Anyone can claim to be a leader, but the key question is this: Will your team—and success for your business—follow?

Good leadership is like the light, permeating into every aspect of the business. Poor leadership, on the other hand, is like the shadow, darkening many areas of the organization. What is the cause and effect of poor versus good leadership? What impact will your business have with a poor leader at the helm? How can good leadership impact results? What qualities do employees look for in a good leader?

Effective leadership is critical in virtually any type of for-profit or service-based organization. When company managers lack the ability to provide clear direction, positive coaching, support, and motivation for staff, organizational culture and morale often suffer. Poor leadership can have several other negative effects on the company and staff as well.

Poor Leadership Breeds Failure

Synergy // Poor company and departmental leadership inhibits the development of synergy. Effective managers coordinate tasks within their departments and promote an atmosphere that encourages idea sharing and discussion. They get employees aligned to pursue shared goals.

Poor management may result in more fragmented departments and work roles, creating internal silos. This means each employee neglects (or can’t see) the importance his or her work plays in achieving overall company and departmental objectives.

Low morale // Another possible consequence of poor leadership can be employees feeling uncertain about the company and their jobs. Poor communication—or complete lack of it—contributes to this issue. When overly critical managers demean or demoralize well-intentioned employees who make mistakes, the resulting negative environment may cause those employees to shut down emotionally. This can create cognitive gaps within the team, giving rise to the belief they only “like” and listen to the people who look and think just like them.

“You don’t lead by hitting people over the head—that’s assault, not leadership.”

—Dwight Eisenhower

Lack of communication and engagement // It is important for employees to feel they have a voice and that it is being heard from the top down. Likewise, they want to stay informed of decisions and activity within the company. Too often, a poor leader is unable to communicate effectively, which means important information that needs to be passed along falls instead on deaf ears or may be missed completely. The same can be said when there is a lack of understanding from the leader’s perspective. This all leads to decreased engagement from staff, impacting the overall business and goals.

The Benefits of Good Leadership

On the other end of the spectrum, good leadership can motivate and invigorate a company’s culture. Good leadership gives everyone in the company the confidence they are under the guidance of someone who is credible and knowledgeable. Strong, focused leadership inspires people to try new concepts and venture into unknown territories that will develop both their personal and their professional skills. By giving the team proper guidance, you will gain their trust and loyalty.

How can a leader make a positive impact on a team?

Diversify your team // Diverse teams feel less comfortable, and that’s why they perform better. In numerous studies, diversity both inherent (e.g., race, gender) and acquired (experience, cultural background) is associated with business success. Although an idyllic atmosphere may be difficult to achieve, employees nevertheless recognize the many strengths and talents that diversity brings to the workplace, and they gain respect for their colleagues’ performance. Workplace diversity preserves the quality of employees’ relationships with their co-workers and their leaders.

Take off your rose-colored glasses // Many leaders have unrealistic thoughts and expectations of what goes on within their organization and what it looks like to be successful. Good leaders engage with their employees to set realistic expectations and attainable goals for success together. Engagement is an emotional commitment to the overall organization and its goals when leaders take the time to forge an emotional bond with their employees. A leader should always have his or her finger on the pulse of the business through communication with the team.

Remove titles, positions, and authority // Position, titles, and authority are often confused with leadership. However, leadership is not an actual position or title. Whether you’re the president of a country or a chief executive officer, your title does not make you a leader. All a title does is make you a senior executive.

Leadership happens when people allow you to influence their lives. It’s only when your influence causes people to work toward a shared vision that you become a leader. Leadership is more about influence and relationship than it is about control and giving orders. Influence can be changed by perceptions, relationships, and trust.

Heading Toward the Good End of the Spectrum

The best leaders don’t lead from position. Nor is leadership attained by exercising control over others.

Leadership is the empowerment of oneself and others toward a shared vision. If you’re going to make a difference, you will need to sharpen your leadership skills. This means improving your influence and relationship with all your employees.

The bottom line is that all leaders lead in either a good direction or a bad direction, and the spectrum runs from exceptionally bad to exceptionally good. Although this direction may not be understood or consciously chosen, quite fortunately, we are all human and thus have the power of choice.

We can consciously choose to adjust our actions to always lead in a direction that raises our performance and success in managing people. Treating your employees with respect and appreciation for their performance will give you the results you are looking for in your business.