Having and maintaining effective leadership over people in the workplace, whether they are your employees or just individuals you supervise, is the key to keeping employees producing at their best. Below are 12 quick tips to help you produce and maintain effective leadership at work:

1. Ask yourself, on an ongoing basis, of everything happening what is the most valuable use of my time, right now?

2. Manage your work and your employees by objectives. Effective leadership is demonstrated by instructive your staff on exactly what you would like them to do, and then, where possible, leaving them to get on with it. If it is not possible only provide them with necessary supervision. Do not watch every move.

3. There is a philosophy called the Philosophy of Continuous Improvement. This involves getting a little better at everything you do every day until you are performing to the best of your abilities. If you practice this then your employees will copy you.

4. If you are in charge of an employee that has exceptional talents which you are not currently taking advantage of, but are useful in your workplace, then create a new position for that specific skill.

5. Have an open door policy and take the time to truly listen to your people when they need or want to talk with you. You will increase their motivation by ten-fold.

6. Recognize that people not products or your bottom-line, are your most valuable asset and work to increase the value of your people. This is one of the most important aspects of effective leadership.

7. Make your employees feel important and valuable to the business. Only then will you be able to motivate them to peak performance.

8. Work hard to create a work environment in which people feel terrific about themselves and their duties. Only then will you be demonstrating truly effective leadership.

9. Always keep your word. Do not promise something and forget it and similarly do not warn about the consequences of a particular action then overlook it. Integrity is the most respected and valuable element of effective leadership. Make sure people know where they stand.

10. Take Albert Schweitzer's advice (Humanitarian & Nobel Prize Winner) when he said "Men must be taught at the school of example, for they will learn at no other."

11. The leader is the individual who masters his or her fear and moves towards an objective in spite of that fear. Remember everyone is afraid of something you just can't see it in everyone.

12. Dress for success. Image is important when leading other people. It take no more than 4 minutes (often much less) to create a lasting impression of effective leadership. It is important to always work on that 1st impression as employees and customers judge you by the way you act and look in those first 4 minutes.

John worked for many years in insurance and finance and now writes on a number of topics including small business and financial advice. Go to Small Business and Finance for more information.

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