Business Leadership: What is it and How to Develop it

Written By: Bhumi Anil

Business leadership is how an individual makes decisions, works towards goals, and practices authority in a work environment. An example of a business leader is a CEO, or it could simply be a higher-level employee that guides and inspires the rest of the team. Knowing what makes a good leader makes you a more valuable asset to your team. Some common skills seen in business leaders are self-motivation, organization, delegation, communication, responsibility, setting goals, integrity, and interpersonal skills. Self motivation “is the force that keeps pushing us to go on – it's our internal drive to achieve, produce, develop, and keep moving forward. This is an extremely important skill. A leader must have the ability to take initiative, and do things without much supervision. The more experience you get, the more comfortable you will get with doing things on your own. Self-motivation will push you to get work done with increased efficiency, and without having someone constantly guide and encourage you.

To organize is to “arrange into a structured whole; order”. Being organized is crucial for success. This involves meeting deadlines, following an agenda/schedule, and completing high-quality work. Organized leaders can complete tasks calmly and in an orderly fashion. The whole team’s performance depends on the leader's ability to produce a productive environment.

Communication is “the imparting or exchanging of information or news”. The foundation of a productive team is good communication skills. Leaders must be able to speak and listen well. The more effectively a leader can communicate their visions with their team, address concerns, and unfold ideas, the more productive a team is.

Responsibility is “the state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something”. A leader must accept the consequences of their actions, good or bad. A leader views each failure or success of their team as their own, and strives to work with their team’s best interest in mind.

Setting goals is an important aspect of growth. Leaders must have the ability to focus on their vision. They need to strategize their goals in a way that would help the company succeed. Setting achievable and strategic goals and communicating them to your team is a huge component of business leadership.

Integrity is “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness”. Integrity is being honest even when nobody's watching. A leader must be committed to doing the right thing, even when it is hard. Leaders demonstrate integrity everyday by being proud of their work, and not compromising it’s quality.

Interpersonal skills “are the behaviors and tactics a person uses to interact with others effectively. In the business world, the term refers to an employee's ability to work well with others.” A good leader must make an effort to get to know their team. They must talk to the members and help guide and inspire them. Leaders must have the ability to drive conversations, meetings, etc.

One doesn’t simply become a leader by developing all the skills above. It takes a lot more, but these important skills will get you on the right track!