Strong leadership is a crucial part of any business’ success. The leadership of an organisation empowers employees to work to the best of their ability, and it contributes to the culture. Professionals in the top positions who want to lead their employees need to have core leadership skills, such as the ability to influence others transparently and effectively. Good leaders provide the vision and lay the foundation for the success of their team. While the qualities of a good leader will vary depending on the company, the best leaders should be able to advocate for their team and show their team members why the work is important and valuable. But how do you recruit and retain the best leaders to drive your company forward? Here are four key areas to focus on:

Understand the position

Organisations should first identify the skills, knowledge and abilities needed to succeed in the leadership role – which is equally as important for any position. Before hiring, you need to know how you’ll develop the position over time. For example, will the leader need to hire new team members or will you be promoting from within the organisation? Knowing the dynamics of the role will enable you to identify the right person who can lead a team successfully. Understanding the requirements of the position is the first step to hiring a strong leader and ensuring that person is satisfied with the role.

Focus on motivational fit

There are many factors to consider during the hiring process, from work experience and references to industry knowledge. However, one of the more overlooked factors to consider is motivational fit – which is the match between an employee’s expectations and what the business actually provides. When recruiting for a leadership role, it’s very important you assess the motivations of the candidate. For example, you need to establish why the candidate wants to move into a leadership role and the type of environment they work best in. Finding the right motivational match increases the chances of a candidate staying at the company for a long period, which is all the more important for leadership roles due to the extra responsibility these positions carry.

Identify leadership skills

While it may be tempting to hire or promote top performers based on previous results, those skills don’t necessarily translate into quality leadership. There are certain leadership skills that businesses need to identify in candidates during the hiring process, such as delegation skills, decisiveness and openness to the ideas and opinions of others. Leaders must be able to engage their co-workers and inspire them to achieve their goals and objectives, so strong interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence and a sense of ambition are key.

Create a retention strategy

The best way to ensure your leaders remain in your business is to develop a retention strategy. If you want to keep your leaders, you need to make sure there are still pathways for advancement at your company, such as more challenging roles. Developing training and coaching programs, as well as creating new goals and challenges, can help retain leaders. It’s also important to give professionals in leadership roles a great deal of autonomy. The best leaders will enjoy taking ownership and the opportunity to shape how they work.

Is your business seeking new talent?

Swisslinx is a leading recruiter, specializing in financial services, digital and technology, and healthcare and life sciences. We have a highly experienced team of consultants who are able to recruit at all levels of seniority, including leadership roles. At Swisslinx, we have a global reach and we tailor our recruitment solutions to the needs of our clients. We provide our clients with exceptional market knowledge, which is why we’ve built such an excellent reputation. If you would like to find out more about roles, contact us today and keep reading our blog for news and insights.