One of the 5 Essentials of Effective Leadership is understanding others.  Effective leaders understand what motivates their followers and what prevents those followers from optimizing their abilities. I’m using the term follower to describe those who are under the influence of a leader. That means that true leaders may have followers who are subordinates, peers and even those who may out rank them on an organization chart. 

So, you can see why understanding those who you lead is absolutely critical to ensuring that you can accomplish your goals. When you understand what motivates another person and act positively on that knowledge, you will help unleash their creativity and productivity. They will become more positive about their work and in turn are more likely to align themselves with your goals and help you with your agenda.

In "The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace," Gary Chapman and Paul White provide a tool for understanding others and lay out strategies for using what you learn about others to empower organizations by encouraging people.

The authors explain that some people are motivated by words of affirmation, others by tangible gifts or quality time. Still others prefer acts of service or physical touch to get them motivated. When you understand those preferred motivators of the people you are trying to influence, and realize that not all things work for all people, you will be empowered. 

Other assessment tools that help you understand personality traits and the way people think, can also be of great benefit to the leader who depends on others to accomplish his or her agenda. of thinking. Of course the best assessment tools are your ears. Listening to others is the key to understanding them. Take time to listen and you’ll find that you have a lot more time to accomplish your daily tasks.