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How to
Leadership has many different
definitions; from being in the winning
position of a race, to leading a group
of people in the pursuit of a particular
goal, or garnering followers for a specific
cause. For small or medium sized
businesses effective leadership can
simply be about behaving in a way that
ensures you attain your goals while
taking everyone who matters with you.
Setting goals is nothing new. It’s a
natural process for many of us in
business, however setting those goals in
a way that articulates what our business
is, how we operate, what our priorities
are, or simply who we are there to serve
may not come so easily.
In general terms there are three main
functions of leadership; setting a clear
direction for the business, identifying the
goals to navigate by while ensuring they
are achieved effectively to stay on course
and, ensuring that all those who need to
be on board are committed, motivated
and clear about the part they play.
We are operating in times when change
is the only given certainty. Success is
dependent on our ability to steer through
often turbulent times towards our goals.
Without clear goals our teams can feel
lost. Maybe they don’t understand what
they are trying to achieve or where
they fit with the bigger picture for the
business, or perhaps they know where
they’re going but struggle to comprehend
their particular mode of transport or an
exact route.
Whatever the issue, the important task
for you as the leader is to get a good
understanding of how you might help to
steer the right course. It’s not a ‘one size
fits all’ solution, more it’s an approach
that needs to be adapted using the main
functions of leadership in a way that is
interchangeable so that your leadership
behaviour is effective and gets the best
out of your team as a whole, as well as
the individuals within it. Here’s how you
might begin;
Setting a clear direction
Explore the environment in which your
business operates. Keep on top of
things. Understand the context, trends,
changes, opportunities or threats.
What’s going on ‘out there’?
Play to your strengths and the strengths
of your people. Be clear about
everybody’s contribution and understand
how they operate as a collective – or
how you want them to in the future if
there is work to be done on that.
Find different ways to articulate how
you want things to be in the future. For
some people this is about creating a
picture; a visual of how things could
be. For other’s it could be telling a story
of a future that inspires, excites and
motivates.
Encourage thinking. Thinking is how
we make sense of the world, how we
interpret events and how we make plans
for the future. By actively encouraging
other’s to share their thinking it is more
likely that you’ll create opportunities to
innovate.
Facilitate learning. Always be mindful
that you can learn from others as much
as they can learn from you - you have to
be open to it.
Get clear on the task ahead
Plan your goals. This doesn’t have to
be a boring laborious task. Make it fun.
Be creative and involve your team. Use
pictures or tools such as Goal Mapping
(goalmappingonline.com) to set clear,
highly visible goals that everyone can
take ownership of.
Foster relationships that will help
maintain direction
Recognition for achievements and
contributions; it’s about recognising the
difference people make, the part that
they play and how what they do fits with
the whole. Not only is it important for
that to be recognised by their manager,
leader, peers or even in some cases
their customers, it is essential that they
themselves know what their value is.
Structure your organisational culture to
fit with your direction; the best way to
do this is to ensure the organisation’s
values, purpose, and goals are
transparent both within and outside the
organisation and that the organisational
mindset establishe B&Vf