Issac Qureshi

Leadership Expert

Issac Qureshi

Tips for Effective Time Management

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Stress can affect the way that people manage their time, and 2020 has been a more stressful year than most. Between political controversies, COVID-19, extreme weather and other issues, everyone has been under a great deal of stress. At times like this, it can be hard to stay focused and on-task, especially when so many people are telecommuting. Luckily, there are plenty of tools designed to help people add some structure to their schedules.

Damon Zahariades’ book The Time Chunking Method teaches readers how to become more productive. Zahariades advises people to find ways to take control of their day. Instead of being reactive and responding to issues as they arise, this book teaches people to divide their time into chunks. According to Zahariades’ research and experience, using chunking is a great way to become more efficient at all kinds of tasks.

Charles Duhigg’s book The Power of Habit teaches people how to train themselves with positive reinforcement. Duhigg, a former business reporter for the New York Times, breaks down the way people create and tweak habits in this book. Duhigg believes that people can change their factory settings with persistence, attention and rewards. This book is especially useful for professionals in leadership positions. It includes lots of relatable anecdotes that readers can easily identify with.

Laura Vanderkam teaches readers to stop valuing busy-ness in her book Off the Clock. She thinks the trend in our current culture is to value a packed schedule that’s essentially empty. Instead of actually being productive, people distract themselves with hours of meaningless tasks. In Off the Clock, Vanderkam shows people to have a life that’s full and balanced with time for meaningful experiences and getting things done. Vanderkam is a widely recognized as a specialist in productivity. Her advice helps people build the lives and get the results that they really desire.

Finally, in The Lazy Genius Way, Kendra Adachi shows people how to break large goals into smaller, more manageable pieces. This makes it easy for people to make lots of progress quickly. Her thirteen principles show readers how to get more focused. Rather than being overwhelmed by big goals, Adachi teaches readers to take control. Her book is based on her popular podcast of the same name

What is Leadership and How Can You Find the Best Leader for your Business?

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No business can be successful without a good leader. If your organisation lacks a clear vision or doesn’t have strong guidance, you’ll struggle to keep your business on track and won’t be able to achieve the goals and aspirations you’ve set yourself. As an entrepreneur, you might be wondering how to find a suitable leader for your business, someone who you can hand the reins over to. The good news is that such candidates are easier to find than you might have thought. We’ve outlined tips on finding a leader for your business below…

What is leadership?

Before we delve deeper into finding a candidate with the right leadership qualities, a quick word on leadership itself. The ultimate aim of a leader is to help themselves and others do the right thing. A good leader will set up direction, build a vision that inspires and motivates your team, and map out an action plan that’s engaging, inspiring, and dynamic. Leadership is more than just having a vision and executing it – it involves management skills to guide a team to the right destination smoothly and efficiently, overcoming any obstacles in the way.

See also: What is leadership? 

What to look for in a good leader

More often than not, entrepreneurs hire managers and leaders internally. A good candidate for a leadership role will already know the strengths and weaknesses of their team, having worked with them for many years already, and be able to give credit where it’s due. A good leader will recognise a job well done, whereas a great leader will appreciate a job well done.

A good manager will be inspirational, encouraging others to achieve their potential within your organisation. In this regard, hiring internally for a senior management role will inspire others to give their all. If one of their peers climbs the ranks, they can, too. Compassion is also important – leaders who genuinely care about their teams, products, and customers will perform far greater than those who are simply in it for the paycheck. Look out for employees who go the extra mile and are committed to your organisation; they’re management material. 

Communication is vital in leadership, and communication and transparency go hand in hand. A good leader will reach out to their workforce, talk to them about what they’re working on, and explain why it’s important. Transparency won’t always make them a popular leader – especially during times of uncertainty – but it’s vital for building trust and fostering an open, honest workplace, where everyone can express themselves without fear of punishment. 

Finally, a good leader won’t micromanage their team and instead will delegate tasks. It’s vital that your manager has confidence in their employees and understands their capabilities. If they micromanage, they’ll face communication problems, deceit, conflict, and disloyalty. 

