When thinking about personality traits that make someone a strong, effective leader, the word kindness may not be on your list. The old adage, ?You can catch more bees with honey than vinegar,? holds true for leaders. While it doesn?t mean you never have to be tough, kindness is a very important trait in a strong leader.

Kind is Not Weak

Kindness is not a sign of weakness, nor is it always nice. Being kind doesn?t mean getting run over by others. It?s not about giving everyone what they want. So what is kindness? It begins with simple respect for your employees or team members. Every person deserves to be spoken to with kindness and respect. Degrading your team by treating them with less than common courtesy serves no one.

Some leaders believe that showing kindness to employees makes them appear unfair. They may be concerned that compassion encourages a personal connection with employees that is beyond professional. This is why it helps to define exactly what kindness in the workplace looks like and how it benefits you as a leader as well as your team dynamic. Let?s explore exactly what kind leadership behavior looks like and how it makes you better.

• Compassion

Kind leaders are truly compassionate. You must listen to your team, understand where they?re coming from, to be able to sympathize. That compassion and sympathy lets you deal with problems before they negatively impact team morale and productivity. You?ll be more adept at solving problems in the best way for everyone when you can fully comprehend how they affect everyone.

• Honesty

Be truthful with your team. When it comes to criticism, make sure it?s constructive and respectful. Bosses who mistreat their team, demoralize them. If you give someone actionable criticism, you?re providing them tools to improve. By the same token, be honest in the way you reward hard work. Give personal, specific recognition to team members who truly deserve it.

• Gratitude

This relates to the point about honest recognition. Show your team your gratitude. Leaders can only do so much to encourage and support a team. The actual work being done and the overall environment are up to the team members themselves. Encourage your team to value each other as well.

• Culture

Cultivate a kind culture in your workplace. From planning team volunteer days to encouraging random acts of kindness, get everyone on your team practicing kindness. Groups are far more likely to work together, be productive, and stay motivated if everyone is treating each other with courtesy and respect.

• Communication

Clear, reliable means of communication prevent misunderstandings and wasted effort in the workplace. Establishing clear goals, frequency of project updates, and a means of communicating with everyone on the team will encourage participation from everyone. Develop and enact the best methods for your team shows them you value your time and effort enough to make sure it?s not wasted checking messages all day or working on projects with ever-changing goals.

Whether you?re the type of leader who manages with an ?iron fist in a velvet glove? or a pillar of compassion and empathy all the time, know that treating your employees with the kindness and respect you?d like from your boss will go far in creating a positive culture and a productive team.

When the end of the year rolls around and the Holiday season begins, we like to go out with a bang. Meaning that a lot of times, we are indulging in feasts, drinks, good company, Holiday parties, less work, and more play. But after Christmas is over we all kick it back into motivation mode and start compiling our New Year?s Resolutions. We all are working towards that next big step in our career, our killer bod that we made a resolution for in 2013, or just making some positive changes for the new year to come. Often times though, we set unrealistic goals; trying to cram everything in to our busy schedules and being disappointed in ourselves when we didn?t follow through with our plans. But it is completely normal that this happens and very healthy to keep your positive visions for the future. The best new you in 2014 is totally attainable if you don?t give yourself more than you can handle, you?re realistic about what you can achieve and most of all, you believe in yourself. Here are a few tips that will help you set and reach your goals for the New Year!

Make a List

Make a list of some goals you have in mind for the New Year. First just start with a simple, bulleted list of things you have in mind. This could range from a new mindset to new habits, family life to career life, whatever comes to mind. Post the list on a social network. Declare it. Tell the world that this is what you will accomplish. You will be surprised what the accountability does for you in terms of motivation.

Be Specific

Specifying your goals is the easiest way to keep them realistic and attainable. For example, if you are setting weight loss goals, don?t be vague and say I wanna be skinny. A realistic goal for that is to break it down and be specific. ?I want to lose 2 pounds a week? or ?I am going to work out 5 days a week.? This way, it is easier to keep track of what you?re actually doing to reach your goals. Post your progress to your friends daily. Again accountability is key to push you into the next day.

Keep a Chart or List to Measure your Progress

With most of us leading busy lives and chaotic schedules, things easily slip our mind or get forgotten and swept under the rug. Make a chart or list of some sort and put it up somewhere that you are going to see it every day. Seeing that list each day and being able to chart your progress is a definite way to ensure that you are keeping up with your goals, while seeing how far you have come.

