You could have hired all the best entry and mid-level employees, each of whom have excellent experience and credentials. Unfortunately, if you do not have strong leadership in place, the work will ultimately suffer – and so will your bottom line.

In fact, when it comes to staffing, strong leadership should be your first priority.

Keep in mind that there is not a definitive set of qualities that every strong leader has. There are many different leadership styles, many of which could have a positive impact on company morale and productivity.

You will also want to consider your staff as well as you company values when determining what type of leader would be the best fit. A manager may work extremely well with one team, and have little impact on another.

This being said, there are a general set of qualities that strong leaders tend to have in common. These include:

Excellent communication:

It is critical that your team has a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. If they do not know what is expected of them, you risk losing precious time and resources. The best leaders will anticipate any questions or potential misunderstandings and proactively address them before any issues arise.

Flexible and forward-thinking:

When it comes to staffing your leadership team, you are essentially entrusting them to effectively grow and develop you company over time. Stagnancy is one of the biggest reasons that businesses become less productive, less relevant, and ultimately fail. Strong leaders actively look for opportunities that can help the company evolve, and they are not afraid to embrace new technology or business strategies that help secure future success.

Action-oriented: 

There are many managers that have great insight and can effectively delegate tasks – but that is not enough. The strongest leaders are those who lead by example, and who are always willing to get their hands dirty and work alongside their team. This keeps employees engaged and accountable.

A high emotional IQ: 

Just as there are many different personality types for effective leaders, every member of your team is also unique. The best leaders understand this and will cater their communication style accordingly. By doing so, they are able to individually motivate and provide constructive feedback to each employee. Furthermore, strong leaders can recognize the potential and interests of staff members, allowing them to best leverage the strengths of their team. This can improve work product and increase employee satisfaction.

Your Leadership Makes All the Difference

The managers that lead your team will have far-reaching effects on essentially every aspect of your business. They will determine whether your employees best utilize their strengths and are given the opportunity to grow their skill sets, which affects not only your work product, but also company morale and turnover rates. In this way, hiring strong leaders is one of the best things that you can do for your bottom line.

Photo by TK Hammonds on Unsplash