More than 627,000 new companies open their doors each year across the United States according to a report from the Small Business Administration. Based on further information from the SBA, 30 percent of small businesses fail within their first two years.
Approximately two-thirds of those companies never make it past the ten-year mark. While businesses go under for a wide range of reasons, many fall flat because of poor leadership. In contrast, having capable, effective leaders can benefit companies and their employees on a number of levels.
Fostering Business Goals
In far too many cases, employees thrust into leadership roles are more concerned with how the position will benefit them than how they can bolster the company. Truly effective leaders see matters from the opposite perspective.
They’re driven to focus on the business’ overall goals and keep those in mind with every move they make. In turn, they’re able to align their actions as well as those of other team members with the company’s short and long-term objectives.
Though some leaders enter their roles with this mindset, others require a certain level of assistance to be able to see the situation from this angle. This is one area in which leadership training comes into play.
While you can find more details at jmreidgroup.com, one of the primary advantages of training programs is having customized guidance at your disposal based on the needs of the company and the weaknesses of the leader in question.
Creating a Positive Work Environment
Team members usually need a certain amount of encouragement and motivation to perform at top capacity. Capable leaders are able to provide the support and inspiration it takes to inspire employees to put their best efforts into each project.
They’re also able to embrace the increasing diversity in today’s workplaces. From there, they promote the positive aspects of such diversification and use it the the company’s advantage instead of allowing it to work against the business. This helps create a positive work environment for everyone involved.
Understanding Risk and Responsibility
Many of the business world’s best leaders know how to push the envelope to get things done without generating extreme risks for the company. This means considering the company’s goals and weighing them against the pros and cons of the decisions they make.
Obviously, there’s a line between acceptable risks with worthwhile rewards and reckless behavior. Great leaders know where the line is, but those unprepared for the leadership role tend to get their priorities mixed up. It seems those in the latter category can easily be the downfall of almost any company.
Improved Communication
Communication could be considered the most valuable asset of any business. Effective communication skills help ensure each team member fully understands his or her role in a project as well as the company as a whole. It also improves morale, teamwork and efficiency.
From another angle, strong lines of communication help build trust among members of management and lower-level employees. This certainly filters through to clients and companies along the supply chain. Of course, lack of communication generally has the opposite effect.
Bottom Line
These four significant factors come together to benefit employees from several angles. By extension, they grant numerous advantages to the businesses whose leaders understand their importance.
Improved productivity, lower employee turnover rate and better alignment with company goals are only a few of the positive elements to come from having leaders who focus on these points.
