Leadership in a Business Environment

Leadership is one of those personal skills and qualities that can come to the surface in different ways, and from different types of motivation. There are people who show leadership qualities through the sheer power of their ego; they have an inner belief in themselves as potential leaders, and that is what they always set out to be. That is not to say they are good leaders. Strong egos can tend to minimise the importance of others; and one of the important leadership skills of a great leader is to be sensitive to those he is supposed to lead. Link a strong ego with a good understanding of human nature, a sensitivity to the needs of others, and a humility that can be brought into play at appropriate times, and you may have the elements that could blend to make a good leader.

Those with very strong egos can also be reluctant to listen, and that is what can separate those with real potential for effective leadership from pretenders to leadership. Someone who cannot listen to others, who only likes the sound of their own voice, is unlikely to become a very good leader. They may see themselves as a leader; they may even have some leadership skills and qualities. But they will have limited effectiveness, and they will make mistakes because they do not understand those they are trying to lead. It is that type of "leader" who may have a bombastic leadership style, who, to cover their inadequacies, tries to lead by fear.

Other people, though, may emerge as leaders from quite a humble character. They have belief, they have understanding, and usually they have a cause. They are people at ease with themselves, and at ease with others. They have a capacity to draw respect and, if necessary, action from the people they grow to lead. Those people will respond not out of fear, not out of a "what's in it for me?" attitude, but because they believe in that leader and what they are sure he can do. They are "bottom up" leaders, whose leadership qualities have been fed from the people below them. The "top down" egotist just imposes himself; his leadership qualities emanate from his own self belief. He chooses himself, while the humble leader is chosen

A good leader can focus on what needs to be done, and concentrate on the essentials and the priorities. This is something the egotist may not do, as they cannot listen to others so easily. This is particularly so in business. Every business depends on the people within it. If all the employees are miserable, and do not respect their immediate boss, then that does not make for an efficient business. Low morale and poor communication follow in the shadow of poor leadership.

A good business leader knows his industry, or learns it quickly when new. Good leadership in business entails understanding the way employees may think, react and perform; but it also means knowing his own limitations in time and expertise. He knows when to delegate and how to assess who to delegate to; how to monitor the work he has delegated without interfering; and how to encourage his staff to perform effectively and to encourage their own ambitions.

Leadership qualities, and type of leadership, can vary with the circumstances and the need. An emergency may bring out leadership qualities that are of necessity different from those of a business or business department. The nature of that emergency will itself cause variations in the type of leadership required. For example, military leadership in a war situation requires a different type of leadership to that of the political leader who, in parallel, needs to inspire not just the troops but the people. Winston Churchill was seen as a great British leader during the Second World War, but once the war was over, he was unceremoniously dumped by the British electorate. Circumstances were different, and a different type of leadership was needed.

There can also be times when a particular knowledge and talent will bring somebody to the fore as a leader. For example, if an aircraft had to make an emergency landing on a remote tropical island, the person on board who had been trained in survival techniques might suddenly be thrust to the forefront, even though normally they would not see themselves as having leadership qualities. But when it comes to survival, when the adrenaline is flowing, things change.

For now, though, we will consider leadership in a business environment.

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