In times of turmoil, the leadership skills of our leaders are the best. Each crisis verifies their strength and charisma. Beata Drzazga, a visionary entrepreneur, business advisor and speaker at conferences related to the health market and entrepreneurship, talks about whether a leader is born.

What kind of leader do you need to be to create one of the largest companies in the health sector in Poland?

Above all, a leader who loves people, is not afraid of challenges, wants to constantly develop and create. If we combine all this, there is a good chance that we will be successful. Of course, the people we choose to work with us are also very important, because their loyalty, their willingness to identify with our company also affects the success of our company. You also have to be a leader who teaches his people to swim, not just gives them a lifebuoy. Someone once said that if you want your employees to build a boat with passion, teach them to love the sea. If an employee loves the mission and vision they will be working with you, they will be very committed to it and a wonderful piece of work will be created. You can see immediately from his reaction that this is a man who either wants to follow your path or not. The ability to choose the right team is also a very important quality of a good leader. After all, people are different. Some are suited to co-create something, while others are just passively following orders. Both are very much needed, but the leader must know which ones should be more and where to place them. It is important for a leader to be able to pull people along and teach them how to follow you. Sometimes the market gives us an amazing opportunity to develop the company, but sometimes there are external limitations because the right people are not available. A good leader must know how to build a team, how to lead the team and how to motivate the team. A good leader must also be a role model for his people. An example of responsibility, conscientiousness and curiosity of the world. A leader must be attentive to employees and respect the knowledge of his people. The leader is not the alpha and omega, so he gathers people who are experts in their field. The healthy humility of a leader who knows that his people have something to contribute to the project is also important. Each is valuable individually and even more valuable in a group. The leader must also be available so that his people do not hesitate to come to him to ask anything.

Does every sphere of business need different leaders?

Every business requires the same leadership qualities, but then depending on the field in which you operate, you match specialists. If the leader knows how to manage, he will be able to lead any company in any field. It just needs to choose the right specialists, i.e. personnel with different knowledge and different competencies appropriate for a given industry.

What kind of leaders do people listen to and which do they respect?

We respect those leaders who are ethical and who respect other people, both employees and customers or contractors. A leader who is guided by values ​​is respected. Respect cannot be demanded, it is your attitude that deserves it. We listen to such leaders with respect. On the other hand, we listen to leaders who break the rules of ethics, who do not take into account others, who are conceited, but for a different reason – out of fear. I believe that you need to treat your employees in such a way that if they leave our company, they will only say good things. This reputation proclaimed by our employees is the best showcase of what kind of leaders we are.

Can leadership be learned, or do you have to be born with it?

I think it’s a talent we’re born with. Of course, you can also learn it. After all, there are a lot of schools and courses, but I believe that such learned leaders will never be authentic. I believe that a good leader should also have charisma, and no one can teach us that.

You employ more than 3,250 people and many of them have been with you for years, what drives such a leader?

He has to be natural, he has to be himself, he has to have values ​​that he lives by and sets an example. Then people are like friends, no matter what position they are in. The reward for your authenticity is their loyalty. Then even when you can’t reward them better, because times are hard, they stand by you because they know that if you can, you will compensate them. You build this bond with employees for years, consistently. You appreciate your people, you invest in them in their development, you reward them, and when there are problems, you know that they will not run away from the deck, but will stay on it to wait out the storm and save the boat.