Other skills required to become a good leader include curiosity, positivity, the ability to listen, empathy, resourcefulness, and a willingness to change. Confidence and conviction are vital, and good leaders also understand the importance of building and maintaining relationships with employees and stakeholders. No one member of staff is more important than another.

Leadership training could help you

Whether you’re looking to enhance your own career or you’re taking the leap and hiring a manager to oversee the day-to-day running of your organisation, leadership training in the UK could be an option to consider. Issac Qureshi and the team can help your organisation achieve better results by implementing a single organisational practice and introducing the latest leadership techniques and theories to maximise performance and deliver real results.

To find out more and get started, reach out to Issac today for a free leadership consultation.

Leadership Challenges Family Businesses Face

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Family-owned businesses are fundamental in the world economy. However, they are faced with unique leadership challenges. It is essential to embrace talent management and commit time and resources to identify and develop leadership qualities within the family business. This can prevent future leadership quarrels and succession conflicts in the business. The following are guiding principles in family business leadership.

Identifying Potential

Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, a leading global expert on talent and leadership, describes potential as the best predictor of future success. He believes that current abilities, competencies, or even experiences should not be considered during selection. The four qualities that characterize leadership potential are curiosity, insight, engagement, and determination. These abilities should be recognized and evaluated independently to identify those with stronger skills to learn and grow.

The process of identifying potentials in a family business can be faced with leniency and biasness. Fernández-Aráoz suggests a careful assessment of all age groups. These assessments must be carried out by an expert outside party to avoid conflict of interest and guarantee competency.

Develop Prospective Leaders

A strategic plan is required to evaluate the potential of each individual. This also includes selecting the specific and relative path to apply. People have different capacities for growth and development. It is crucial to identify the unique potential in the family. This provides the practical experience required to grow and develop abilities based on potential. It can also enable the chosen individuals to understand their abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

Evaluate, Collaborate and Position

This helps identify areas that require further development and where experience may be required. The management shares their views on the selected individuals with high potential. The individuals also get a chance to give feedback and assess their motivation to fill those roles.

Personal issues, identity issues, and family circumstances are important to consider for those willing to remain in the family business. These factors may determine the role the individuals play in the business and their level of commitment.

Conducting open and honest discussions of each person’s motivations and possibilities can empower the incoming leadership to roles that can be filled by non-family members. Considering personal interests is crucial in identifying and developing leaders. This will ensure that future leaders are determined to achieve business success.

If you are wondering “What is leadership?” Then contact Issac Qureshi.

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What is leadership?

That might not be a question we ask ourselves very often. Most people have some idea of what a good leader is, or at least who they see as a good leader. But when it comes to becoming the best leader you can possibly be, it pays to be a little clearer of the qualities that constitutes great leadership. The same is true for developing the leadership potential among your managers and supervisors. 

When we think of the great leaders in the world right now, or indeed throughout history, many had incredible charisma, some were authoritative while others let their own actions show the way. In short, there is not one blue print that fits all great leaders. Instead, there’s a lot of different leadership styles that can be effective for leading an organisation, team or country. 

Some of the qualities and character traits that define good leaders can be learned or nurtured. These include being honest, transparent, committed, empowering, empathic, a good communicator, etc. All the things that are an active choice or that can be achieved by building good habits can in principle be “learned” by all leaders. 

Other qualities like being charismatic, creative, or naturally commanding authority is a matter of personality that some leaders happen to possess. But don’t worry, if those character traits don’t come natural to you, there are plenty of effective leadership styles that don’t require you to try to change your personality. 

When you look for leadership training in the UK, it is important to find a coach who will help you determine your strengths as a leader. Once you know your strengths, a mentor will be able to help you find the leadership style that suits your skills and personality. 

Remember, there’s no ‘perfect’ when it comes to leading a team or an organisation. If you happen to be naturally authoritative, then you can use that to become a commanding leader, one who can lead any organisation through a crisis by making the right decisions — fast and decisive. 

If you are less comfortable being the decisive and commanding leader, you might very well thrive as a democratic leader. The democratic leader is one who allows his or her team to be involved in the decision making process. This allows every employee to feel included and take ownership of your organisations success, which can be highly effective during times of growth. 

