4 Leadership Trends Impacting the Business Landscape

The world is changing fast, and businesses must adapt to the demands of the times. Businesses need leaders that can see their companies through the uncertainty.

As the business landscape shifts, leaders need to stay on top of the developments that either threaten their companies or present opportunities. Here are four leadership trends to watch in the years to come.

1. Focus on Change

No longer is it enough to simply direct a business through times of change. The concept of change leadership emphasizes that leaders must be a part of the evolution, using vision and inspiration to encourage the business to anticipate and embrace change. Doing so will allow people to direct change instead of just reacting to it.

2. Challenges of Flexibility

Teams have greater flexibility to work remotely and set their own hours. There are many benefits to allowing employees to work from home, including increased satisfaction and decreased costs. Businesses also have access to a wider pool of talent than ever before.

However, companies also face many challenges with these flexible models. Leaders must ensure worker productivity and develop and manage new types of workflows. Developing a cohesive company culture can be difficult when employees are not located in one place. The most successful leaders will be those who can adapt and reap the benefits of remote work while mitigating the difficulties.

3. Employee Wellbeing

The wellbeing of employees is an increasingly greater focus for businesses as they find that taking care of their human capital leads to more productive and satisfied workers. Leaders should develop programs that address both the physical and mental health of their employees.

Managing with employee wellbeing in mind will become imperative as the workforce continues to demand it. Those businesses that are unable or unwilling to keep up with this trend will find it difficult to hire and retain the best workers.

4. Ethical Accountability

Businesses will need to do more than pay lip service to the growing demand for ethical accountability in corporations. Stakeholders will only accept meaningful change. 

In addition to addressing obvious areas, leaders will also need to eliminate areas of unintentional ethical lapses. Reducing competitiveness in the company culture can help to do this.

Leadership must develop clear procedures for how to handle unethical behavior and follow those procedures consistently.

As the business world continues to see unprecedented change, leaders must anticipate and adapt when faced with the unexpected. Those that can will see their businesses flourish.

Effective Ways To Boost Employee Morale

Morale: It's what your employees need to get them out of bed in the morning.

You don't want to see them walking through your doors looking tired, unenthused, and annoyed that they have to work. You don't want to hear they whispered or very public grumblings.

Rather, you want to see them happy, joyous faces of your employees as they come into your workplace. You want to hear words of positivity, thanksgiving, and gratitude. In short, you want your employees to have a high level of morale, as your business will benefit if they do.

When the morale of your employees is high, they should:

• Work more productively and efficiently

• Pass on their enthusiasm to their colleagues

• Be nicer to your customers and clients

• Be more likely to stick around for the long-term 

• Improve your company reputation 

• Make your business look more attractive to new hires

To consider the effects of low morale, you need only consider the opposite of each of the points above. Productivity might be at an all-time low if your employees are miserable, for example, and the reputation of your business might be at an all-time low too if your employees have been overheard grumbling.

So, do what you can to improve your employees' morale, perhaps by adhering to the following. 

#1: Purchase quality items when buying workplace essentials

There will be things your employees need in the workplace, so make room in your budget for them. But when you're shopping around, don't assume cheap will be better. If you buy your team anything that doesn't make the grade, be it a low-level computer or an ill-fitting work uniform, you aren't going to do much to raise employee morale. Rather, they might assume you don't value them very highly if the value of your purchases is low, and they might become frustrated by what you have given them.

So, give your employees some love by putting quality first. If they need a computer, buy something that has the specs needed to help them work more efficiently. If they need a new uniform, buy them something that both looks and feels good, perhaps akin to those sold by Uniform Advantage if you're in the field of healthcare. And for anything else that you buy them, focus on the needs of your employees, even if you have to save up a little to buy something of better quality. 

#2: Go green in your business

Going green makes perfect business sense, as the measures you put in place can help you to save money, boost your reputation, and, in the context of this article, improve the morale of your employees. Surveys have shown that employees want to work for sustainable companies, and this is partly because they want to work for an employer that doesn't put into place anything that can damage the environment. A greener company can also make employees feel better about the impact they are having on the world.

So, do what you can to make your business better for the planet. Encourage recycling and energy-saving habits. Commit to greener processes within all aspects of your production and manufacturing. And work with eco-friendly suppliers too. 

When you take green steps in your business, your employees will feel happier about working for you. After all, would you want to work for a company that was contributing to the destruction of the planet? We're assuming not!

