well. Some managers are also able to lead, and some leaders to manage, but not all will have the qualities required to fulfil both roles. 

What makes a good leader?

Here are 9 qualities that make a good leader:

1. Leading by example

A good leader possesses authenticity in their approach, which means you should do as you say and lead by example to be a good role model for your team. As you promote action, you should also be taking action. You should be aware that you are being observed by the team and maintain a positive attitude that will be infectious. 

A good leader has integrity. Indeed explains integrity in leadership as displaying strong moral principles and standing by them.

2. Taking responsibility for your actions

To gain credibility among your team it is important to hold yourself accountable for your actions and take responsibility even when things do not go to plan. This will raise honesty, transparency and trust across the entire team and ensure problems are admitted and corrected in time to meet deadlines. 

3. Communication

To avoid misunderstandings or errors, clear communication is extremely important from a leader. This skill means task details and deadlines are understood, and avoids back and forth feedback with multiple attempts to get things right, saving precious time and ensuring things are done well the first time. 

Clear communication means team goals are understood, and ensures everyone is on the same page. 

4. Humility

A humble leader is important for a team to feel like their needs are valued and their skills are recognised. You should not take credit for the work of your team or be selfish, but you should ensure the team’s achievements are seen by others and understand that the recognition of the team also contributes to your success as a leader without taking credit. 

Your team’s needs should be placed before your own. You should think of team members more and think of yourself less, as your role revolves around caring for and encouraging others. 

5. Empowerment 

Empowering your team is crucial to foster business growth and enthusiasm in their work. Empowerment might involve offering set guidelines that your team can work within and allowing them to be creative and autonomous within those guidelines. 

Team members should have an opportunity to make decisions and be conscientious without explicitly being told what to do, fostering new ideas and better work. 

6. Self-awareness

A strong understanding of your own areas of skill or areas in which you are lacking skill is necessary as a leader. You should also be aware of the way you are acting and how your verbal or physical communication may be perceived by others. 

7. Decisiveness

Often, as a leader, you will be presented with questions and choices by team members and the wider business. You should have trust in your decision-making abilities, and be able to weigh options to choose the better course of action with confidence. 

8. Fairness

As a good leader you should be able to create equal opportunities for your team members and fairly recognise achievements without bias or favouritism. Personal relationships should not come between any choices or actions within the work environment, and credit should be given where credit is due. 

9. Creativity

New and innovative ways to encourage employees and promote a strong workplace culture are necessary in a workplace, and it is leaders that come up with these. Team members will be more likely to listen to you and enjoy your approaches if they are original. 

Business Success with Marino Robert Sussich 

As one of the most advanced business advisors, Marino Sussich has your international business advisory needs sorted. Contact Marino Robert Sussich today to start reaching business goals and gain success.