The reason to look for UK based leadership training is that you want to meet with a coach who can discover your strengths with you. That is much easier to do in person, which gives the coach the best foundation to help you define and hone your unique leadership skills.  

If you are curious to find your ideal leadership style, contact Issac Qureshi leadership expert for a consultation about how you can become the best leader you can possibly be. 

Learn about business leadership with Issac Qureshi

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What is leadership?

We all have a vague idea about what makes a great leader or maybe specific individuals and historical figures we think embody excellent leadership. 

But in reality, a great leader is simply the right person for the right situation. Strong charismatic leaders like Weston Churchill and Nelson Mandela, might seem like born leaders. But they where simple the leaders Britain needed to get through the war, and the South African people needed to overcome the repression of the Apartheid regime. Outside those historical events, neither might have been the right person to lead their respective countries.  

Why am I talking about these historical leaders? Because great leaders come in many forms, and just because you are not a Churchill, Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., or Abraham Lincoln, doesn’t mean that you cannot be exactly the kind of leader your business needs. 

The leaders mentioned above were all leaders in time of crisis, whether it was WWII, fighting a repressive system or the American Civil War. They had the charisma to get people to listen to them and follow their lead. If you have the charisma to lead people through difficult situations, you should hone those qualities. That way you can become the leader your organisation needs to lead them through times of e.g. economic instability, market fluctuations, etc. 

However, those qualities might not be ideal in times of stability. Here a more democratic approach might be what your business needs. Being able to motivate and include your team or staff might very well be a much more productive. Getting people to feel included and responsible for your company’s success, can make for a very successful corporate culture. 

If you do not thrive as an authoritarian leader, you might develop a more laissez faire approach. This means give your team the freedom and responsibility to figure things out on their own. If you lead a team of seasoned professionals, might be extremely counterproductive. Instead the best way to lead specialist is to let them find the best solution to the highly specific problems they face. All you have to do is step in when more general or administrative problems occur. Otherwise let the professionals do their job the way its done best. 

When looking for leadership training in the UK, find a business coach willing to help you or your managers find and develop their personal leadership type. Your organisation will be strongest if you have leaders who embody all of the core leadership traits; authority, charisma, democratic, motivating, and encouraging. But no one needs to embody all of those qualities to be a great leader. 

To learn more about how to get the best leadership training in UK and implement strategies leading to business and career growth, contact Issac Qureshi, UK Leadership Expert.

Improving Remote Work Productivity

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With so many people working remotely these days, it is more important than ever to make it a productive experience. There are a few ways that this can be accomplished that will help improve the flow of the workday.

Management tools should be integrated with those used to communicate with co-workers effectively. This makes it easier for everyone to connect and gets work done as efficiently as possible. Virtual offices are now being created so that those in different locations can collaborate just as they would if they were all working in the same office. This is especially effective when not everyone is in the same time zone. Slack and Microsoft teams are increasingly being used to accomplish the same tasks that would be accomplished in a central office.

Setting goals for each employee to meet is easier when this type of communication is facilitated. By making organizations transparent, each employee will have a clear picture of what he or she is expected to do.

Breakdowns in communication are never a good thing. They can be avoided by using organizational management software. It provides a dashboard that supplies each employee with the information they need to do their job. Collecting and sharing data in a clear and concise way benefits everyone equally. It is especially effective in helping managers keep track of any performance problems or issues that come up over the course of a workday.

Nothing leads to remote work productivity faster than communication in which employees connect with each other and their manager as human beings. By keeping employees engaged, even when working from home, everyone is more productive. Understanding the written word can cause difficulties that understanding words expressed verbally don’t. This is why communication is so important to productivity.

Managers can keep their employees motivated and productive by offering them personal encouragement. It can be something as simple as a complimentary email, or something valuable such as an e-gift that the employee can redeem at his or her convenience.

Adjusting to working remotely can be a struggle for some. By using the right tools, the process is made easier and gains more value. When managers can bring their employees together virtually, remote working can become a breeze.