A focus on leadership can drive productivity and improve your company's competitive edge

Catherine McGuigan is Head of Leadership and Capability in our Skills & Competitiveness Division. She sets out here why strong leadership is critical to the success of your business.

The world of business is a highly competitive. No matter which industry you are in, how to stay ahead of the competition is a regular topic at Boardroom or Executive meetings.

One of the areas that can sometimes be overlooked when debating this issue is the importance of strategic leadership and management capability.?

Business owners often don't realise how much their leadership approach can impact the performance of the company and set it apart from the competition. Great leaders don't just inspire and create a positive work culture they also provide the confidence to take risks which can lead to greater levels of innovation and ultimately higher levels of productivity.?

"Great leaders don't just inspire and create a positive work culture they also provide the confidence to take risks which can lead to greater levels of innovation and ultimately higher levels of productivity."?Catherine McGuigan, Head of Leadership and Capability, Invest NI

The Minister for the Economy recognised this connection in his Economic Vision . Increasing productivity is one of the Minister’s four main objectives, and he cites improving work-relevant skills and management practices as one of the ways to achieve this. ?

A recent report “Do Managers Matter? - Management Practices in post COVID Northern Ireland” highlights the importance of leadership to productivity. Its research demonstrated that firms with better leadership and management practices had greater digitalisation of operational processes and were exporting more than peers. ?

The report also recommended both firms and government focus their attention on upskilling managers by putting them through appropriate leadership and skill development interventions.

“The Leader Programme has been an invaluable resource and support to our business. Having both a business coach and a mentor at your fingertips has been so helpful. Our business improved in more ways than we could have imagined, adding structure, process and growth across all areas.” Mark McGillon, Founder and MD of Triex, Coleraine. ?

"The Leader Programme has been an invaluable resource and support to our business. Having both a business coach and a mentor at your fingertips has been so helpful. Our business improved in more ways than we could have imagined, adding structure, process and growth across all areas." Mark McGillon, Founder and MD of Triex, Coleraine

There are compelling commercial and economic arguments for investing in leadership and management skills. However, many businesses, especially smaller companies, find the cost of investing in leadership development a barrier.?

We are trying to remove this barrier by offering an extensive range of training and development programmes that cover strategic business mentoring, leadership coaching, peer learning sets, internationally focused ‘thought leadership’ workshops and high-quality executive education.?

As well as the financial and economic benefits leadership development can deliver, there are also a multitude of non-monetary benefits. More confident leaders, a more cohesive top team, greater influence, a transformed culture and improved people management, engagement and retention are just a few.

How we can help strengthen your leadership skills

We recently launched our new suite of Leadership and Capability Development support:

Here's an overview of each programme

The Leader Programme is targeted at business owners or Managing Directors to support them to develop strategic leadership capabilities and drive greater levels of business growth.

The Leadership Team Programme aims to develop the skills, strategic focus and relationships of the top team of any business in order to achieve business growth. Leadership teams will gain a deeper understanding of how to develop and implement strategies that drive sustainability and international growth. ?

The Leading Within a Group focuses on developing strategic leadership growth. It is primarily aimed at site leads or senior executives of companies with a subsidiary located in Northern Ireland and a parent company based elsewhere.

The International Sales Leadership Programme ?is targeted at sales or commercial directors to support them to drive sales in international markets. Participates will be guided on how to develop and execute an international sales strategy, and build leadership, sales and negotiation capabilities. The programme is accredited by the Institute of Sales Professionals.

The Non-Executive Director Scheme is designed to help our SME customers strengthen their leadership capability by supporting the appointment of an experienced, independent Non-Executive Director (NED) to the company board.

The Mentoring Scheme specific support for our customers to engage a business mentor to provide expertise, support and challenge. They will assist you to consider your options to make the right decisions for your company.

You can find more information on how your company can get involved in one of our excellent Leadership Programmes on investni.com .