Your business leadership checklist

Great business leaders come in many different forms, from visionaries like Apple founder Steve Jobs to big personalities like Virgin’s Richard Branson and diversity champions such as former Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg.

A business leader should bring people together, have staff working towards a common goal, and keep people updated about where a company is heading. They should also keep staff energised in good times and bad.

While there’s no single secret to becoming a brilliant leader, there are steps you can take to develop a great culture, keep people inspired, and strengthen your relationship with your team.

Here are five ways to take your leadership to the next level:

  1. Create a shared sense of purpose and be clear about where the business is going.
    Explain your decision-making. Show how your actions benefit your employees and the business. Make sure you’re honest and have nothing to hide.
  2. Always treat people fairly — give credit where it’s due and take responsibility when things go wrong.
    Let employees know you appreciate their work. Be accountable when things go wrong and hold your hand up when a plan hasn’t come to fruition.
  3. Accept you have a moral duty to everyone impacted by your business: your staff, their families and the community.
    Business owners don’t operate in a bubble. Remember your actions will impact employees, their families, and the local area.
  4. Motivate staff through continual development and learning, and help them flourish.
    Encourage staff to upskill and learn more about their roles. That way you can boost employees’ self-esteem and add valuable new tools to your business.
  5. Show trust in your staff and treat them with respect.
    The more you can trust your employees, the more they will trust you and your leadership. Trust builds confidence, creativity, and high performance.

There is a wealth of resources available to help company owners fine-tune their management skills. Talk to your business adviser or accountant about options to enhance your leadership.

What is a mindset course, and how can it help my business?

Mindset courses can help you develop the right psychological attitudes to achieve success in your field or industry.

They’re all about cultivating the right mental and emotional attributes to achieve professional growth, overcome challenges, and maximise potential.

Here’s what you’ll learn on a mindset course:

Adopting a growth mindset

You’ll learn all about adopting a growth mindset, the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through hard work and dedication.

Teaching resilience

Every company has its ups and downs. You’ll be taught how to bounce back and maintain a positive outlook on adversity.

Developing confidence

Self-confidence and self-belief are vital traits. A mindset course will encourage you to play to your strengths and back your own judgement.

Enhancing emotional intelligence

Developing emotional intelligence is key for anyone managing employees. Empathy and communication skills can go a long way in building strong team relationships.

Mastering time management

You’ll learn effective time management techniques to enhance productivity and avoid burnout, and how to use the latest digital tools to become more efficient in your line of business.

Mindfulness and stress strategies

Mindset courses often feature mindfulness practices to reduce stress and maintain mental clarity in high-pressure business scenarios.

NZ providers including Upskills Ltd and Thinkright offer mindset training to maximise business potential, while companies including Xero have a host of online mindset tools.

Five ways to improve diversity in your business

Studies show that diversity and inclusion in the workplace can lead to better business results. Here are five ways to enhance diversity in your organisation:

  1. Cultivate an inclusive culture
    Employees should be encouraged to share ideas without fear of judgement. Create an open environment that celebrates different perspectives and backgrounds.
  2. Diverse recruitment strategies
    Introduce diverse recruitment strategies and host career events targeted at under-represented communities. Embrace blind candidate screening to eliminate unconscious biases.
  3. An inclusive leadership approach
    Diverse leaders bring varied experiences and viewpoints to the table, inspiring employees and signalling a commitment to inclusivity.
  4. Encourage employee resource groups
    Employee resource groups (ERGs) are internal committees of workers with shared identities, often minority or under-represented groups. Support the formation of ERGs and consult them on key employment decisions.
  5. Continuous education
    Embrace ongoing diversity training for employees to raise awareness of unconscious biases, and encourage open conversations. A well-informed workplace should result in a more empathetic, understanding, and happier environment.

Time to review your health and safety plan?

Good health and safety (H&S) practice is a vital part of any business, but when was the last time you checked your company’s health and safety plan?

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, both “Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking” (PCBU) and workers (including employees and contractors) have health and safety duties in the workplace. The duties relate to their own health and safety and that of their co-workers, clients and even unconnected members of the public. The Act requires you to have a high degree of engagement with your staff about health and safety matters.

Whether you have a couple of staff or two hundred, here’s a three-step strategy to ensure you’re covered:

  1. Step One: Assess your risks
    Gather your team and discuss all the potential risks and hazards that might face your business. If you’re office-based, what kind of risks should you look out for? If you work outside, are you prepared for all eventualities?

    Don’t overlook social hazards, such as overworking, bullying, stress, and burnout. They’re just as important as physical risks.

    Consider what you’re already doing to mitigate your risks and how you can do even more.

  2. Step Two: Commit to a plan
    Once you’ve thoroughly assessed your workplace risks and hazards, you’ll need a health and safety plan with procedures to mitigate their impact.

    Your plan has to be actionable, practical and realistic in the context of your everyday work. Consider how the new procedures will be adopted.

    Through your new plan, you might need new training records, lists of first-aid equipment, or a new induction for incoming staff.

    It could also feature HR policies on workplace health and safety that employees can agree to.

    As a New Zealand business, your company also needs a process for reporting notifiable events to WorkSafe.

  3. Step Three: Action your plan
    Don’t draw up a plan and leave it to gather dust. Make sure it’s implemented as soon as possible, and take time out of your working day to get everyone on board.

    H&S is an ongoing challenge and requires ongoing attention. Make sure you run regular courses and drills to keep everyone up to date, and include staff on updates, so they can raise any new risks and hazards.

    In particularly dangerous and hazardous sectors, it can help to set targets to measure the impact of your plan.

    For example, a building company could have targets for keeping workplace injuries low, or an office-based business could have a target to prevent sick days and burnout.