Peter Quintana, of hgkc, is a strategic partner to BASDA working closely with the senior leadership team on topics covering building resilience, managing teams, leadership and building an innovation culture. His expertise in the field is renowned and BASDA is pleased to share some of his insights with our members in the third of four blogs covering topics that are pertinent for all businesses.
Many people experience great discomfort in situations involving unpredictability and change, and business leaders are not immune to the impact of these stressors. Leading an organisation involves tackling challenges in an ever-changing business environment. Some of these challenges include managing stakeholders and internal politics, competing for resources, fluctuations in the economy, changes in regulations, technology and data security, new rivalries in the marketplace, and hiring and retaining dedicated employees, among many others.
Resilient leaders need to focus on the future, develop their business, build on the skills of their people, and think about their exit plan. A positive work culture builds trust and confidence in leadership throughout the entire organisation.
Communication
Communication is an essential part of your organisation. Whether externally communicating with customers and suppliers, or internal communication with your team. The importance of listening to what your people and your target audience want can change everything about the way you do business.
Leaders must implement ‘how are you’ check-up calls that deliberately focus on the employees and not discuss anything to do with work.
Wellbeing
Businesses are made up of people, and if your people aren’t feeling 100% then your business will suffer as a result. Focus on wellbeing and understand how to recognise when others are struggling with their mental health.
Remember to take into account your own mental health and wellbeing. Implementing a way to address mental health problems can help build trust within a team and create a better, more positive work culture.
Home VS. Work Life
With the increase in remote and hybrid workers, it is more important than ever for leaders to maintain the balance and respect the lines between their employee’s home and working life. Understanding the constraints of their team’s working environment is critical to remote working. They cannot assume that everyone will be able to work the same hours and have to time their emails to arrive within ‘normal’ working hours. Leaders must focus on what needs to be done and their employees’ performance rather than working time.
Surviving and thriving in a uniquely challenging business environment will require business leaders to embrace digital transformation, business model innovation, and better cash flow management. They will be able to develop a more flexible supply chain, a values-based culture and an innovative and engaged workforce. Business leaders require a level of self-awareness and empathy that may not come naturally to everybody, and the disruptions of the last two years emphasised the necessity for resilient leadership and resilient teams within the workplace.
Staying resilient demands that leaders continually develop and use their emotional intelligence. The more uncertain and complex our working environments become the more crucial a truly agile workforce is to success. We work with DISCsimple and starting with an Agile EQ DISC profile we can help you understand your role in context. You will get a personal development plan bringing together knowledge, skills, and mindset, grounded in trust to help you develop into the best leader you can be.
Interested to Find Out More?
hgkc is a consultancy providing expert advice and strategies that will help you lead better, innovate more, and exit with confidence towards your North Star. If any of our members would like to find out more why not visit the hgkc website, call 0117 332 1002 or email hello@hgkc.co.uk