Success cannot be obtained if your stakeholders don’t approve of your methods and aims. You want people to clearly understand what to expect from your business, so everyone can recognise the progress you are making and help to push in that one, unified direction.

Having a solid structure to work from, means the occasions where you do have to think on your feet are more likely to produce positive outcomes. It stands to reason that perfected systems and staff with high confidence levels (the results of a set approach) are better equipped to improvise.

In most contexts, leaving a problem unattended is a risky strategy. It an sometimes be tempting to brush issues under the carpet, particularly during busy periods. However, it is often the case that these suboptimal aspects are symptomatic of the situation and require dedicated action to resolve.

In a modern business, traditional command-and-control leadership will no longer produce the best results. As part of my coaching, I encourage leaders to assume a more creative, visionary role.

Being overwhelmed is a feeling that many leaders will be familiar with. There has to be a cut-off point. If you’re feeling overwhelmed it’s up to you to say ‘no’ and take some proactive steps, otherwise you will likely be stuck in this situation for the foreseeable future…

You should be aiming to create brand ambassadors from your various stakeholder groups, who are eager to sing your praises. Consider this as a win-win situation, where you delight them, so they interact with your company more often, whilst simultaneously they are recommending you to others. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Holding a senior position doesn’t mean you have nothing more to learn. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. As a leader, it’s even more vital that you continue to develop your knowledge and skillset, so you can make better decisions, adapt to the changing wants of your customers and instruct those around you more productively.

As your company matures, your role within it will also evolve. This can be understandably challenging, to adopt new responsibilities and potentially alter the dynamic between you and your colleagues. It might be the case that you have assumed a position you were not intending to take. If this is the case, I can assure you… Leadership is learned on the job.

Most leaders would suggest that a degree of openness and trust with their employees constitutes being transparent, but beyond this there is another level at which the highest performing businesses operate - radical transparency. This is characterised by truthful interactions, not just within the business, but also with external stakeholders such as customers, suppliers and shareholders.

Not all business owners love numbers. In fact, most don’t. However, numerical understanding is an imperative for leaders who want to run profitable companies, not a luxury.

One of the great challenges of leading a business is properly attending to your various stakeholder groups. How do you communicate with your most junior employees? Are you so sales focused that you’re only considering your customers? When was the last time you touched base with your partner companies?

Change can be both an exciting and daunting prospect, as it brings forth something as yet unexperienced. For this reason many people are willing to keep-on-keeping-on, rather than introduce an extra element of uncertainty. However, I would suggest that the most successful people, particularly in business, are those willing to find a different way.

Your current offering represents your ‘buy-in’ to the market and in much the same way as poker, if this is insufficient, the player (you) cannot compete. This ‘table stake’ could be a price point, or specific feature your offering has, that makes it an option to a potential customer.

Letting your organisation slip into inertia is easier than you think. Allowing this situation to occur does not mean the leader(s) at the top are negligent. They’re probably so busy dealing with operational challenges that those aspects that require improvement are pushed to the back of their minds. Don’t get stuck in this loop.

As time has gone by, the role of company leader has changed. Treating your employees and colleagues with respect is more likely to obtain better results. Whilst it is important the relationships with your staff remain professional, modern leaders are expected to have greater emotional intelligence and demonstrate this in the way they interact with others.

Different structures work for different organisations. This sounds like a truism, but it’s important to remember that there isn’t a prescribed formula for an efficient organisational structure. Company size, industry and maturity will each affect the method of internal collaboration between employees and departments. Therefore, what follows are some suggestions of good practices, which I’ve found are beneficial to developing companies…

A paradox is the presence of two seemingly contradictory qualities within a single entity. Running a business will present leaders with a number of paradoxes they must balance, where making right or wrong decisions is far from black and white. In this article I will be covering one of the most pressing and relevant paradoxes that modern companies face…

Whist external factors and restrictions definitely play their part in affecting our moods, reaching a goal is largely related to belief in one’s ability. Having the right mindset is all about your personal confidence, your perception and your ideas for the future. You must believe you can lead at the next level to make this a reality...

With the increasing influence of technology, opportunities to communicate with potential stakeholders are abundant. However, amongst a variety of competition, their attention is more difficult to captivate than ever. It is vital that your brand resonates with your clients and potential clients, because having the best offering is not enough, if you don’t have the reputation to back this up.

If you can align every aspect of your business, so you advancing in one unified direction, this massively increases the chances of sustaining your company’s success, whilst making your job and roles of your colleagues more fulfilling too.