5 tips to lead your way to success October 12, 2016

Choose the right people for your team

Finding the right people to work in your business is not always an easy task, wading through a range of CVs to find a handful of potential candidates is difficult enough. Then comes interviewing; interviewing can present a whole range of pitfalls for a business. How do you know a particular applicant will fulfil the requirements of the position as they have come across in the interview? The truth is you don’t. The best you can do is ensure you have thoroughly examined any statements made by applicant and be sure you fill any gaps in knowledge about them before you proceed past the interview stage. Remember that having the right team behind you who you can trust to delegate tasks to will make your job as a leader immeasurably better.

Be diplomatic

The skill of diplomacy is a necessary skill in today's business world. You need be able to successfully negotiate sometimes very large business agreements. Don’t panic about difficult new discussions you’re set to have. Plan ahead and retain control of your terminology to keep your negotiations with other businesses - and co-workers - professional and to the point.

Bring out your inner leader

Isolate any weaknesses you may identify in yourself when trying to take a lead and tackle them head on. You have the capacity to lead, you need to find the mentality for it. If you fixate on those weaknesses without figuring out a strategy to overcome them you’re destined to worsen the situation.

Don’t panic

Companies go through difficulties. It’s a fact we must accept when we enter such a world. These can be anything from a lack of staples to a massive collapse in the finances of a key stakeholder. As a leader, your co-workers will look to you to steer the business in the right direction with confidence and control through rough waters. This isn’t as daunting as it may appear to be. Have patience and be confident in your decisions, you have a pool of people and they’re wishing you to succeed but they need to know you look like everything is in control.

Act like a leader

This follows on from the last point really, part of your role as a leader is looking like it. Not everyone needs to see the sweat dripping off your forehead or you sprinting around an office shouting ‘panic’. Keep a calm face and it will be reflected in your team’s performance under pressure. In all honesty, it will probably help you keep calm on the inside too.

We have a course for that!

Whether you need your skills brushing up or you’re new to the leadership world, our leadership and management courses at London TFE are designed to run through the key points of being a great leader. Alongside going through the steps we try to understand your business and how you lead already to identify any weaknesses so we can work on them together to improve the success of your business.a