Leaders deliver most of their effect through other people by connecting and engaging with them in pursuit of a clear and compelling purpose. To do this effectively, the leader must have a positive impact on the people they lead.

Generally, people feel uncomfortable with uncertainty. The more clarity and reassurance a leader can give to the team, the better. Effective leaders create a sense of safety for their team. The more information and inspiration a leader can give to their team, the safer those people feel, and the more able they are to use their initiative and make good decisions. People do not like or trust detached leaders, and a lack of communication and clarity will lead to mistrust and a poor working culture. There is a real imperative for leaders who want to build and maintain a positive culture to work hard to inspire and be understood.

As a leader, giving people clarity and reassurance about who you are and how you work creates safety and has a positive impact. You will have your own style and preferences, so it really helps other people if they understand how you like to work, and the culture that you are looking to grow. This goes a long way towards preventing misunderstanding and frustration. The better people know and understand you as a leader, the more freedom you will be able to give them and the more initiative they will be able to take.

Who you are and how you work

There is a simple structure that I suggest you use to define who you are and how you work. First, begin by writing a paragraph that will introduce you at a personal level. The more you can share about yourself, the better. Only share things that will encourage connection and allow people to feel comfortable.

Whilst being so open might feel unnatural or uncomfortable, effective leadership is based on personal connection, not positional power; this openness and honesty will help to form the connection and understanding which will allow you to engage others and get the best from them. Teams thrive on human connection.

Start by writing a paragraph that introduces you on a personal level. As long as you are sharing things that will encourage connection and allow people to feel comfortable. Where are you from? What sort of family do you have? What do you enjoy? What matters to you? What do you value in the world? What are your hobbies and interests? The aim of this is to help create personal connection.

Then explain your working style. Establish how you would like things to be (otherwise you will quickly become sucked into accepting the way things are). What sort of culture do you want to work in? How do you want your team to feel? How will people communicate? How important is honesty? Do you value face to face meetings? What is your view on being copied in on messages and being kept ‘in the loop?’ (Personally, I think being kept in too many loops distracts leaders from leading). Can people book you to attend meetings? What level of detail do you want to be engaged in; what matters to you?

As soon as you are ready, pull people together and present this work to them. Find a nice venue, offer refreshments, and present this in an informal chat. Be yourself, not your appointment, and use this occasion to connect with your team and reassure. If you can get this right you will have gone a long way towards creating the conditions for a positive culture.

People need to feel Connected to the Purpose

As a leader, you need to think about and then share what the Clear and Compelling Purpose is, as well as your vision of how you will work towards that purpose. Knowing what is going on and feeling part of the bigger picture is a powerful motivator; conversely, a feeling of disconnection is demoralising. Often the aspirations of organisations are captured and then concealed in turgid five-year plans that are rarely seen by most staff.

On our leadership courses, we run learning projects that are designed to make some members of the team feel disconnected from the purpose, and their feedback after the exercise is always negative. This replicates the reality in many organisations, where the staff on the ground have little or no understanding of what the senior leaders are trying to achieve; without knowing that, it is hard for them to innovate and contribute.

Neil Jurd OBE is the author of The Leadership Book (priced at £15.99 and available from Amazon.co.uk) and founder of skills platform LeaderConnect. Find out more: www.leader-connect.co.uk

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People around the world are turning to Ruby’s content to find healing. Ruby has also written content for notable women’s health, wellness, and lifestyle magazines and is a guest on podcasts. When she isn’t writing, she hosts writing and mental health workshops and performs at poetry nights.

How Ruby Built Her Following

Ruby began sharing on social media in 2016. She initially began sharing as a way to deal with some difficult events in her life, but her words resonated with readers and she quickly gained a following.

In 2017, she self-published her first book. When it sold 350 copies in the first month alone, she was excited to see the initial success of her writing. Back then, Ruby didn’t have the following she has today. That initial success was an exciting sign of things to come. She put the proceeds from her writing into a bank account and used a portion of those proceeds to purchase Facebook ads. Those ads led to additional book sales.

Ruby has sold over 30,000 copies of her books this year, including 20,000 copies of her most recent work (which allowed Dear Self to appear on the bestseller list). She continues to write content about love, heartbreak, letting go, healing, and mental health, since her honest approach to these topics is what contributed to her success.

Today she is writing her sixth book, which will be an easy-to-digest self-help book. Ruby is also working on her first fiction novel, which will be a YA romance novel, revolving around the lives of two central POC characters from unique backgrounds.

In addition to writing, Ruby has started turning her ideas into YouTube videos, a monthly blog, and a newsletter. She also helps people through one-to-one healing sessions on Zoom. Ruby stays connected to local communities by hosting workshops at schools and universities.

Ruby is making the world a better place one word at a time. She says that if her writing can help one person, it’s all worth it. Feedback from readers who have found healing through her content gives her energy and fuels her purpose.

Ruby’s Roadmap to Success

Ruby worked hard to create the business she has today, so she knows others can do the same when they’re willing to put in the hard work. Her biggest piece of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is that each person must find their purpose and run with it. Ruby discovered early on that writing and helping others was her purpose, which led to the work she does today.

She recommends that people who need to keep working a job to finance living expenses should give themselves an hour every day to work on their business idea. They should spend time investing in skills every day. To finance their idea, they should set aside a little money and create a budget to guide their investments in the project.

Ruby reminds aspiring entrepreneurs to leverage the power of social media. It is one of the cheapest and fastest ways to get the message out about a brand, so it cannot be ignored in the business plan of any budding business.

She also encourages people to create a 5-year or 10-year plan and break everything down into tiny steps. Those steps will become a personal roadmap to success. When a person carves out the time and puts in the hard work, their entrepreneurial dreams can become a reality. Anyone can make a living doing what they love most when they put in the hard work and treat it like a career, just like Ruby has done with her writing.

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