To grow a business into the successful, profitable organisation that it is capable of being, you need to tick a number of corporate boxes – you´ll need excellent staff for whom dedication to their job comes as second nature, a desirable service or product to sell, a healthy balance sheet and, above everything else, strong leadership.

But what makes a good leader, and where could you hope to find someone who inspires enthusiasm and loyalty, someone so committed to their role that they will move mountains to achieve their targets, and someone with the talent to grow a business from where it is today to where you´d like it to be tomorrow?

The born leader

Corporate myth tells the tale of a “born leader”, someone who intuitively knows how to obtain the devotion of their workforce and whose instincts lead them in the right direction with every decision. In reality there may be some people who are a little like this but, for most, even those with the natural skills within them, leadership is something that needs to be learned, something that needs to be nurtured in order for them to help to grow a business like yours.

To stack up to the expectations of born leadership talent is an impossible and disheartening target to give to the majority of those who reach management levels because most of us have to work hard to achieve what the fabled born leader can do with ease.

The role of intelligence

One common misnomer about leadership is that it has something to do with intelligence or being book-smart. In fact many millionaires in the business world today started off with a failed academic record, or an education that was cut short.

Two of the most famous British examples of this are Simon Cowell and Lord Alan Sugar, both of whom left school at 16 and are today worth many hundreds of millions of pounds and have become leaders in their respective industries. There is no question that they know how to grow a business through exceptional leadership, but they certainly didn´t read about it at school.

Allegedly Simon Cowell was expelled from school for disruptive behaviour when he was just 16, having only achieved two O level passes. Traditionally this is not the sort of start you´d expect for someone who would later reach such impressive corporate heights, but succeed he has because Cowell is now one of the most influential men in music and television.

Lord Alan Sugar also left school at 16. He did so to focus on making money buying and selling anything he thought there was a reasonable margin in, including car stereos, aerials and cigarette lighters. He launched AMSTRAD in 1968 and, after decades of success (and the odd very public failure), his ability to grow a business has become almost legendary.

Both men admit they found it difficult if not impossible to work for others, so to grow a business of their own became a necessity as well as a passion.

How to grow a business through good leadership

What Cowell and Sugar have that makes them good businessmen and inspirational leaders is an unshakeable self-belief, an unstoppable drive, and a passion for success – “chutzpah” if you will.

Of course to conquer the business world takes more than this alone. If left unfocused, such determination can lead to failure just as easily and quickly as it can lead to success. Self-belief can be seen as arrogance, drive can be seen as delusion, and passion can be seen as misdirected. To grow a business takes more than just being streetwise – it takes confidence backed by consideration, vision tempered by planning, and ambition reinforced by responsibility.

While it´s easy to believe the TV and media generated personas of these people, a huge dollop of healthy scepticism has to live on in your mind that understands that Cowell and Sugar, to achieve the heights they have, must be more than the one-dimensional angry man of pop or the unstoppable wheeler-dealer from Hackney. Good leadership does not come from a single all-consuming trait; it is developed from a complex amalgamation of character, knowledge, empathy and respect that can only be achieved through the right guidance.

There may be a leadership diamond in the rough with the skills to grow a business already within your organisation. At Incisive Edge we are in the business of moulding the natural talents of those we work with so they can become the exceptional leaders of tomorrow.