Leadership starts with vision, passion and will, but what is it that great leaders do from day to day to be effective?

1. Communicate. Communication is hard. Learn to do it well. Great leaders communicate the why, the how and the what.

Leaders have the privilege and prerogative to set the what: the issues, problems and opportunities that matter—and what doesn’t.

They also communicate how: how to get things done, how to find answers, how things relate and how to think about things.

Most importantly, communicating the why matters—especially the relevance to the mission, strategies and initiatives of the organization. If the mission, vision and values of an organization are not articulated by the leadership, they have no relevance or power.

2. Support and hold accountable. Teams need support—they need resources, training and information to be successful. Great leaders ensure teams are supported but also held accountable. Good coaches don’t tolerate bad play. Accountability without support has no integrity. Support without accountability yields no results.

3. Build capabilities and build relationships. Great leaders don’t miss opportunities to teach, instruct, correct and educate so that teams may constantly improve their capabilities. And they don’t neglect to build relationships by genuinely caring about people.

4. Build process. Strong leaders create and enforce well-designed and functioning processes to ensure the “right” results, consistently. At the very least, these are happy customers, satisfied employees and profitable jobs.

If you’re reading this, you’re likely in a leadership position. In your spot, it’s easy to be distracted by a thousand things at once, but focusing on these four deliverables drives results.

Don’t miss the Account Manager Master’s Series, being held by Envisor Consulting and Aspire Mobile Business Solutions in five cities across the country this winter. Landscape Management is the media sponsor of the seminars.

Featured Image: iStockPhoto.com/chuwy