Be Creative

Make a dream board. Fill it with pictures of that dress you?re gonna wear when you reach your goal weight, or that car you?re going to get when move up in your career, the time you will be able to spend with your family, etc. Visually seeing these reminders will only push you further into working for your goals! Again, share your dream board with your friends or better yet have a dream board party.

Give yourself Time

Good things take time and for most of us, so do our goals. Don?t stress yourself out and try to get everything done by the end of January. Giving your full attention to one goal at a time versus spreading yourself thin and trying to accomplish everything at once, is much more efficient in being able to check one goal off your list and move on to the next one. Give yourself an estimated amount of time for how long it might take (don?t be hard on yourself if it takes a little longer!) Patience is a virtue and progress is gradual, so keep on going and do what you can. Don?t quit!

Reward Yourself

You can choose whatever you want as a reward for any of your goals. It isn?t necessary but it is definitely extra motivation to achieve what you want. Maybe you can go out to a movie, have your favorite meal, or give yourself a ?me time? day. Either way, you deserve a pat on the back and recognition for your efforts and progress. Whatever reward is more pleasing to you is just another form of motivation. Write this on your dream board!? Some examples of a reward is “I will buy new jeans when I am a size (fill it in).”? “I will buy new jeans when I have paid of “x” credit card.”

Be Positive

This is the most important aspect of setting any goal in your life. If you are having any negative thoughts or giving any of your energy to worries, it makes it harder on yourself to reach your goals. There is no harm in giving 100% positive thoughts to your goals. The more optimistic you are, the better vision you create for yourself.

Every leader knows you can?t force your team to be more productive. Productivity needs to be cultivated and nurtured. Support and mutual respect are two of the ingredients of a productive team. What can you do to inspire your people and keep your team productive for the long run?

Listen

All great bosses and leaders have learned how important it is to listen to their team. No one knows what they need more than they do. You cannot address their needs and create a motivated work place without listening. This doesn?t just mean listening to the people brave enough to approach you with criticism. It means encouraging an environment where your entire team feels comfortable coming to you. This starts by addressing concerns that have already been raised. Offer anonymity to those who prefer it (think: suggestion box).

Don?t Rely on Email

Email is fast and easy, but it?s not always the best way to communicate. It can become especially confusing when people are replying to a group. If you want honest input on a project or the team needs to converse back and forth about something, make time for teleconferences, video conferences or in-person meetings. It will cut down on time spent checking email, eliminated missed emails mid-project, and allow you and your team to work out fine details much more quickly than emailing.

Eliminate Non-Productive Weekly Meetings

While hashing out project details in person is effective and saves time, standing weekly meetings may be just the opposite. If you find your weekly meetings are forced, little is discussed, and it?s really just a retelling of the week, nix the boring weekly meeting. The time spent preparing for and holding the meeting is time your team could be spending working.

Award your Team Wisely

Whether your whole team works in one building together or you manage a group remotely, recognition is a powerful motivational tool. However, a simple ?Good job,? is too generic. Handing out printed certificates for every little thing loses meaning fast. How do you use this strategy effectively? Be honest. Recognize individuals for specific actions you are thankful for. Be personal in your delivery, whether it?s a handwritten note, thoughtful email, or brief speech in a meeting.

Volunteer as a Team

This helps bring a team together in a way that no other function really can. Giving back to the local community is an especially powerful tool. It shows your team that together they can effect change. If you?re team is remote, this may be a little more difficult, but you could still put together something like a fundraiser where everyone can participate remotely. Friendly competition, like creating two volunteer teams of employees who challenge each other, also strengthens those team bonds.

Streamline Boring or Laborious Tasks

No matter what business you?re in, your team will undoubtedly have those tasks that must be done, but everyone dreads. Filing a report, updated contact lists, submitting invoices, and so on. Make sure you?ve got these tasks streamlined so they can be completely efficiently and with the least pain for your team. If you?re unsure whether there might be a better method, ask the people responsible for doing it. They may have great ideas. Falling into the mindset of doing things the way they?ve always been done is a real morale and time killer.

Set Clear Goals

Project deadlines, team goals, and even basic workplace expectations should be very clear. They should also be realistic. Giving your team and impossibly short deadline for a project might make them work hard to accomplish it in the short term, but it undermines the community of mutual respect and support your team needs to be productive long term.