If you’re wondering why leadership development is important to businesses, then you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, we explore everything from its definition, the importance of it and how it could help your business.
Why Is Leadership Important?
Before delving into why leadership development is important to businesses, it’s good to identify what leadership management is. A leader focuses on creating value, which they do so by influencing, motivating and empowering others to contribute to the business success. This is compared to managers who control and direct teams in line with values or principles that have been established.
Leadership can result in a number of benefits – for both individuals and the business as a whole. Team members have a point of contact for guidance on how to perform in their roles, and this boosts morale in the process. It can also solve and prevent problems that would otherwise negatively impact productivity.
Good leadership nurtures a creative atmosphere that stimulates innovation. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to promote your business values.
Why Leadership Development Is Important
These benefits lead onto why leadership development is important to businesses. Such training can make the transition process much easier for those evolving from team members to leaders themselves. And for those already leaders, they can polish their skillset.
Businesses also tend to find improved employee engagement. Better leaders are created, who can effectively head up a team and boost productivity. It produces fantastic role models for future leaders too. On top of this, it promotes the improvement of leadership skills and ensures that there won’t be any gaps.
You’ll be able to pinpoint potential leaders, and there will be a positive impact on company culture as well.
Types Of Leadership
Before implementing leadership development, you’ll want to ensure that you pick a programme that has a suitable style as there are numerous types of leadership.
One that doesn’t allow for much creativity is the autocratic approach. Used in the military and sometimes production workplaces, its aggressive nature doesn’t work in most businesses. On the other side of the coin is Laissez-Faire, which is significantly more relaxed. Whilst providing complete freedom for innovation, it falls short in structure. It is more effective for motivation-based roles, such as sales.
Commonplace in larger businesses is transformative leadership. It centres around inspiring leaders with a big vision. There’s transactional leadership, which is outcome-focused. It revolves around rewards for great performance, but penalises poor work, with the leader using verified processes to ensure consistent results.
Effective Leadership Skills
It’s not just leadership style you’ll have to consider; specific skills are required too. A good leader is great at delegating. Trying to do it all isn’t beneficial for the business. Instead, assess the capabilities of each team member so you can assign tasks accordingly.
Another key leadership skill is communication – this shouldn’t just relate to in-person, but across all forms. It’s important to perform active listening, be clear when conversing, and have two-way communication that allows team members to openly discuss issues.
A major part of communication is also the feedback skill. This is a balancing act – micromanaging can be incredibly detrimental, but your team members will thrive when given pointers to boost their performance. The feedback should be constructive, clear, as well as empathetic.
Motivation Leadership Skills
Communication and feedback skills can also be helpful in another important area of leadership: motivation. From deadlines and tasks to general wellbeing and the workplace environment, it can be a challenge to maintain a high level of motivation. However, there are dedicated strategies.
For example, always ensure that employees know what the end goals are. There will be no uncertainty, and by understanding the objectives for their work, they will be more likely to strive to meet them. Looking for the positives in every situation can also motivate employees, boosting productivity in the process. Praising team members is important too. It shows them the correct actions and encourages them to continue their good work.
Whilst knowing the basic effective leadership skills and why leadership development is important to businesses is incredibly valuable, you might not feel confident being a leader. It’s a great idea to undertake a Leadership and Management apprenticeship, which not only teaches you the specific abilities, but takes a practical approach as well.
Here at Bright Direction Training, we offer these apprenticeship qualifications, and they are aligned with ILM qualifications. Modules include fundamental leadership skills like communication, along with other essential ones such as problem-solving.
To discover more about what our qualifications will bring you, or for further information about why leadership development is important to businesses, get in touch with our friendly team today. Call us on 01204 859 859, email us at [email protected], or fill out our contact form here.
