by Skyler Wolf Jones

Created on: December 08, 2008

Hold a meeting that is optional after normal working hours. Tell your team you want to talk to them about an idea. How many people showed up from your team?

A true leader will be a shining beacon in the company that other employees want to be a part of their team, and the employees they do have are firing on all cylinders willing to give it their all. Out of ten employees I bet you an effective leader would have eight to ten of their employees attend that meeting. A decent leader would have five to eight. If you get less than five chances are you either aren't a good leader or you're not passionate about what you are doing.

There are some concrete ways of telling whether a leader is effective or not, and there are the softer sides of effective leadership.

First some concrete examples:

-Are you meeting your deadlines for your deliverables?

-Does your team meet or exceed the service level expectations?

-Are your team members completing their tasks with little to no resistance?

-Does your team consistently follow and abide the company's policies and procedures?

-Are your team members on time and respectful to the other team members?

Now here are some of the crucial pieces of telling whether you are an effective leader. Do you:

-Have a vision for your team that inspires your team members to drive for results and helps them understand how they contribute to the company mission.

-Have weekly meetings to touch basis with your team and identify problems and recognize achievements.

-Know the strengths and areas of improvement of your team members so you are able to place them in the right opportunities to excel with a balance of learning.

-Take time to listen to your teams concerns and do you follow through with your commitments to them when handling or accepting their remarks.

-Inspire them by setting the example of your expectation.

-Provide them with opportunities to increase their skill sets by taking on challenges.

-Promote your team members to other departments or staff to increase their chances for internal promotions and positive company acknowledgement.

-Treat every fairly and give all team members your personal attention.

-Post your goals for the department and set clear expectations of what are the main priorities.

-Send your team inspiring remarks or nice compliments that are said about your team.

If you have answered yes to most of the examples in the above two categories, I think it is safe to say that you are being an effective leader. The important thing to note at this point is to acknowledge what you are or aren't doing and start taking the next steps into becoming an even more effective leader. There is always room for improvement. Don't be afraid to make mistakes or ask your team members for feedback on how you can improve. This will only gain the respect of your team members more so when they see you listen and respond by incorporating their feedback and working on bettering yourself.

Don't wait till an annual review to find out if you are an effective leader or not. Be proactive and assure that you are by implementing a few new good ideas of leadership.

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