What is a leader?

Am I a leader?

How do I become a better leader?

What should I be doing to lead my company?

These are the questions we are asked most often by our clients. Just what does it take to be a good leader? How do you effectively lead your team?

The first thing you need to understand in order to answer these questions is that everyone is different, and that includes you and your employees. You cannot be someone you are not. Some people are willing and able to be leaders and others are not.

Know Yourself

"Because of the fantastic sales of the iPad, the tablet market will eventually explode in the business world," says Steve Robb, vice president and general manager of LaSalle Solutions, a VAR based in Rosemont, IL.

Let’s first acknowledge that you cannot be someone you are not. All of us go to different conferences—or at least we should—and listen to speakers who seem to have it all together. They are charismatic. They are determined. They seem clear in their direction. If only you could be like them. Reality check; you are not them. Not many of us can walk into a room and immediately draw attention to ourselves simply because we have an aurora about us that is magnetic. We have to be who we are. Don’t try to be someone you are not. Be yourself. That is the first rule.

Know your strengths and weaknesses. Exploit your strengths and work on your weaknesses. Do not pretend to be someone you are not, and do not try to convince yourself and others you have talents in areas where you have none. If you do, you will look phony. Once that happens, you lose all credibility and any chance to be an effective leader.

Build The Right Team

Consider the members of your team who do not want to be led. These are not team players and are, in the kindest of words, rabble rousers. They are probably causing most of your grief. This is where you have to make those difficult managerial decisions. They cannot be part of your team simply because they have chosen not to be. You must take action and only allow those who will follow you to have the opportunity to work with you.

"With all the excitement around these new products," he adds, "we are encouraged to see other leading manufacturers releasing their own tablet and slate products to capitalize on the new momentum."

Be Fair And Consistent

You can be the biggest jerk in the world (not recommended), but if you are fair in your treatment and consistent with your decisions you will garner respect and be able to lead. Let’s take General George Patton as an example. He is known as one to the greatest wartime leaders we have ever had in the history of our country. Was he well liked? No. He was arrogant and caustic (not good traits to have as a leader), but he overcame those faults because he expected the same from every trooper under his command. There were no exceptions. He was fair in delivering his expectations and did not allow for any prima donnas (he was the only prima donna he allowed in his command). Everyone understood his expectations. He was consistent with his decisions. There was no doubt how he would rule when it came to decision time. His command knew in advance what he would do in making a decision, which allowed them to make decisions or take actions without asking for specific direction. But they also knew if they did not follow his manner of decision making, they would pay dearly. He was consistent. He did not make a decision one day and then make a different decision the next day on the same question. He did not flip-flop. He was consistent.

So make note of those two traits. Fair: the manner in which everyone is treated the same. No exceptions. No sacred cows. Consistent: the manner in which your actions and decisions are the same—day in, day out.

Decisive, Visible And Humble

Now, let’s talk about three other characteristics of a good leader. The ability to make a decision ranks near the top of my list. No one wants to work with someone who cannot or will not make a decision. Most of us come from the technical side of the world and are infamous for analysis paralysis. We analyze things to death looking for the perfect solution. I had a boss once tell me—as I was involved in my own analysis paralysis—that better is the opposite of good enough. If it is good enough, it is good enough! The economy of scale to make it better is often not justifiable. Don’t spend any more time on it. Start implementing the decision and adjust if necessary as more input is obtained through actual results.

The next characteristic is visibility. You cannot just talk the talk. You must walk the walk! If you expect your employees to be at work at 8 a.m., you need to be there at 7:45 a.m. If you expect them to be there until 5 p.m., you need to be there until 5:15 p.m., and so on. If you expect your folks to follow certain rules, then you must also do the same, plus a little more. You can’t be a contradiction or an exception to the expectations you have for your people. Your work place is not a place you can say “do as I say, not do as I do”!

When you begin realizing success, you must exhibit the next characteristic. You must remain humble. Do not flaunt your success. If you’re talking about cost and salary controls, and then drive up in an $80,000 Mercedes, you become a contradiction. At some point, your employees will begin to resent your success and a perceived exploitation of their hard work. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to get nicer things and live a better life. What it does mean, however, is that you avoid flaunting your success and remain sensitive to how others perceive you.

Now it’s your turn. Honestly evaluate how you fare with each of these attributes. It may not be nearly apparent to you as it is to those around you.