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My first concern is my team, because if they are feeling good and motivated, then everything else takes care of itself.

It is very likely that our greatest feats will be achieved in partnership with others.

The chances are that if you chose your allies carefully, you'll be amazed and delighted by the contribution other people can make to your projects. They might not bring what you thought they would, but that's the beauty of it. They'll contribute stuff you never even dreamt of. You have to take the chance and let them into your world of ambitions.

Your own accomplishments will be magnified greatly if you can choose good people to work with, then inspire and help them give their best.

There is always a shortage of good managers and leaders – such general skills can be very valuable to an organisation and are well worth developing in yourself.

As a leader, you mustn't get caught up in the smaller details. It will only exhaust your energies. You have to delegate to others so that you can manage the bigger picture. Choosing the right people to work with is vital: people who you personally are comfortable with and who you trust and respect to get the job done. If they don't fit that bill, get rid of them as soon as you can, because they'll hold the show up, and neither you, they, nor the project will benefit from the mismatch.

A leader needs to bring 'vision' to the team or to an organisation. A vision of where we're headed and how we're going to get there.

Delegation requires you to give the other person a clear understanding of how and when they need to report back to you.

You can only delegate if you trust the person to whom you give the task. But giving someone full responsibility for how they complete a task will very often inspire in them a sense of pride and determination in doing the job well.

The best teams comprise different personalities with different areas of expertise: sales, manufacture, distribution, research and development - perhaps even a customer or two. The worst thing you can have is a lot of like-minded people.

Make sure your team members have a definite target to be aiming for, and a definite motivation for doing so.

Once the core values have been agreed upon, let people have their own autonomy about how they are achieved. If you allow someone a sense of responsibility for something, then they can take pride from having it work out well.

Give people responsibility - it motivates them to be successful - and then give them the credit. That's good management.

The trick is to find people's strengths and play to them so as to allow them to contribute to the team. Leadership is all about helping individuals to get the best from themselves.

New friendships are best formed when strangers are put into a new environment and can draw together against a common enemy or a joint goal.

Don't be greedy: share your plans and ideas with partners and investors and employees. Let everyone have some input, even if you know the final decision will be yours.

Without involvement, there is no commitment. Involve each member of the team as much as possible.

Every team member is a potential source of great ideas, not just a pair of hands. Ask people to make suggestions on a regular and frequent basis.

Be sure to walk around and see what's going on. You cannot manage effectively from your office.

It's still too rare for a leader of an organisation to regularly take the time and trouble to go and examine how other people are doing things, so as to better motivate one's own teams.

Things don't go wrong because everything goes wrong. It only takes one malfunctioning organ to kill a body. So don't neglect members of your team, or parts of your task.

Criticise someone's behaviour rather than the actual person, so rather than feeling that they themselves are flawed, all the person needs to do is improve their behaviour to win your respect.

If someone's underperforming, consider giving them more not less responsibility and encouragement - it may increase their sense of feeling valued and trusted.

People don't hate work. It's as natural as rest or play. If they commit themselves to mutual objectives, they'll drive themselves more effectively than you can drive them.

You've got to give people time and attention, but even a smile, a nod or a thumbs up can bridge a lot of gaps.

If you lose someone from the team, you must not spend any time in pity but put all your efforts into encouraging the remaining team members. That is the job of the leader.

Constant encouragement and recognition of achievements on a daily basis make for a very healthy atmosphere. You get the best from people by building them and supporting them. Leadership is all about helping individuals get the best from themselves.

School exams and degrees can be such an isolating process that you have to make a special effort to learn how to work within a team. Try to form a 'study team' to encourage each other and share tips.

Develop the ability to lead people in such a way that they do not even know they are being led, so that it becomes a joint endeavour.

The more you do for those you lead, the more they will do for you. Care as much for their well-being as you would for yourself. They will sense it and you will earn from them a special level of respect.

When you're in a leadership position, you have to generate and radiate self-confidence, courage and sureness of purpose. That is key to the leader's role. You can and should invite everyone's considered opinion and potentially good ideas. But you, and you alone, must make the final decision and broadcast it clearly with no room for doubt. That's your right and your responsibility.

The key to success is being able to motivate and to look for the best in yourself and others. You are the sum of yourself and those individuals who you choose to rally around you.