#3: Make your employees feel appreciated

There is much you can to make sure your employees feel appreciated. A simple thank you for a job well done will often suffice, although you can also reward your hard-working employees with cash bonuses and gifts.

When adding to your website or your company newsletters, you might also name those employees who have contributed to your profits. This is better than taking all the credit for yourself, especially when it is your employees who have put most of the work in. 

You could celebrate your employees' birthdays too, buy them the occasional lunch, and treat them to days off when targets have been met. Check out these other employee appreciation ideas, and use them regularly to show your employees how much you value them.

#4: Give your employees a voice

You might be the boss, but that doesn't mean you need to be in control of all of the ideas that can profit your workplace. It might be that your employees have ideas to contribute to, so give them the opportunity to share their thoughts, as you will improve their morale if you do. 

And when they come to your door with a question or a concern, listen to what it is they have to say. If you were to dismiss them with little recognition for their thoughts or feelings, you might lower the trust they have in you and reduce their morale. 

#5: Allow opportunities for growth

Is there room for promotion in your business? If so, give your employees the opportunity to progress upwards. When they know they have something to aim for, you will give them a greater sense of purpose. This, in itself, is an effective way to boost their morale.

But regardless of promotion possibilities, there are other things you can do to help your employees grow. You could send them on courses or conferences to help them improve their professional skills, and you could give them new challenges at work to boost their level of experience. Such opportunities for growth will boost your employees' morale, as they will feel as if they are progressing within their careers. The alternative is your employees believing that they are in a dead-end job, and that is not something that will increase their morale in any way. 

#6: Mind your tongue

Sure, you could rule your business with an iron fist and a critical tongue, but ask yourself: Is this really going to improve employee morale? They are more likely to fear you, and while they might work harder as a consequence, they are unlikely to stick around for long. 

So, be a boss that is firm but fair. Don't berate your employees too heavily for any mistakes they make. And don't criticize them when no criticism is due. Instead, be respectful in the way you speak to them. Use words that will lift them up and not put them down. And think before you speak, with the knowledge that your employees are human and not mindless worker drones that cater to your every whim.

#7: Bring fun into the workplace

Okay, so your employees are being paid to do their job, but as the saying goes, 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.' It makes Jill a dull girl too, and when Jack and Jill aren't allowed to have a little bit of fun, their productivity might start to fall.

So, do what you can to bring fun into the workplace. You could organize team challenges, buy 'fun' items for the break room, or have times in the day when people are allowed to goof around a little. Check out these other ideas for having fun in the workplace, and implement anything that you think is appropriate. You will bring a smile to your employees' faces if you do, and in so doing, you might well boost both their morale and their productivity. 

#8: Don't overwork your employees

As we suggested a little earlier, your employees are not mindless worker drones. They don't have the capacity to work on full battery power at all hours of the day, and they don't have the ability to keep going without any rest! Like you, your employees get tired and weary, so you shouldn't push them beyond their limits. They will start to lose morale if you do overwork them, and they might well fall prey to burnout symptoms too!

So, do what you can to alleviate the workloads of your employees. It might be that you outsource some of what you give them to do, especially those tasks that aren't really befitting of their job descriptions. You could help them to streamline their to-do lists with those apps and pieces of software that can make light work of manual processes. And you could cut down the number of meetings in the day, as your employees would then have more opportunities to get work done before overtime rears its ugly head.

When your employees aren't burdened with massive workloads, and the need to work overtime on too-regular a basis, they should become happier in your employ. They will be physically and mentally healthier too, which is another way of ensuring their morale doesn't drop when they are in your workplace.

Finally

When you boost the morale of your employees, you also boost the chances of success for your business. Happier employees will always work harder and more diligently than those that are unhappy, and for you, that means bigger profits and the chance to grow your business.

So, consider your employees today. Are they happy? If you suspect their morale is low, do whatever you can to increase it, for their sake, as well as your own. 

What Does It Take To Be An Effective Leader

Being an effective leader takes a lot of learned skills. You need to have the right energy, and you need to know how to carry yourself as it can be a cutthroat world when you’re in business, and when you’re a new establishment and you’re trying to compete with the best of them, there’s a lot of pressure on your shoulders to succeed! 

You can worry about how well you’re managing your team, and if you’re meeting the right quotas, and even if the office is set out right! You can doubt every single decision you make, but as time goes on, you’re going to get more and more confident in what you do, trust us on that one. But at the moment, it’s all about setting a good foundation that you can build your leadership skills off of, and what you can do with your time to get the most productive and useful results at the end of this process. 

