Reasons your business needs better leaders

Today’s business environment is a highly competitive place. As business owners we are faced with a crowded, at times saturated, marketplace. Businesses within the same field are all battling for the attention of the same target consumer base.

The challenge then is ensuring that your business is the one that stands out in the crowd, and of course there are a number of different approaches that you can take in order to make this happen. Ensuring that your business has better leaders is just one of these approaches I’ve been delving into recently and I wanted to share just a few of the benefits.

Increase productivity levels

It can often be a difficult challenge to maintain high levels of productivity, particularly when you are looking for high-quality productivity. Keeping all of your team members at their optimum efficiency levels at all times is often simply not possible. Nevertheless, looking at ways in which you can significantly boost productivity is always worthwhile. It is possible for most of us to make alterations to a process or invest in new technology to improve productivity. These are, however, changes that will only have a small or short-term impact. In contrast, when you invest in better leaders, they will understand how to initiate changes that will have a greater more sustained impact on productivity. That might be by assembling a diverse and capable team with complementary skills who are better equipped to tackle complex challenges. Or it might be by radically re-thinking a process instead of tweaking an existing process.

Improve team morale

When it comes to the success of your company, both the overall well-being of your team and the atmosphere that exists in your workplace can play a critical role. Good leaders empower their teams by delegating responsibilities and giving team members the autonomy to make decisions within their areas of expertise. They also have a significant impact on team morale because they need to be able to provide feedback, praise and direction to the members of their team. Even when it is difficult to identify positive aspects of a particular team member a good leader could focus, for instance, on the benefits to the individual of training to improve skill sets. Of course, those benefits will extend to the company when morale and skill sets are improved but it is the way a good leader approaches training and development that matters, so that it is seen to benefit the individual in their career rather than being a chore. All too often, this people-centred aspect of being a team leader is missing and is a sign you need to improve leadership skills within the workplace. Team members who are unhappy will usually actively look for a job elsewhere or, worse, do an inferior job within your company. By spending time and effort on developing better leaders within any workplace environment you can avoid these situations.

Improve staff retention

Good staff retention is essential for any business. Holding on to the best talent that you have in any team is vital for success. If you want to make sure that your business stands out from other businesses, particularly those within the same field, then you need to both attract and retain great employees. It is a simple fact that people who feel valued by a company are more likely to stay. One way to show that you value your employees is by investing in training and development for them. It shows that you are also prepared to invest financially in their future and offers them better potential for career progression. Of course, there is a risk that better trained people will be able to get a better job elsewhere but if they can see how much you value them and they are working with other motivated people and good leaders they are much more likely to stay. Investing in professional development of employees not only improves their skills but also enhances their engagement and loyalty.

Faster growth

A positive workplace culture that values employees, improves employee morale and delivers higher productivity will naturally lead to better business performance. But good leaders do more than just improve business performance. They play a crucial role in rapidly accelerating business growth by providing a clear vision for the future and then making strategic decisions that help the company achieve that vision. They do this in a number of ways.

Good leaders aim to more fully understand customer needs so the business can deliver better value to customers and foster genuine customer loyalty. They also proactively identify new opportunities and encourage a culture of innovation among their team. They are highly adaptable to external changes in the business landscape and by being open to change can deliver a competitive advantage. These are some of the essential leadership skills that differentiate the best leaders from the pack.

The bottom line

Last but not least, when you develop better leaders who create the right environment to accelerate business growth you will naturally improve your bottom line. Good leaders result in greater productivity and higher team morale so it follows that this provides the opportunity to make more profit. We all know these aren’t the only factors contributing to a good profit but they do help.