Leaders have to be agents of change. In today’s business world, with everything changing so quickly, every organisation wants to thrive, not just survive, and in order to do this they have to change. Sometimes the change is evolutionary and sometimes it’s revolutionary. Most organisations fail at change because they don’t take all the steps necessary, but change always begins with the leader. They effect the change and then they have to be a pitbull to lead that change throughout.

As part of this, risk is required and leaders have to be prepared to take the jump.

Emotional intelligence is recognised today as a scarce but highly prized skill that’s critical for leadership, particularly as we now live in a world where sound technical skills are a business given and we have 24/7 access to overwhelming information resources.

Leaders have to be able to understand their strengths as well as those areas that require improvement, and then actively seek out ways to improve.

They also need to be able to put themselves in the shoes of those they lead: often the higher up people move, the more removed they become from those they seek to lead. Leaders should focus on influencing people and gaining alignment to inspire and motivate.

Leaders have to be believable. This goes beyond credibility. If you’re credible you can be a good manager, but to be a great leader you have to be believable. It’s about having a passion that can inspire your team to follow you to the end of the earth.

It’s ever so hard to capture: believable leaders empower their team to own the vision as much as they do. Believable leaders speak with such passion that people naturally follow them and get behind the cause, so the passion turns into action. It involves walking the walk, so the leader is part of the team, knows the issues and gives the team the opportunity to be part of the solution. People will buy into an idea or vision if they feel involved and part of it.

Believable leaders behave professionally and work for the common good.

I think the most important thing for a good leader is to find the right balance between fun and motivation, and discipline and hard work. If you run a company just on discipline and hard work, it will lead to burn-out among employees and a high turnover of staff. If you run it just on fun and motivation, it will go bankrupt.

A company that gets this absolutely right is Gainesville Health and Fitness in the US, owned by Joe Cirulli. His approach combines old-fashioned management with a new style of leadership. Cirulli sets the boundaries for his staff in an 85-page manual that covers everything from dress code to how to treat clients. He treats his staff well, nurturing talent and promoting people. There’s always a great atmosphere in the clubs – and Cirulli is happy to get his hands dirty and muck in and help staff, and he shares the credit with his team.

Presence is one of the most important qualities in a leader working in the health club environment. Staff and members should know who they are and feel happy to approach them. Too many managers hide away in their office and communicate by email.

 Leaders should be available to everyone within the club, so that employees and members feel respected.  Leaders should listen to feedback and issues and take action where possible. The mere fact that they are involving themselves in real issues is extremely powerful and helps build a strong reputation.

Where staff are concerned, those leaders who have presence are able to pass their vision on to their team.

It’s important that leaders can create an environment where others can succeed: this includes developing both the team and the culture of the club. To do this, leaders need to be self-aware and able to self-manage: the core attributes are understanding others and bringing out the best in them.

Leaders need to be able to engage the team with a sense of purpose as well as engaging their hearts and minds. This involves communicating well, using a variety of tools, and empowering others.

For example, rather than telling someone to do x, y and z to complete a task, they should tell them the end outcome and support them to complete the task on their own.

This isn’t throwing people in at the deep end, but rather delegating effectively. Happy employees lead to happy customers, which leads to a happy business outcome.