As Jeremy Hunt has recently announced, we are in a recession, hastened by continued disruptions to supply chains, ballooning inflation and a severe skills shortage. It is vital that business leaders take on a positive mentality to improve their financial productivity and performance. However, do you have the positive energy leadership skills necessary to pilot your way to sunnier shores?
The current political instability and financial turmoil has pushed the vitalness of management best practice to the top of the corporate agenda. But if they are losing skilled employees, or are unable to attract the right people to the right roles, even well-managed companies will struggle to fulfil orders and uphold high standards of customer service. At a time when many industries are facing skills shortages, employers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain talented people.
BUSINESS LEADERS STUCK IN FIRE-FIGHTING MODE
Implementing positive energy leadership behaviours can help companies inspire and retain employees and maintain outputs during challenging trading periods. Yet, with so many day-to-day challenges to deal with, some business leaders are unable to dedicate time to bettering their leadership skills, leaving them stuck in fire-fighting mode.
Moreover, skyrocketing fuel and energy costs are forcing workers to make tough choices on how they manage their household income, and consumer confidence has dropped. The Bank of England has cautioned that the United Kingdom economy is heading for recession and, as many business leaders know, this can devastate workplace moral and heighten feelings of job insecurity. Showcasing positive energy leadership, by creating a strong workplace culture where individuals and teams can thrive, can increase business resilience, while improving cashflow management and strengthening stakeholder relationships.
What Does Positive Energy Leadership Consist of?
Positive energy leadership consists of encouraging a positive attitude led from the top and promoting positive, team-focused behaviours encouraging individuals and teams to be the best that they can be. These techniques can be used to encourage all areas of business, from customer service to sales, as well as supply chain management and cashflow. In an ideal world this would be practiced all year round, however the real test comes when things don’t go to plan and the company is facing challenges. How leaders respond to these circumstances can have a lasting impression on the management team and the workforce as a whole, and can help to nurture a loyal, inspired group of people.
How To Foster Positivity
For company owners or managers wanting to implement positive attributes into their procedures and processes, it is critical to consider their wider impact on the company. Creating a strong communication network within a company is one way that leaders can guarantee information is efficiently getting to and from the right people.
For instance, positive energy leadership may involve finding opportunities to negotiate for a better price from suppliers, deciding how much cost can be passed on to customers, or implementing cross-functional teams to discuss pricing strategy. It could also include reaching out to the workforce for cost saving ideas and implementing them.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIS)
Establishing various key performance indicators can be monumental to measuring the difference positive energy leadership makes to your company, as well as making sure it becomes part of both the company and its operations.
This can provide managers a greater understanding of the benefits it can bring to all areas of the company and help to recognise areas that still need focus. For instance, staff engagement surveys can offer valuable insights into what inspires employees to stay with the company.
Business Data
Here is an example of how positivity can be applied to business data. Through sharing sales data visibly across an organisation, you can create chances to celebrate accomplishments.
When employees see others doing well, this can motivate them to behave similarly and find their own way to have a positive impact on the business.
Financial Management
By applying positive energy leadership to financial management, management teams are able to adopt a proactive and forward-looking approach.
Business leaders can see what the future looks like using a range of scenario-based models if they implement strong working capital management based on three-way cashflow forecasting.
Positive energy leadership also involves a firm focus on cash management in areas like protecting margins, delivering value to the bottom line and credit control and pricing.
Environmental Social Governance (ESG)
Our final example of how company owners can encourage positive behaviours is to make it part of their business model. This can be done by showing a dedication to ESG, which will help to attract talented workers to the company. This can be compounded by encouraging diversity and inclusion to create an appealing employer brand. It is also vital to confirm your staff benefits match up to what employees actually want. For instance, a common expectation for new roles is that they have flexible working options and a focus on employee wellbeing.
Summary
By implementing positive energy leadership, companies will be advantageously positioned to face the challenges that lie ahead, while still being prepared to respond rapidly to commercial opportunities. As they prepare for 2023, business leaders must ensure they have the positive attitude required to get the most out of their employees and achieve the best possible outcome for their company.