4 Habits That Will Make You An Effective Business Leader

Effective leadership is the major factor that makes everything work together seamlessly in a business; without good leadership, all other business resources are ineffective. Switched-on business leaders are aware of the concerns of their employees, and are on top of new developments in leadership theory and practice to create more effective working environments. A good leader inspires productivity, good working relations in his team as well as and growth of the business.

Some leaders are more comfortable dictating to their employees, while other prefer a more collaborative approach. It’s always a good idea to tap into the creativity of your staff: if they have a great idea that may increase the revenue of the company, why not take advantage of that? On the other hand, facilitative leaders delegate most tasks to their subordinates, and will spend time giving their employees the tools necessary to excel in their positions. Below are four traits that will help you to become an effective leader.

1. Be Honest

Whatever ethical plane you hold yourself to, when you are responsible for a team of people, it’s important to raise the bar even higher. Your business and its employees are a reflection of yourself, and if you make honest and ethical behavior a key value, your team will follow suit.

Have a list of values and core beliefs that both you and your brand represent, and post this in your office. Promote a healthy interoffice lifestyle, and encourage your team to live up to these standards. By emphasizing these standards, and displaying them yourself, you will hopefully influence the office environment into a friendly and helpful workspace.

2. Ask questions

When things go downhill, you need to figure out what’s wrong, fast. This is like conducting an autopsy before you’re dead. For every strategy, as you try to make it work, you have to have feedback not only about sales but about customer and competitor reactions. What specifically is causing the problem? To find out, talk to customers and partners, go to conferences and do market research.

This step will result to the difference between life and death of your company. Most entrepreneurs give up too soon without taking that step. If you spent more time on cause-and-effect analysis, you might discover ways to revamp your approach.

3. Communicate quickly and effectively.

Respond to emails, phone calls and other requests immediately. The amount of time you take to respond could make the difference between gaining and losing a sale. Furthermore, when you respond quickly to clients, customers and employees, you develop a reputation for reliability. In your workplace, timely and effective communication will create a culture of focused efficiency.

4. Work On Yourself

If you want to be productive, start by taking care of yourself. Raising your standards as a leader will require you to engage in an ongoing process of making yourself better. Receive at least seven hours of sleep to ensure that you’ll wake up refreshed and ready for the day ahead. Don’t forget to make exercise part of your weekly routine. You’ll feel more energetic, focused and be better equipped to manage stress.

Make time to play and have fun. Striking a balance between work and life isn’t as hard as you might think. You just need to identify and integrate into your weekly mix a few activities that really matter to you. Play brings satisfaction and joy to the heart. And when you feel more satisfied and happy, you’re kinder to yourself and to others at work.