So, what does it take to be an effective leader? We’ve collected a few points together below that might be a good place to start. Do your own research, make sure you know your own strengths, and then put yourself out there. It’s all about getting your head in the game, and doing what you do best, and as a business leader, that’s taking your company from strength to strength. 

Set an Example

You’re the leader here, and that means you set the example for your team to follow. The way you act, the things you say, and the actions you take are all equally important at this time - they send a message to anyone watching you (a.k.a., your employees) about what is expected, and what is wanted within your workplace. Sure, we think of bosses as sitting back and letting their team do most of the work, but that’s just an outdated cliche that you can do your bit in helping to break. Because you need to take part in the action, and you need to be able to put forth the kind of behavior you expect from those around you. Because if you don’t, who will? 

Being an effective leader is all about leading by example, and knowing your company’s message is ingrained so deeply that your employees know exactly what to do in any professional situation they could end up in. You’ve shown them what to do, you’ve let them know, each and every day, what you expect from them, and you hold yourself to those same standards. 

You’re no hypocrite, and you’re never dropping the ball or not pulling your weight. This is your company, after all, and you more than anyone else wants to see it succeed! Realizing this, and keeping it to heart, will help you to make informed decisions more than anything else. 

Prioritize Organisation 

Of course, you’re going to have a lot of top priorities on your list. But at the moment, in these early stages of establishing your authority within your business, you need to place quite a bit of emphasis on being organized. You need your company to run like clockwork, with only the occasional hiccup that you immediately know what to do about, and that means putting some systems in place. 

You need to file well, you need to create backups that are kept secured (but also easily accessible), and you even just need to ensure the office is clean and tidy too. You need to provide plenty of organized space to work and think, for everyone who works within your company. You definitely need to keep track of your cash flow, and any receipts that come in and out of your company. 

At a time like this, you could even turn to automation programs, and streamline systems, to ensure that your business is running well without your constant eye on it. Indeed, Payroll Services for Small Business are incredibly popular with small teams like yours, because it ensures your staff gets paid, on time every time, and that you can set up for good. 

Think of this as delegating out to technological team members - you’ve got a lot of software and hardware on hand that you can put to good use, and being able to use these programs to their full capacity is key to running a modern, functional business. As the leader of said business, you make the final decision on all implementations, so why not get some advice from your IT or HR department on what other software could be best for your business? 

Know Your Best Team Players

Speaking of taking advice and a bit of delegation, it’s time to get to know your best team players so you know their strengths and what weaknesses they need to develop. You need to know who you can rely on, and who you can turn to in times of trouble. You can ask yourself some questions for this; for example: Who is the most responsible on your team? Who’s always got their eye on the ball? Who stays calm in a crisis? Who is the best at holding and instructing in workshops?

It’s all about being able to identify the most obvious strengths within the people who work for and with you, and then encouraging them to use these strengths for the business’ benefit. 

And one of the best ways to do this is to hand out promotions or pay rises to ensure your team members are feeling inspired to achieve, and motivated to always do their best. It creates a culture of aiming high and landing high within your workplace. 

But at the same time, make sure you’re not setting apart the average Joes. You have some absolutely stellar team players, of course, but don’t forget about the others within your company. Try to look for more soft and subtle skills within these employees, and ensure your professional encouragement extends to them as well. An effective leader leaves no one behind, and if you want to be one well into the future, you need to think of your team like a chain and inspect each and every link separately. 

Be Open 

And finally, you need to be an open and honest sort of person to be an effective leader. Once again, lead by example here, and let your employees know that it’s OK to be themselves while at work. Health and wellness in the workplace need to be something you place a bit of priority on too, and despite how much preparation you can make with normal health and safety standards, you need to go one step further. 

Communication is key to be an effective leader, and if you can’t be open and honest with your employees, why should they do the same? You want working relationships to be positive and encouraging, and you want your team to want to show up to work with smiles on their faces and positive attitudes. It’s all about equal opportunities, and being able to have an open dialogue. 

So, let your team know that you understand. You know just how much mental toll a busy workday can have on a person, and you don’t want one of your team members to just push that kind of stress under the rug. You want them to come to you with it, or to know it’s perfectly fine to let their workplace know about their situation. 

Being an effective leader takes a lot of effort and patience, but you’re capable of it. Make sure you keep the tips above in mind when going about your days at work, be the best you know you can be, and always try to put your team’s well being first.