Leadership in Logistics:
Everything You Must Know
See also: Strategic Thinking Skills
Strong leadership is a requirement for any business industry. The logistics sector is one of the many that need experts with proven leadership capabilities. This extends to motivating the team to do their best, managing the freight logistics activities, and improving the supply chain strategy. A good leader should ensure the working process goes smoothly. At the same time, they need to find ways to become more competitive in the market.
Which skills are essential for leadership in logistics? This post shares everything you need to know!
Communicate their vision
A strong leader should establish a clear vision for everyone to follow. They will motivate others to get involved and share a common goal. Coming up with creative ideas in the workplace might be easy, but doing this on an industry level is more challenging.
Therefore a good leader should intuitively understand others and convey their message. The supply chain relies on consistency to thrive. Leaders need to know how it works to improve the processes.
Global perspective
Leaders need to see the big picture and not only focus on the small details. The ability to have a global perspective is appreciated. Logistic processes consist of a few stages; observing them as the bigger picture helps streamline them. This does only ensure integrated operations but also makes communication easier.
Excellent communication skills
A person that overtakes a leading position must have excellent communication skills. A leader is a person that establishes an open relationship with the team members, which helps them communicate about outcomes and provide feedback. At the same time, the team members should feel like they can freely express their opinions.
Oriented toward the future
The logistics industry is changing for the better, thanks to technological advancement. Therefore, a good leader should anticipate the changes and consider the possibilities of implementing them in the supply chain. Also, they should be able to anticipate any issues and adjust the working process to avoid them or minimize the negative impact.
Strategic thinking is an essential skill that should become a part of the must-have leader skill set. The leader needs to track the industry trends and keep updated with the latest news. With this, they can think of ways to implement innovative concepts in the working process.
Competitiveness
Logistic companies shape a supply chain strategy that gives them an advantage in the market. A leader should know how to identify the practices that would have a real impact on the company's performance. They should work on improving the work operations to make their services better than the competitors.
Understanding the market
Understanding the current market situation and trends is a valuable asset for every leader. The experts should keep up to date with the information about the logistics industry. This includes the other business operating in this sector, the customers, new technologies, and processes. A good leader understands others' logistics practices and uses his data to streamline their operations.
Teamwork
Even though this one might seem obvious, we must highlight the importance of teamwork. No leader would exist without a team, so they need to understand the importance of teamwork. Every team member is essential when it comes to achieving supply chain success. A good leader should know their team well and understand each member's strengths. This way, he can work on improving them and achieve the group's full potential.
Attention to detail
Logistics consist of complex processes with numerous stages and details. A good leader should pay attention to detail to ensure a streamlined working process. They must be able to see the bigger picture but, at the same time, analyze the small details that matter.
High involvement
A professional leader should be involved in the processes from start to finish. This way, they can identify minor problems before they amplify and cause negative effects.
Interpersonal skills
Building relationships with people involved in the processes so the leader should have excellent interpersonal skills. They will communicate with employees on different levels on a daily basis. Whether it is clients, managers, executives, or suppliers, knowing how to connect with each is crucial. They need to convey the message through face-to-face or written communication.
Employee retention is a significant concern in the logistics industry. Leaders should take job hopping as a serious issue and address it carefully.
Learning skills
The leader shouldn't stop learning. It is crucial for their personal growth and the company's success. They should seek learning opportunities everywhere and have access to fresh ideas. This helps the leader identify and replace outdated practices and ensure the logistics business meets the changing demands.
Formal education is an important aspect. However, leaders should find other ways to learn to grow their skillset. Researching, reading books, and training sessions are great starting points for leaders that want to upgrade their knowledge.
Identify inefficiency
Even the best leaders will encounter inefficiency in their working practices, which is okay. A great leader will be able to identify the reasons for inefficiency and implement changes to improve the working process. Leadership skills involve reflecting on personal practices and performance to determine the weak points. Also, the leader should know how to identify and pinpoint the exact problem that is causing inefficiency.
A great leader does not only provide feedback to the others involved in the working processes. They also actively request feedback from others to better understand their perspective.
Further Reading from Skills You Need
The Skills You Need Guide to Leadership eBooks
Learn more about the skills you need to be an effective leader.
Our eBooks are ideal for new and experienced leaders and are full of easy-to-follow practical information to help you to develop your leadership skills.
Final thoughts
Outstanding leadership is necessary for every company to establish a presence in the logistics market. The leader needs to understand the market situation to respond to the challenges. Also, they need to develop a great relationship with the people involved and actively request feedback from them. The leader's skill set should help them see the bigger picture and adjust the business practices for increased competitiveness.
About the Author
Alex Buzan is responsible for content production at BeneValue OÜ. Alex has an IT and financial background which enables him to apply the latest agile methodologies to the white head outreach field.