From clear communication to respecting others, developing these traits can help you manage more effectively—at every level. In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, strong leadership is more important than ever. But what makes a good leader? And how does strong leadership impact the workplace?

They are good communicators. Managing a group, especially in the workplace, starts with good communication. Whether writing an e-mail or providing face-to-face employee feedback, good leaders say what they mean and mean what they say. They’re not passive-aggressive, nor do they shy away from addressing challenges in a direct manner.

They’re passionate. Many good leaders love what they do, and they’re not afraid to show it. Of course, you can still be a good leader even if your professional and personal interests aren’t a perfect match. Think about what you enjoy most in your work, and develop your enthusiasm around that—you even may find that you’re managing yourself into greater workplace satisfaction.

They don’t care about being popular. In fact, if your first concern is whether everyone likes you, you may be less effective. Whether it’s giving tough criticism or pointing out a practice you believe is unethical, learning how to be a good leader means getting comfortable doing or saying things that are best for your team and your organization, even if it makes you temporarily unpopular.

They are open-minded. Another characteristic of a good leader: Remaining receptive to new ideas. Instead of resisting change, good leaders are flexible and highly adaptable. They’re approachable, and they welcome opinions different from their own.

They work for their people. Managers may answer to higher-ups, but good leaders know their real mission is to ensure their employees have the resources to do their jobs as efficiently and effectively as possible—and the direct support they need to thrive in the work environment.

They’re positive and encouraging. Good leaders are uplifting. They praise employees for a job well done, taking time to coach and train if there are lapses in performance. In good times and bad, good leaders bring out the best in their employees by encouraging them to be their very best.

They respect others. From direct reports and peers to clients and their own higher-ups, good leaders treat others as they’d want to be treated. Those they lead often follow suit, creating stronger morale throughout the workplace.

They are relationship builders. The ability to form productive connections is a key quality of a good leader. Strong managers aren’t threatened by others. Instead of guarding their territory, they’re constantly building bridges with others. A good leader knows the value of mutually beneficial relationships, and actively seeks them out.

They lead by example. The best managers know that an essential part of what makes a good leader is setting the right example. From putting in extra hours on a major project to treating others with respect and kindness, good leaders show they’re ready and willing to do anything they’d ask of their employees.

They are always learning. Perhaps the most important characteristic of good leaders is that they’re continuous learners. They put their education first, whether through formal learning like building their skills through management degree programs or through day-to-day attention to other departments and roles. A good leader always wants to know more.

The Continual Improvement team offers training and assistance in the areas of lean and quality. The primary focus of this team is maximizing efficiency and product quality through processes improvement. This team offers training in using tools and management systems to bring about positive change, as well as assistance or facilitation with implementing the various lean and quality tools or management systems at client companies.

Contact us at citeam@atn.org.

The U.S. Department of Labor has recently announced an increase in OSHA citation penalties. These new penalty amounts will take effect on or after January 15, 2015.

For clarification, here are the definitions for each violation, as provided by OSHA:

SERIOUS: A serious violation exists when the workplace hazard could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm, unless the employer did not know or could not have known of the violation.

OTHER-THAN-SERIOUS: A violation that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but is not serious in nature, is classified as "other-than-serious."

POSTING: When you receive an OSHA Notice, you must post it (or a copy of it) at or near the place where each violation occurred to make employees aware of the hazards to which they may be exposed. The OSHA Notice must remain posted for 3 working days or until the hazard is abated, whichever is longer. (Saturdays, Sundays and Federal holidays are not counted as working days).

FAILURE TO ABATE: Abatement means action by an employer to comply with a cited standard or regulation or to eliminate a recognized hazard identified by OSHA during an inspection.

WILLFUL: A willful violation is defined as a violation in which the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement (purposeful disregard) or acted with plain indifference to employee safety.

REPEATED: A Federal agency may be cited for a repeated violation if the agency has been cited previously for the same or a substantially similar condition and, for a serious violation, OSHA's regionwide (see last page) inspection history for the agency lists a previous OSHA Notice issued within the past five years; or, for an other-than-serious violation, the establishment being inspected received a previous OSHA Notice issued within the past five years.

At ATN we have an EHS Team that has years of experience helping companies avoid OSHA citations and mitigate citations issued by OSHA. Whether it is an assessment of the physical safety components within your facility, helping with written policies or programs, or safety training, we can provide assistance to support your needs.

We wish everyone a healthy and safe 2025. If we can support your EHS needs in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact us at ehsteam@atn.org.

The new amounts are:

The Food Industry group will bring a holistic approach to food safety and quality assurance (FSQA) solutions to support the food industry. ATN's Food Industry expert brings to the table both academic and extensive industry experience in USDA and FDA manufacturing, risk-based supply chain management, product traceability, recall management, distribution, and transportation. A variety of solutions are under development and will be available for regional location delivery or custom, on-site delivery.

Contact us at foodsafety@atn.org.

Alabama Technology Network (ATN) is ready to help your maintenance employees with understanding how to read electrical prints. The class we offer covers basic electrical symbols and motor control diagrams. The idea of the class is for your employees to understand how to read electrical prints and how to use the prints to troubleshoot electrical devices. This is accomplished by teaching the employee how to read the print and then how to wire up motor control devices by using the print. 

The class covers everything from basic two wire and three wire control circuits to circuits using variable frequency drives (VFD’s). The class consists of lecture to introduce the topics; however, the bulk of the learning comes from the employee implementing the concept using hands on trainers.  The employee will be given electrical control prints where they will wire up the devices according to the print. The student will complete several labs to learn the concept of what has been taught in the class.

If your company is interested in Electrical Motor Controls or any of our other Industrial Maintenance & Technology offerings, please contact us for more info.

Contact us at imtteam@atn.org.

Leadership & Management Development courses are modular 2-hour sessions that can be delivered on-site. The classes are interactive with activities and assessments that help supervisors and managers understand their strengths and possible areas of improvement and to help employees gain a sense of personal leadership. The interactive learning is key to understanding not only your own management skills but also those of your teammates and coworkers.

Contact us at lmdteam@atn.org.