Leadership is integral to success in the marketplace, but it’s not a quality you can just dial up and order. The stereotype of an authoritarian boss in a suit dealing out fear and harsh discipline no longer applies. Leaders today come in all shapes and sizes, but research indicates they have a few things in common when it comes to motivating and empowering staff, generating enthusiasm and fostering confidence in those around them.

Here are Steps Towards Inspiring Business Leadership and 5 ways leaders can demonstrate effectiveness and command loyalty every day.

1. Earn Their Trust
Trust leads to an atmosphere where employees feel more motivated and loyal. Ways of building trust include showing that you care about the people in your office by displaying an interest in their lives. Convey to them that their career success is important, and discuss their progress and aspirations. If they make a mistake, refrain from dealing with them angrily. Instead, explain calmly what wasn’t correct and what the appropriate action should have been. When people believe you will support them, they will give you their loyalty.

2. Walk the Talk
When your conduct is ethical and you display the characteristics you hope to see in others, your employees will respect you. Leaders who say one thing and do another are not perceived as embodying positive values, and this rings false with colleagues and customers.

3. Find Authentic Strengths
Be who you are: trying to pretend to be something you are not is usually pointless, as most people can see straight through an adopted persona anyway, no matter how hard you work on it. The consequences of being inauthentic can be serious. If people question your identity, they will probably question other things as well, such as whether to engage with you at all. Work with the strengths in your personality, such as your humour, compassion or intelligence, and use these to develop your own personal style of leadership.

4. Retain an Open Mind
Keep on asking lots of questions – inspiring leaders are always open to new concepts and ideas. Be committed to the process of continual learning and gathering new information, as an innovative spark can appear anywhere and from anyone. Great leaders are always interested in the activity and the people around them and constantly inform and update their vision with fresh input.

5. Embrace Your Challenges
Be a fearless leader who does not hesitate to face all situations and handle them openly and with integrity. Whether guiding the business during difficult times or handling an employee who is struggling, transparent and decisive action will instil confidence. If you communicate with your staff and regularly inform them of what is going on, they are less likely to be anxious, which could affect productivity. The gossip that they can come up with on their own around the coffee machine is probably ten times more alarming than the reality anyway. Employees take their cues from their leaders, and if they see you dealing with crises calmly and competently, then they will too.

Allsquare are professional accountants in Edinburgh offering financial and business services to help small to medium companies with business growth strategies. For more information, call Allsquare today on 0131 343 1510.