It is clear that for some people leadership abilities come naturally whereas for others they have learned and worked at developing them. Leadership skills are a good trait to have, or at least understand them especially for developing in the workplace. To lead our organisations effectively through financial uncertainty, especially with Brexit looming, we can all benefit for mastering the same skills:

• Influence
• Execution
• Drive

These three transferable skills differentiate top performers from their peers, they are essential leadership qualities that must be nurtured and they can dramatically affect a leader’s influence over the behaviour and performance of others.

Leadership starts with a vision and this can be found with many of today’s well-known leaders –  Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela and Henry Ford.  These people were able to influence others with effective communication and persuasion skills. These leaders were resilient, didn’t give up in the face of adversity or opposition, and stepped out of their comfort zone. They became role models to the rest of the organisation with their ambition, efficiency and positive mindset.

Leaders can talk in public confidently about their ideas and opinions and express these clearly to anyone who listens. By developing your influence skills with have a huge benefit to your leadership success. This could be the flexibility to manage people with different personality profiles, backgrounds, capabilities, motivations or work styles.

It is one thing having an idea, it is another to get it done. Your productivity achievements are based on how to complete tasks quickly and efficiently and knowing how to prioritise these correctly.  This skill involves delegation skills as well as knowing the key skills of others in order to ensure the specific task is carried out by the right person.

Drive involves emotional intelligence. It is your ability to manage yourself in different situations and reacting to situations rather than stress. It is the ability to compose yourself before entering a meeting or presentation and having faith in what you know.

A one-size fits all approach doesn’t cut it. By actively working on leadership skills will not only benefit yourself but will inspire others around you. It will get the attention of senior members of staff if you are taking control of a situation, managing its delivery and getting the job done to a satisfactory standard. Leadership is not selfish. It is knowing what to say and how to say it to build and sustain commitment through change. It is bringing people together to plan and execute change and the commitment to displaying a positive attitude and enthusiasm toward the change. Change is constant and its pace will only continue to accelerate so now is the time to embrace it.