Why Is Business Leadership Important in SMEs?

There are many skills that make an effective business leader. Below are some of the key components to successful leadership.  

• Communication and Emotional Intelligence – Being clear about goals for individual employees, teams, and the company can boost morale. However, when a goal or task is communicated it needs to be done with clarity so that employees are onboard with the mission of the company. In addition, understanding the workloads of staff can help create a more compassionate workplace. Ultimately, this leads to more engaged employees.  

• Strategic Thinking – Whether it’s a strategic management framework like the Business Model Canvas or another way of visualising the ins and outs of a business, taking time out to develop a strategy for the future based on data and insight, can help you drive the business forward. Not only, does it encourage leaders to get out of the time consuming day-to-day, but it can help prioritise tasks.  

• Data-Driven Decision-Making – Data-driven decision making can make all the difference in a small business. From tracking what stock is selling well or finding the most effective marketing strategy, it can help a leader identify the best path forward and justify why changes need to be made to employees.  

• Adaptability – Regardless of how future-proof a strategy may feel, there are factors beyond a business leaders’ control. It is important to be able to gain insights into areas that are not performing and readjust a strategy for what’s next. Ultimately, this creates a more resilient business.  

• Delegation and empowerment – A recurring theme from the alumni of the Help to Grow: Management Course is that a better understanding of their role as a leader has enabled them to delegate and trust their employees. This both relieves the workload on leaders while empowering employees to develop new skills.  

There are many ways to build and sharpen leadership skills. This includes: 

• Reading leadership books – Despite leadership sometimes feeling like a lonely job, there’s always someone who has experienced a similar issue. As a result, there are plenty of books about every challenge a leader may deal with. Looking at what book speaks to a business leadership is a useful exercise, but some acclaimed books include: The Culture Code by Daniel Cole, The AI-Driven Leader by Geoff Edwards, and Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't by Simon Sinek. 

• Seeking mentorship – The 1-2-1 business mentoring component of the Help to Grow: Management Course is frequently cited as one of the most vital components of the course by alumni. Often it gives business leaders a chance to speak freely about ideas and take on new ideas. The right mentor can provide you with a space to be honest about your challenges and offer opportunities for fresh learnings and development. 

• Practicing active listening and empathy – When a business leader is trying to keep an organisation profitable, or even afloat, it can be hard to listen to others. However, by understanding the needs of employees and taking time to consider suggestions from the wider team, as well as customers and suppliers, company culture can improve. 

• Setting measurable leadership goals – Goals not only help incentivise employees, but they also enable leaders to track the progress of a business and course-correct when needed.  

• Regular self-assessment – Taking time to analyse yourself can be difficult to prioritise. However, the benefits are significant. By looking inward, a business leader can identify what practices they do which are beneficial and which are a hinderance. To aid this practice, leaders can implement 360 feedback through anonymous surveys. By doing this regularly a business leader can ensure that employees are empowered, and the company is productive.  

An effective way to incorporate all these methods of improving business leadership are through leadership courses. They allocate focused time on the topic and typically introduces new ideas to participants. The ‘Theory of Change’ that underpins the Help to Grow: Management Course states that when undertaking the course “it is expected that benefits will accrue at the individual level in the first instance, before diffusing into wider business benefits.” 

The Help to Grow: Management Course gives business leaders the opportunity to improve their skills and grow their organisation through 1-2-1 business mentoring, 12 modules delivered by business school experts, and case studies on some of the fastest growing companies in the UK.  Alongside a peer network to share ideas, and frameworks to help leaders strategically approach the future, the course gives managers, senior leaders, and business owners the skills they need to boost their own leadership skills and their business performance. 

This is demonstrated by 91% of attendees reporting that the course improved their leadership and management of their business in a survey conducted by Ipsos.  

Leadership can often be an isolating and hectic experience. Taking a step back to improve on communication, strategy, and resilience can help you identify how and when to grow and which steps to take first. 

If you’re an SME leader or senior manager and are looking to take a step up, improve, or get reassurance, then the Help to Grow: Management Course can enable you to take your business leadership to the next level.