Ever notice how some individuals have "presence" when they walk into a room? People just naturally gravitate towards them and are inspired by their charisma. People genuinely want to be on this leader's team.

We all have different styles and personalities, but there are some qualities that you can adapt with practice in order to become a more effective leader. Adopting the following strategies will not only make you the kind of leader that individuals seek to work for, but can assist you and your organization with attracting the best talent in your industry.

1. Be inspiring

In order for the people in your organization to be clear on the vision, it starts with you as the leader. Are you clear on the vision, mission and core values for your organization? Do you "walk the talk", and set the example for others to follow?

A colleague of mine once said: "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." In order for you as a leader to be inspiring to others, you must be clear in the vision, mission and core values in your organization. You must be genuinely and authentically passionate about it. You should be able to state the vision in less than 3o seconds and everyone listening to you, should find your enthusiasm infectious. There is a reason why this is the #1 item on the 7 qualities of effective leadership. It starts with you.

2. Be an exceptional communicator

Effective communication takes practice. In business we communicate through voice, email, texts, video-conferencing, telephone, presentations, and body language. How would your employees describe your communication style? Would you like to work for you as a leader?

While I have often coached leaders on communication style, here are a few tips that I've learned over the years from working with some of my clients:

a) when possible, save critical emails in draft the day before and re-read them before sending the next morning.

b) avoid texting, responding or any communications in a heightened emotional state

c) be aware of what your body language is revealing about you. For example, arms crossed is considered a defensive posture that communicates that you are not listening.

d) remember that all of us make decisions when we are in a state of emotional readiness. We do this despite the facts. Therefore, consider that all of your communications are intended to evoke action or reaction.

e) Reread emails, memos and carefully consider verbal and all forms of communication in terms of the potential or perhaps intended emotional response of the individuals receiving it.

f) Always take a positive tact and avoid direct criticism - always.

g) Be direct and succinct.

h) Dress like a leader. Ensure your personal grooming and style reflects your position.

If you are unsure about how your communication style is affecting your employees, I would highly recommend taking a course or hiring a coach to assist you. We are often unaware of our true communication style and how it affects those around us.

3. Be a good coach

Good leaders have learned the value of putting people first. In fact I believe that is how we win in business. To win we need to develop a wining team. The best example of this I can think of is my experience as a baseball coach. I learned more about leadership from coaching little league baseball than I ever learned in business. Here was my strategy:

a) Ask each player what position they would like to see themselves playing

b) Assess the skills of each player and focus on training and skills development

c) During the early season, I would ensure that each player had the opportunity to play the key positions that they wanted to attempt especially in practice

d) Coach the team on the role that each position plays and how to work together as a team in order to win the game

e) Best of all, if I've done my job well as a coach, I would put together a winning strategy for the playoffs that resulted in my team placing in the finals or winning overall each and every season. I knew exactly where to place each player in each inning. It never failed.

My coaching style had given me the opportunity to find some very talented players just by building their skills and confidence and teaching them to play together as a team in order to win the game. Some of my best players had never played on a team before, but through coaching I was able to bring out the best in each player. It was enormously gratifying to see the team come together and give it all they had in the finals.

I learned not to be too quick to judge the player's abilities early on as I often found some untapped potential. I learned patience and understanding. I learned how to focus on their skill development, and best of all, how to build their confidence, not just as individuals, but as a cohesive team.

Those boys taught me more about leadership than anything I've ever done before or since. In business as a leader, I've learned to apply the skills I developed as a baseball coach. There is no doubt in my mind that the skills required of a good coach are one of the essential skills of a good leader in today's business world. People want to work for people who genuinely care about them.

4. Facilitate Teamwork

It is important that the team is focused on the goals for the organization and the role that the team plays in achieving these goals. The leader must ensure that each individual understands their role and to encourage, facilitate and reward effective communication, cooperation and teamwork amongst the individuals in their organization. Creating friendly competition amongst separate teams can also be a healthy and fun way to encourage cooperation and generate enthusiasm in your organization.

There are specific tools to avoid such things as back-biting, under-mining, and disingenuous behaviour amongst team members. Addressing those and how to deal with individuals that are toxic to your organization is reserved for another blog. However, as leaders, we should not ignore destructive or counter-productive behaviours and should seek to address the behaviour at the earliest opportunity.

5. Set People Up to Succeed

In order for individuals to succeed, leaders must ensure that they have what they need in order to meet their respective responsibilities. These include:

a) the skills and expertise required for their specific roles

b) the tools required for the job

c) the training and resources necessary to complete the task

d) are empowered to make the decisions needed within a clearly defined delegation of authority

e) are encouraged to seek guidance and assistance when necessary

f) are encouraged to work as a team in order to brainstorm and resolve problems

g) have a clear description and understanding of their roles and responsibilities

6. Create accountability

Well-defined systems and procedures for controlling and monitoring progress is essential. As a leader, if you are confident in the reporting systems for controlling and monitoring progress, you will be more effective in delegating responsibilities and managing your time commitments. Ensure that you have a clear understanding of the KPI dashboard reports that you need in order to accomplish this and that you are confident in the accuracy of the information that is available to you.

7. Most important of all--Be the Leader at all times!

Things will go wrong. Mistakes will happen. Disappointments will occur. But never---and I mean NEVER let your emotions allow you to come of the rails. How you handle a crisis will impact your team and your organization. Show them that cooler heads shall prevail at all times. Go for a walk or hit the gym to blow off steam if you must, but do not ever do so in front and especially never directed at your team. Even if you are merely blowing off steam, your emotional state will affect the composure and effectiveness of the team, so keep it together no matter how difficult the circumstances. Overtly negative or positive emotions in the extreme will cause your team to lose respect for you as a leader. Yes, you can count to ten before responding to a crisis situation. It really does work!

Implementing all of the7 qualities takes on-going practice and focus for the best of leaders, but the rewards are well worth the effort. The Turnaround Team can help you to create your winning team.

Debra Farquharson is the CEO and Founder of The Turnaround Team Inc. She has been coaching leaders and entrepreneurs for over 20 years.