Former England cricketer and founder of business consultancy Sporting Edge Jeremy Snape looks at the strategies for effectively leadership

Effective leadership is essential in businesses of all sizes, especially given the current political and economic turbulence.

We all look for ways to get ahead of our competition but how many of us look to our mind-set as a source of competitive advantage?

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Quarter sawn Tulipwood

As a former England cricketer, I know my mindset was the difference between my best days and my worst days.

That’s why I think understanding and leveraging our mental skills is the next frontier in performance.

Across the last decade I’ve interviewed some of the world’s most impressive sports leaders to understand how they lead, especially when times are difficult.

Here are some strategies from the digital library I’ve curated – I hope they help you to thrive:

Stop blaming others; own the situation

While the airwaves are cluttered with business owners talking about how Brexit is crippling their business, the creative entrepreneurs are using this to their advantage.

Every crisis creates an opportunity so start by owning the situation and using the challenges to cut costs and adapt your strategy while your rivals are playing the victim.

Pressure is a privilege

The highest profile sporting teams view pressure as privilege and use this mind-set to tackle potential issues head on.

Beyond your personal resilience, make sure you equip your team with the skills and mind-set they need to translate the threat into a challenge.

Create a potent motivational mix of sticks and carrots brought to life by compelling stories where you can prove people wrong, beat your local rivals or set an inspirational quest for them to achieve together.

Don’t micromanage – enable

Despite the pressure for short term results, tempting us to try to monitor everything, we should take a lesson from the rugby coach rather than the football coach.

While many football coaches still ‘direct’ proceedings in real time from the touchline by shouting and waving their arms, professional rugby coaches sit back in the stands with an aerial vantage point.

In the business world, the leaders who act as coaches, rather than controllers, will see the ability to make good decisions grow in their teams, rather than producing a group of excellent sheep.

Be fluid not fixed

You can’t predict and prevent all problems from arising, you must instead prepare your team so they can assess and respond quickly.

Very few owners have the perfect strategy to deal with the challenges their business faces, but those whose teams have the right mind-set and culture will have the best chance of winning whatever the position.

See also how to boost employee productivity.