Whether you are the breadwinner in your household or the coach of your son’s football team, at some stage in your life you have probably been in a leadership role. Effective business leadership, however, entails many subtle skills which are not too hard to master. 

To be a leader in business you need to be able to influence people powerfully to do what needs to be done, and to do it to the best of their ability. One thing that could prove a major impediment to your leadership is if you appear hypocritical in any way; for instance if you ask an employee to be consistently punctual because it affects productivity, the employee will probably be discouraged if you, as the leader, are frequently tardy. Not only does it make you appear hypocritical, it also shows that you don’t really care that much for productivity because you do not make the effort to be punctual and improve productivity yourself. Thus, trying to avoid hypocrisy by ensuring that you have all of your own affairs in order is the first step towards effective business leadership. This is especially true when your own work is so well done that you become a kind of role model (in terms of business) to those you are leading, as they will have someone they look up to instructing them which will make them more receptive and co-operative towards you. 

In business leadership it is also extremely important for morale to try and be as transparent as possible when it comes to the business, its objectives and any pressing issues. Employees hate feeling left out, as does any human being, and by keeping important things from them which concerns them and the business and which need not necessarily be hidden they will be alienated and morale diminished beyond repair. Business leadership, then, is knowing which information may be shared and which information is critical to be withheld (because not everything can be shared), and not withholding any information that does not fall into the latter category. The best way to do this effectively is to share everything unless you feel that it should not be shared and to make sure that this feeling is well justified. 

Empathy is also very important in business leadership. Without empathy you are simply “the boss” but when you exercise empathy it shows and you become “the leader.” This is because by empathizing you envision yourself within someone else’s situation and it shows clearly. Thus you will find yourself creating strong relationships with those you lead, strengthening your role as a leader and the essential bond of trust that must exist between leader and follower. Empathy and sympathy are two very different things, and it is extremely important that you learn to empathize without being overly sympathetic, as some people would try to play on your sympathies to try and get ahead or to get whatever they want from you, and as a leader it is important that you are able to recognize this. 

Empathize, be transparent and avoid hypocrisy, these are pivotal strengths of a great leader.

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