As an HR Professional, it’s your responsibility to get the most out of your employees. Your leadership style will have a significant impact on their motivation to produce. Leading by example is one way to accomplish this, and it means more than simply walking the talk. It also includes such ideas as integrity, taking action, and following through. If, for example, you introduce a new set of workplace rules, not only do you need to follow them yourself, but also ensure that they are enforced. If not, you send a very clear message that you’re not worth listening to. Of course, you don’t need to create a set of rigid rules to be an effective leader. In fact, the fewer you have, the more weight they will carry, and the more likely your employees will remember them. However, any type of rule, whether explicit or implied, can demonstrate your executive leadership style. Even a minor infraction on your part can lead your employees to seeking guidance elsewhere. In other words, as a leader, you need to be the best you can be at all times. When you do make a mistake, admit it rather than make excuses, and you will gain the trust and respect of your team. Leadership involves much more than laying down the law and expecting people to follow. While this approach may have worked in the past, it is not the way of today’s workforce, and should you choose this route, you will likely lose good people. How then, do you lead effectively and by example? As a HR Profession prospective I recommendation following is a list of guidelines from which to pick and chose Leadership style. Like, Enjoy and Appreciate Employees. An employer and employee have an interpersonal relationship. The attitude toward employees the employer brings to the relationship can have a great impact. Employees easily sense the extent, to which their employer likes, enjoys and appreciates them. An employer with a poor attitude toward employees needs to examine the attitudes impact on his or her reputation as a place to work. Negative attitudes can be changed over time. Both the employer and employees will benefit. A few bad experiences with just one or two employees can sour ones attitude. Step back and put the bad experiences in the context of all employees over the last few months and years. Think about the two or three employees you value most and the contributions they are making to the business. Work hard to prevent a single employee or a few employee incidents from poisoning your attitude. Use Written Job Descriptions. Employees like to know what they have been hired to do. As responsibilities change, they like to have an explicit understanding with their supervisor. Employees also appreciate knowing what managers do and what their coworkers do. Job descriptions provide an excellent foundation for performance evaluations and discussion of training needs. Provide Training. Provide training for employees so that they can do well what they have been hired to do. Few people enjoy doing what they cannot do well. Mediocre performance because of lack of training and a supervisor criticism for the mediocre performance frustrate even the most enthusiastic employee. Training is an investment in people. An employers willingness to make this investment in employees helps build a positive image among employees, customers and others in the community. Show Trust. Show trust in employees by delegating authority and responsibility to them. The delegation helps satisfy employees esteem needs. It also improves their sense of being part of a team. A bonus from showing trust is the gain in time the manager has for working on his or her most important tasks. Catch People Doing Things Right. Catch people doing things right and say thank you. Performance appraisals that emphasize the positive help build the reputation of the employer. Focusing on the negative by catching people doing things wrong and then correcting them cause’s employees to fear or at least dread performance appraisal.