Strong leadership within an organisation gives the foundation for teams to thrive and improve their performance. The principle of strong leadership is one of the four pillars that support the Effective Workplace. By sharing beliefs and values, strong leaders influence their people and resources to create an optimum workplace environment. When leaders understand their own strengths and weaknesses they can identify the complementary skills they need within their teams to work most effectively. Organisations must develop a resilient culture and focus on their people to enable them to feel both energised and inspired by a clearly defined and effectively communicated vision. There is a spectrum of different leadership styles. Some styles form naturally while others derive from experience or formal development. With the right environment and support, it’s possible to create and develop strong leaders. Leadership is a skill, but many leaders share similar traits which can be identified in your employees. Strong leaders:

• Engage with their teams and encourage increased productivity
• Look to collaborate, use the strengths of the whole team and invest in their own people
• Excel at motivating and inspiring others
• Are able to step outside of their comfort zone and add value to a situation
• Nurture resilience in themselves and their staff through their ability to bounce back from situations
• Are trusted for both their integrity and vision
• Aim for clear targets and achievable goals

How do we nurture strong leadership?

Most importantly when looking to grow a business and enable it to achieve its potential, it is vital to have a strong leadership team. Identifying employees with leadership potential and helping them to develop their skills and behaviours will reap rewards both for them and your organisation. Above all, you can only cultivate good leaders, by building a culture of leadership throughout your organisation. Strong leaders have a deep understanding of the core business of their organisation, along with experience of leadership and management. Natural personality helps, but boosting skills is crucial to success. Start with the right mindset – see who your employee can become with the right support and training. By knowing the path they want to take, you can provide opportunities for them to take on additional responsibilities. Delegating challenging assignments and projects and allowing them autonomy to problem solve, shows a level of trust, vital for their engagement. Create a coaching and mentorship culture to nurture strong leadership. Leaders at all points of their leadership journey benefit from the experience of other leaders, both inside and out of your organisation. It’s often the case that external influences offer the insight and inspiration your leaders need to achieve their own goals. Training in areas of development fills knowledge gaps and specific skills and leadership competencies.

How can Holst help you develop strong leaders?

The McQuaig Psychometric System and The Holst Series Professional Development provide a comprehensive strategy to develop strong leaders. The McQuaig 360 Leadership Review is a great way to find out what peers and your team think together with the areas they feel you could improve on. It gives leaders and their teams an opportunity to constructively address any leadership skills gaps. Leaders gain real insights into what they can do differently to enhance heir performance and ultimately that of their team. Every leader needs to communicate. Not just speak, but to also listen and know how to respond authentically. Equip your current and future leaders with a toolkit of leadership skills that will bring growth to your organisation for years to come. The Holst Leader Series includes workshops in the areas of Business Communication, Finance, Thinking & Creativity, Facilitation and Team & Self Development.  ]]>