When faced with a large or complex situation, there are two qualities that will lead to more effective decisions: logic and an open mind. When you approach a problem, strip your mind of preconceived opinions and prejudices. Logically assemble and learn the facts of the situation. By understanding the cause and effect relationship involved in a situation, you can formulate solutions that deal with the root of the problem. By keeping an open mind, you can creatively develop alternatives from which to choose when making your final decision.

My guess is that if you are reading this, you want to achieve more. Most of us wish that we could be more effective in our jobs and have a higher level of satisfaction. Believe it or not, this has a lot to do with successfully setting and following through on your goals. To get you off on the right track, here is a tried and tested goal setting strategy to set and achieve your goals.

It’s that time of year again: the time of holiday parties, Christmas cards to write, shopping to do (even online at work!), vacations, family commitments, and more stress. It is no wonder that a recent survey by Accountemps found that 44% of executives feel employees are less productive the week before a major holiday. While this may be true, there are ways in which we as leaders can counteract all of the distractions and stress and help people be as productive now as the rest of the year.

"For what we've discovered, and rediscovered, is that leadership isn't the private reserve of a few charismatic men and women. It's a process ordinary people use when they're bringing forth the best from themselves and others. Liberate the leader in everyone, and extraordinary things happen." – James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, The Leadership Challenge: How to Keep Getting Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations.

Leadership is a verb, not a noun. Leadership is action, not a position. Leadership is defined by what we do, not the role we are in. Some people in "leadership roles" are excellent leaders. But too many are bosses, "snoopervisors," technocrats, bureaucrats, managers, commanders, chiefs, and the like. Conversely, many people who have no formal leadership role are excellent leaders. In today's fast changing world, we all need to be leaders.

People choose to buy from you, offer help, and grant rewards based on trust. In many ways, trust is your most valuable resource. Stephen Covey in his book The Speed of Trust tells us that, "when trust goes up, speed goes up and cost goes down."  Here are a few of the ways to increase your success by building trust. While you may already do most of these things, missing even one of them can ruin it all.

We all have our own mentors – people who, in one way or another, have played a big role and influenced us in the way that we perceive things. All of us at one point in our lives have influenced those around us. If you want to be a better leader, you should be intentional about the way that you try to influence others.

The most important thing when influencing others is seek to truly want the best for those involved. Your success as a leader or part of a group, as well as in life in general, will depend on your ability to influence people and affect their lives in a positive way. To have a deeper understanding of how you can influence people in a positive or productive manner, think though these four points:

What is it that separates a boss from a great leader? How do you better lead even when you aren't in charge? It is important that we not only be able to lead others, but be willing to lead ourselves. No one achieves success alone and no one becomes successful by just following the crowd. Sometimes we simply must strike a bold new path for ourselves.

If you are like most people, you want to be great in your role. Everyone wants to progress forward in their career and get better along the way. The hard reality is, that the norm in business and in life is that if we aren’t intentional about trying to improve, we can stagnate and develop habits that make us ineffective. We want to lead, but we just end up managing. So what is the difference between a manager and a leader?

You probably know the myth of innovation as a sudden flash of insight that comes from nowhere. We read about that “aha” moment, or that light bulb turning on in the mind of some inventor or innovator, and this is true to an extent. Einstein really did get flashes of insight while shaving in the morning. However, he was, of course, working on the particular problems he had insight into, and he didn’t suddenly have ideas for new kitchen gadgets or movie plots.

What does it take to be successful? Ask around and you will find different answers to the formula of success. The truth is, success leaves clues and you can achieve the success in the area you desire by observing the common qualities and principles. They are simple and considered to be common sense but most people simply do not follow them.