Strong leadership is essential for the success of a business. The best leaders can meet team goals effectively while acknowledging the needs of individuals and achieve objectives that keep businesses profitable. The way leaders communicate with their team has a direct impact on the company’s success because it plays a critical role in the motivation and performance of a team. Effective leadership also has a major impact on employee retention, engagement, and morale – and great leaders should always want to improve their skills and remain open to change. All of this increases the chances of success for leaders and business executives. So, what skills do leaders need to get the best results? Below, we outline the essential skills for leaders in executive roles.

Strategic-thinking

Strategic thinking is a long-term thought process that helps achieve success for a company and a team. This means having the ability to anticipate problems and plan for the future to ensure growth and success. Strategic thinking is a key skill for leaders as it allows them to work and navigate through unknown situations and make decisions that help their employees grow. When a leader becomes a strategist, they’re able to look at problems and business objectives from a different perspective and then determine the best solution. This can increase business results and improve the organisation as a whole.

Anticipation

A strong leader must anticipate change coming and act to position his organisation to thrive in a new environment. They detect ambiguous threats and opportunities on the periphery of their business, constantly vigilant, honing their ability to anticipate the signals of change. They regularly talk to their customers, suppliers, other partners, and network of peers to understand their challenges and the dynamic changes within the market. Utilising market research and business simulations, to gauge likely competitor reactions to new initiatives or products, and predict potential disruptive offerings.

Conflict management

One of the key skills for leaders in conflict management, which is the ability to handle and identify conflicts efficiently. Conflicts in the workplace can cause disruption and cause delays in the achievement of business goals. To ensure teams are running smoothly and to achieve the best results, leaders must know how to spot conflicts and be proactive when resolving them. This means leaders need to have excellent communication skills and self-awareness to ensure problems aren’t escalated. Great leaders are self-assured and able to effectively diffuse conflict while still maintaining the respect of their team. The ability to conflict management is key for overcoming obstacles to help reach business and team goals.

Team development

Winning teams are tough to find—and even tougher to build. Part of being a great leader is being a great team player. Whether that’s meeting team goals or growing a business, leaders need to harness the skill of team development. This means contextualising the team contribution, clearly outlining expectations, and inspiring individuals. Leaders have a responsibility for developing their employees and one of the best ways they can do this is by helping team members fulfil their full potential. For example, asking team members for their input on professional development plans and listening to what employees really want from their roles, is a crucial part of building confidence and motivation in people. Team development means providing guidance and genuine support, which can improve productivity and performance throughout the company. For a team to be successful, however, leaders need to hire well, and partnering with an executive search firm can enable high-tech companies to build world-class teams through knowledge-led recruitment. As Steve Jobs said, “Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people”. Building a world-class team will always remain key for achieving outstanding results.

Challenge 

Strategic leaders challenge the status quo. They entice improvements by challenging their own and others’ assumptions and encourage divergent points of view. In doing so, they experiment and take risks. Since complex change can threaten to overwhelm and stifle actions, strong leaders set interim goals so small wins can be achieved as they work toward larger objectives. By focusing on the root causes of a problem rather than the symptoms they can encourage debate and open dialogue where conflict is expected and welcomed.

Innovation

Innovation skills are a combination of creative and critical thinking, as well as problem-solving. It’s the process of generating ideas and solutions with new approaches and procedures. As a result, it’s an essential leadership skill. Innovation grows businesses and helps them become more successful and the best leaders are able to be innovative and communicate their ideas effectively. The ultimate goal of any business is to increase revenue and innovation plays a crucial role in improving a brand, staying ahead of the competition, and attracting the best talent. To remain competitive in a challenging market and continue to achieve results, business leaders must use innovation as a way to sustain growth and evolve over time.

Are you looking to recruit senior executives?

Redline Executive is a specialist recruitment partner for the high technology and electronics sector, with a focus on executive search, as well as permanent, contract and interim search. With an outstanding team and 30+ years of knowledge of the industry, we pride ourselves on our expertise and the relationships we’ve built over the years. Redline’s reputation as a leading Executive Search recruiter is unparalleled and has continued to find success in today’s challenging market. If you would like to find out more about how we can help your business, contact Andy Raymond  on 01582 450054 or email ARaymond@RedlineExecutive.com today to start a conversation.