“Respect is the key determinant of high-performance leadership. How much people respect you determines how much they perform.” – Brian Tracy

Think of someone in your life that had a positive impact on you by being a good leader. What qualities did they possess? How did they manage tasks and obligations? And, most importantly, how did they make you feel? Certain qualities, characteristics and habits form a good leader. Today, I’ll cover five essential traits that will help you become a good leader and improve your leadership skills.

1. Being a good leader requires great communication.

Engage in open and honest communication with your team and the people you lead. When you speak, be specific, direct, and clear. But remember that listening is more important than talking as a leader, and having back and forth conversations is much more effective than a monologue or directive. Communicate by being present physically as well as staying engaged with your team. Always have your actions back up your words. People will follow a leader who is credible, trustworthy and transparent.

2. Good communication brings us to the second trait: building connections with your team members.

Connections are key to building relationships that will guide your team through challenges to achieve continual success. Keep it in the forefront of your thinking that people are more important than things and tasks needed to be completed. If a team member needs to discuss something with you, take the time or make an appointment within the day. If you’re constantly too busy to talk, team members will stop coming to you, and morale will suffer.

Get to know your team members beyond the work environment too. What are their interests, what motivates them, who and what is important to them? Share about yourself, too. When people know you care, they will be happier, more productive, and responsive.

3. You’ll want to always keep a positive attitude.

As a leader, having a positive attitude is vital to maintain your team and company’s determination. The type of energy you bring to the team will be recognized and amplified. So make sure you’re modelling the attitude you want your team to have. Keeping a positive attitude means being supportive, encouraging, and hopeful in both your thoughts and actions.

Look at problems as challenges to tackle together and overcome. View mistakes and setbacks as learning experiences and team-building opportunities. Being genuinely positive means that you have to take care of yourself too. Allow yourself time to destress, exercise, eat healthily and nourish your mind. The time you take daily to ensure you’re balanced and energized will have a direct, beneficial effect on your team.

4. A good leader will also create clear goals and set expectations.

They properly relay their expectations so each team member knows what to strive for individually and as a team. Include your team in the goal-setting process so that they have a sense of ownership and motivation to achieve the objective. Clearly explain the vision of your company or project, and let collective inspiration from all team members determine how the vision will be perceived. Revisit goals regularly as well. This not only helps the team stay on track but also gives you chance to celebrate accomplishments and make changes when needed.

5. You always want to deliver constructive feedback.

This may be one of the most challenging aspects of your role, but being capable of giving and receiving constructive feedback is crucial to being a good leader. Employees and team members need to know, and in most cases want to know, how they can improve, and you need to provide the resources to help them do that. The goal of giving feedback is to empower your team members, improve their performance, and boost team engagement. Ensure you maintain that positive attitude when you respond. Constructive criticism identifies what’s going right as well as what went wrong while providing solutions.

Before giving feedback, ask your team members questions that will encourage them to talk about any challenges they’re facing or the achievements they’re experiencing. This gives you a jumping-off point to discuss problems and solve them together. Often a person will verbalize the same things you need to talk to them about when allowed to speak first. And you may get insights into what’s keeping them from performing their best that you weren’t originally aware of.

If you want to be a good leader, it requires communicating openly and frequently with your team. Forming authentic connections with them, maintaining a positive attitude, setting clear goals together, and giving helpful constructive feedback. Some of these skills may come naturally to you, and others you’ll need to practice and improve on until they become second nature. Every effort you put into improving your leadership skills will translate to exponential success for your business, yourself, and each individual you work with.

What steps will you take to become a good leader for your team?