Successful managers and good leaders share certain practices that enable them to continue day after day, to motivate others, grow companies, and achieve personal as well as professional success. True leaders know that the qualities they need to succeed come from first knowing themselves, and then from learning all they can about the world around them. These are the skills they must practice constantly to remain focused and true to their commitments. These activities can be broken down into 5 basic steps:

• Know your People
• Be Committed to Effective Communication
• Take Ownership
• Take Risks
• Check your Results

Know your people, your company and your agenda. Understand how your company works, how your people work and how your people work within the company. What is your agenda, your plan, what is your course of action to get from point A to point B? Be a presence to your Team. Be available to them when they need you. Invite their participation and opinions. Get to know them and learn what makes them click both at work and at home. The best Leaders never stop growing because they never stop learning!

Be committed to effective communication, be honest, fair and direct in everything you do, write or say. You’ve heard the saying, “sometimes the truth hurts,” well yes, sometimes it does. But the truth is always welcomed over a deception. Share your ideas openly so that everyone knows where you are coming from. Be consistent. If the plans change, as they sometimes do, let everyone know. Don’t keep secrets. Effective communication also means that you have to be open and willing to receive feedback. You also need to be appreciative of the fact that your people were willing to offer it. A big part of communication which is often overlooked is praise. If you want involvement and commitment then give people praise!

Here is a cautionary note regarding praise. Not everyone likes or appreciates being praised in the same manner. Some people like the praise heaped upon them, the more public the better. Center stage is good for them. Letting everyone know they are being praised is important. Then there are others that are embarrassed by public praise. They don’t like the attention. These people still want to be recognized for a job well done, but in a low key fashion. Keep it simple. As a Leader it is important for you to know your Team so that you know which type of praise to give; public or private.

Take ownership of your own behaviors, of your company or store and of your mission. You must have a passion for developing your team and for meeting your goals and for exceeding expectations. Help others succeed. There is no I in Team may sound trite but it is very important to follow and to preach. If you want to be a Leader, act like one! Taking ownership means taking the responsibility for when things go wrong, accepting the blame, having the “buck stops here” attitude. Being a Leader means when it is wrong it was your fault. When things go well or right, taking ownership means passing on or at least sharing the credit for the success with your Team. Simply put, taking ownership means saying if it is wrong I did it, if it is right, they did it.

You must be willing to take risks. If you want to play it safe then stay home in bed with the covers over your head. If you want to be a Leader risks must be taken every day, for everyday is a new day with new challenges and new opportunities. Taking risks includes being honest with yourself and others, standing up for what you believe in, making decisions, acting upon them and trying something new. Sometimes something new is something old. Just because it didn’t work a year ago doesn’t mean it won’t work today. Taking risks is the only way to move forward.

In order to check your results you need to keep track of your progress and measure results. Evaluate what IS working and what IS NOT and have the conviction to make necessary changes. Everybody has to course-correct sometimes. Hind-sight being 20/20 sometimes what we put in place just doesn’t work. Face the facts and get things on the right course.

I think that if you follow these simple suggestions you will see that true Leadership is there, inside you, waiting to be set free!