As business professionals in today’s competitive, fast-paced and intense economy, there is often little time to reflect on the importance and impact of leaders. As you read this article, can I encourage you to pause from your hectic schedule and take a moment to think of the leaders that have influenced you the most? Hopefully, it doesn’t take long to come up with the name of that “special” person who impacted you and the characteristics of their leadership style.

The significance of leadership is this: it sets the tone at the top, it establishes the culture in an organization and people mirror the example they see. In other words, the behavior, the style, the value systems, the methods, the communications, the trust factor that the leaders either engender or don’t engender has an impact on performance, motivation and self esteem.

When I do seminars across the country, I say “the most important thing to evaluate in a person’s life is how they impact another human being.” That’s what leadership is all about: making an impact on those around you. It involves granting people the opportunity to use their God-given talents.

So what are the characteristics of strong and effective leaders who make an impact? In the rest of this article I wanted to share some of the insights I’ve gleaned about leadership over my 30 plus years as a human resources and organizational development executive for large and medium-sized global corporations.

Let’s first look at some general characteristics of leaders. My experience and research clearly indicate that true leaders display passion! They have a passion for life, being successful, making a difference and to leading positive changes in their enterprise.

This style of authentic leadership builds trust, and trust is the basis of all relationships. The mantra of leadership is to earn the right to lead each day! Trust must be enhanced and polished every day. As an organization changes, it is incumbent to communicate with clarity, consistency and commitment.

Another important characteristic is humility. It is quite interesting to me, that the higher you go in an organization the fewer things employees tell you! Why? Because we all know, that many times the messenger does indeed get shot! As a leader it is paramount that you can humbly accept the truth. The good the bad and the ugly!

Humility extends to the way leaders handle employees. It is important to remember to attack issues and not people! When leaders attack people, it shuts down the truth, creativity and problem-solving. There is no question that leaders must have healthy egos, but they cannot satisfy their egos at the expense of others.

The significance of leadership is this: it sets the tone at the top, it establishes the culture in an organization and people mirror the example they see. In other words, the behavior, the style, the value systems, the methods, the communications, the trust factor that the leaders either engender or don’t engender has an impact on performance, motivation and self esteem.

All of us respect and admire leaders with vision, conviction and sincere confidence. The leaders that are heroes to you and I are keenly aware of the impact they have on the company and its associates.

Without question, leaders are visionary and their attitude makes the weather in the companies they lead. By this I mean if the organizational leader is in a stormy mood everyone knows it. Negative moods by the leader can drain productivity, foster negative attitudes and may impact customer service (both internal and external customers).

There are many more characteristics of good leaders, but these are some of the most important. Let me conclude with four important roles that leaders can play: conductor, connecter, challenger, and caregiver.

Conductor - A leader is like a symphony orchestra’s conductor who strives to maintain melodious performance while responding to issues both internal and external. Leaders have quite formal roles in an organization. They have authority and status. Effective leadership builds positive relationships throughout the company. They are viewed as someone that has beneficial information. A spokesperson for the vision of the firm, a decision maker, a resource allocator, a handler, a mentor and someone that does indeed set the pace.

Connector - Leaders play important roles: developing supportive relationships, carrying on negotiations, motivating subordinates, resolving conflicts, establishing key information networks, disseminating information, making decisions in conditions that constantly change and then allocating the proper resources in order to correct or resolve a problem and or issue. Without question, leadership is not for the faint of heart. A connected leader must have the ability to prepare the organization for constant change and assist them to cope as they work in a world of global competition, increased real time technology and increased pressure to do “more with less.”

Challenger - When you and I think about the leaders that have made a difference in our lives, it is those who put an emphasis on creating challenging opportunities for their employees. They pushed responsibility our way, making our jobs more exciting and rewarding. These impacting leaders recognized our contributions and rewarded us with praise and, in many cases, more responsibilities.

Caregiver - We live in a high tech, low touch world. Employees seek leadership that understands the importance of the human touch. The power and potential of employees is unlimited; when human beings put their mind and spirit into something – magic occurs. Employees have a strong desire to contribute, to achieve and have a hunger for recognition. The question behind the question. When is the last time you complimented an associate? When is the last time you showed your human side? Empathize, listen with care or send a positive e-mail to someone!

Take a moment to contemplate your leadership style. How do you measure up? Do you foster and solicit open feedback from your team? Are you making a positive impact on your organization? Are you setting a good tone at the top?

One of my favorite sayings that I impart when I do a workshop or seminar is this: “In the final analysis people are the answer.” In leadership, people are the critical difference.