10 Principles of Strategic Leadership

Strategy is a word that is usually associated with leaders or top management. It is not just an activity to undertake, it is also a quality to have. As a leader, one can choose to be strategic or tactical. What principles set you can learn in a strategic leadership program in that case?

1.            Vision – The organization’s vision is always strong and clearly communicated by a strategic leader.

2.            Agility – Strategic leadership is based on the idea that there is a high degree of flexibility within the individual, and he or she can change quickly as per the organization’s needs.

3.            Influence – A strategic leader demonstrates influence through his or her actions and words. This influence goes beyond the regular circle, to those who are not directly working with him/her, as well.

4.            Perseverance – In order to be influential, there has to be committed effort which remains consistent despite challenges. Perseverance is an integral element of strategic leadership.

5.            Accountability – As a strategic leader, you look at the long-term gains and take accountability for that falls within your purview. Keeping the strategic goals in mind means not shifting the blame onto others.

6.            Honesty – Strategic leadership comprises of honesty and transparency. It ensures that there the requirements based on business goals, are always clearly shared with the team members.

7.            Delegation – A strategic leader knows that his or her time is precious and needed for bigger decisions. So they know how and what to delegate, to various team members, so that work gets done as required.

8.            Inclusion – In our current work, strategic leadership means understanding the diversified workforce, needs of a younger and multi-cultural employee base and ensuring inclusion. This is what makes this kind of leadership style unique.

9.            Learnability – Strategic leaders are always learning. They learn from each other, the world around them,  the subordinates, the clients and so on. Their scale and interest in terms of learning, is high. That enables them to keep thinking strategically and applying the correct actions.

10.   Leadership Development – When a leader thinks and acts strategically, he or she knows that the leadership pipeline is crucial. So they focus on developing leaders in their own teams or networks, at all levels, constantly.

As we know, leadership and strategic management go hand in hand. Combining the two in a seamless manner is what an effective leader will do. Strategic leadership is entirely about that balance.

Online Advertising for Small Businesses

When you are a small business owner working with a non-existent or shoestring marketing budget, you want to spread the word, gain visibility and advertise your services or products in inexpensive ways. One of the most effective methods is to use online advertising effectively.

While a digital marketing certification course will give you a comprehensive idea on how to do this, here are some basic tips to get you started. 

1      Understand and use all Social Media Channels – Social media has become the most powerful tool for online marketing and advertising in the current times. It has the potential to give you a much wider reach than you can ever imagine. And it happens to be free most of the times! So understand all the various social media channels and ensure that you are keeping them updated with your product or service details. Use their features optimally, to try and gain more clients.

2     Use Content Marketing – Content marketing is yet again, a free and easily available channel to use for advertising your business. Online magazines and websites are constantly looking for great content. You can write pieces for them which are related to your business, so that there is an indirect element of advertising that is factored into it. Use your online articles or case studies, to showcase your company as a thought leader with expertise in its given space.

3     Virtual Communities – Be a part of virtual communities which have end users for your product. And connect with the communities in various ways. You can do it through responding to queries that can then be linked back to your product or service.

4     Understand the Power of Keywords – Today online advertising is all about how to make sure that those from your target consumer base are able to reach your platform or business pages. The power of keywords that you use in your content pieces, is immense. Understanding which keywords are generating the right results and directing the traffic towards your website, is important. 

These are a few tips to get you started on the online advertising approach. Once you gain an understanding of how to implement these aspects, you will be more confident of using them for your business.

What’s Next in Employee Learning: Virtual Reality

Employee learning is a key area for all organizations which seek to have an ultra-skilled workforce. Employees who receive regular training workshops on different skillsets tend to do better in their jobs. The leadership and development departments of organizations typically take care of the employee learning programs and need to ensure that the programs are regularly updated. The latest trend in employee learning is virtual reality.

 

Virtual reality is a way to simulate real life situations using technology and help people practice their coping skills through virtual games. These games have points and employees learn in an interactive and fun way. Points help them determine whether they are doing well or if they are improving at their game.

The best part of virtual reality is that whatever people learn through it is visual and practical and hence, registers more in the brain. People who have trained in virtual reality tend to remember how to cope with such a situation in real life as compared to those who haven’t trained.

Current Scenario

A large number of virtual reality applications available currently cater to the works which involve physical tasks. For example, a virtual reality game called “Chop and Drop”, teaches employees how to cut trees, especially near electrical lines such that neither electrical lines, nor property nor self are damaged in the process. They learn to use a boom truck as well as cut trees while using a VR headset. These skills stay with them as they go out in the real world to cut trees in a similar scenario.

Future Prospects

Though the current applications help train for physical tasks, in future it can be expected that simulated team handling and other soft skills training would be imparted through the use of VR. It would help train people for group discussions and other interactive activities and in general how to behave in a team. Current technologies such as Skype allow you to connect with people around the world, however, the new forthcoming technologies would enable complete global collaborations for team building and thoroughly global projects.

What’s in it for leaders?

VR is a great opportunity for leaders to create truly global teams at the minimum cost possible. Obviously, technology would not enable a person to be transported geographically in a jiffy, but where things can be done without physical presence, VR would truly enhance the work experience. Strategic management and leadership teams must use this opportunity to build their global teams and invest in the use of VR as an employee learning mechanism.

There are many leadership management courses available online, but only few that are caught up with the latest trends in the industry. Find the right leadership course for yourself and move ahead in your career.

How to Develop Strong Leaders in your Workplace?

Rome is not built in a day. Neither a successful business. While you envision taking your small business to greater heights, building team-leadership skills is much essential. 

Wondering why? Because it’s your team that will take you to greater success. So investing in your team is your investment for future. Listed below are few pointers that would help you cultivate leadership skills in your team members.

Choose the Right People

Investing in the wrong person does not make sense. So, think twice and thrice before you choose your team mates. Appreciate talent and invest in the good people who can bring value to your company. Nobody wants to invest in a person who would jump to your competitor’s organisation one fine day. Make sure you are choosing the right people.

Set Yourself as a Role Model

Don’t preach. But practise. As simple as that! The qualities you would like to see in your future leaders should be in you as well.

Let your team members look upon you, and take you as a role model. Be it in people management, time management, punctuality, conflict-resolution and whatever that falls on your plate.

Apparently, you can take the role of a mentor in improving the skill sets of the individual and showing them the right path of career advancement.

Give Away Opportunities

Once you recognize the right employees, do not be reluctant to give them opportunities to develop the leadership skills in them. By opportunities, it means a training in leadership development program, heading a community service, encouraging professional development courses and more.

Keep in mind that employees are your great assets. Investing in them will definitely pay you back. 

Encourage to Network

Internal or external, networking can largely contribute in leadership skill development. Firstly, networking is fun. Secondly, it nurtures certain traits in an individual which reflects in their professional development. It helps in establishing connection with peer groups.

Even, it helps in initiating conversations with strangers and walking the talk in an interesting manner.  Eventually, it helps in improving the communication skills which is one among the much needed traits in a leader.

Finally, as a footnote, remember career development is not just the responsibility of the professional. But it’s your responsibility as an employer to make sure the employee advances in the career. And guess what? You’re still at the winning end as they will be more loyal to your organisation.