<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Employees who work under great leaders tend to be happier, more productive and more connected to their organization. And this has a ripple effect that reaches your business’s bottom line. Anyone can sit in a corner office and delegate tasks, but there is more to effective leadership than that. Not everyone is a natural-born leader.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, there are strategies you can use to improve your leadership. Similarly, there are a handful of mistakes to avoid if you want to be a good leader.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Assessing whether you’re a good or bad leader</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Business News Daily spoke with CEOs, directors and leadership experts to learn what good leadership strategies are and how you can incorporate them in your own organization.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you look around and see your team members have become disengaged or stagnant in their work, it may be time to reassess and reform your strategies. According to Brownlee, the following behaviors are signs you may have a poor leadership strategy:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">No one on your team has criticized one of your ideas in the past month.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You spend more time planning your own career progression than that of your team members.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">☼ You haven’t had at least three completely non-work-related conversations with a team member weekly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">☼ Different team members would provide different answers if asked your top three priorities for the year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">☼ Team members are afraid to fail.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">How to be a good leader</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Every leader has their own style, but there are certain characteristics all great leaders share. The below practices are often the hallmarks of a successful leader.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Engage in honest, open communication.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the most important elements of effective leadership is creating an open line of communication with your team members. Sanjay Patoliya, founder of Teclogiq and software developer at NextBits Group, said your own honesty and transparency should serve as an example for your team members.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“When you are responsible for a team of people, it is important to be straightforward,” he said. “Your company and its employees are a reflection of yourself, and if you make honest and ethical behavior … a key value, your team will follow.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Brownlee added that people with effective leadership language are able to customize their interactions and communication styles to suit each situation and team member. “This means they take the time to figure out which communication mode is preferred by each team member; e.g., are they a text person, email, phone or face-to-face? They’re also great listeners and are authentically interested in other people.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Listening to your employees and displaying transparency can build trust among your team and boost overall morale. Ruslan Fazlyev, former CEO and founder of e-commerce solutions provider Ecwid and current board member at Seller Labs, said that in all your communications, it’s crucial to be genuine above all else.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“There are many leadership styles; there’s no right and wrong,” he said. “But there’s genuine, and there’s fake. There’s no following to fake leadership.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Connect with your team members.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leading a group of people requires a mutual sense of trust and understanding between the leader and their team members. To achieve this, leaders should learn to connect.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie, a leadership writer and consultant, said that being a “more human” leader requires positivity, purpose, empathy, compassion, humility and love. These key traits will put you on the road to genuine connections with the members of your team.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Building a real, personal connection with your teammates is vital to developing the shared trust necessary to build a strong culture of accountability and exceptional performance,” St. Marie said. “With that culture in place, the team can achieve a successful business, a happy team and a fulfilled leader.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To build a connection with each of your team members, focus on getting to know their personalities, interests, strengths, weaknesses, hobbies and preferences. This can give you insight into their goals and motivations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Patoliya said successful leaders allow their teams to develop autonomy and add value according to their own personal strengths. “Being able to recognize the strengths of individuals within their team, and allowing them to be responsible and accountable, not only increases employees’ confidence in themselves and their leader, but also increases their performance.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. Encourage personal and professional growth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Acting as your team’s cheerleader is an important part of being an effective leader. You should be invested in their success and growth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Keri Ohlrich, the CEO of HR consulting company Abbracci Group, said that leaders should set aside a budget, if only a small one, to dedicate to the growth of their employees.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“With options as varied as on-demand, virtual [and] in-person options, there’s ample opportunity to continue learning new skills or further developing existing ones,” she said. “Empower your employees to take the time to learn and infuse that in the work they do.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition to investing in your employees’ growth financially, you should invest emotionally. John Rampton, founder and CEO of the app company Calendar, said that great leaders empower their employees to grow by giving them challenging opportunities and guiding them as needed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“To motivate and inspire employees, leadership strategy is about empowering others to do their best and take on new challenges,” he said. “Employees like challenges and feeling the satisfaction of overcoming them. Whether it’s a tough client, a difficult sale, a hard situation or whatever the case, it’s always good to let them take on these challenges.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When leaders believe in their employees and give them the opportunity to learn and grow, they might be surprised at how much they can accomplish. Don’t be afraid to delegate tasks and encourage freedom and creativity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd/fas</div>