Written by Billy Epperhart 

Even though new businesses and ministries get launched every day, good leaders are hard to come by. If you want to be a better leader, you need to learn the four Cs of leadership: conductor, coach, culture creator, and having capacity. 

Let's take a closer look at these principles. As a conductor, you chart the course for your organization or department and outline the path you expect to take together. Conductors are always in charge of two things: the people they lead and the work to be done. But people must never be sacrificed for the sake of work. Imagine an orchestra: help your people master their instruments, and then you can conduct them as they play. 

The coach does double duty as both leader and mentor. The most important part of mentoring is listening, so you should never try to mentor someone you haven't first observed and listened to. By doing so, you'll learn important aspects of your team, like how they approach tasks and interpret plans. Understanding how a person thinks is just as important as understanding what he or she thinks. As a coach, it's also important to spend your time with teachable people, not just people you like. 

You may have heard the saying "Culture trumps vision." And that's a true statement in the context of a good organizational culture with a safe, secure environment. But culture is like gravity. In the same way that you expect gravity to work, a healthy culture teaches people what to expect, and you need to create that culture. A great way to accomplish this is to communicate directly, honestly, regularly, and transparently, and to empower your people to make decisions. 

To grow your capacity, you need to be a lifelong learner. Learn something new every day that will help you improve yourself and advance in what God has called you to do. Good leaders must study how to make better decisions. The best decision makers base their decisions on both information (head) and gut feelings (heart). Most people use one method or the other, but you need to learn to do both. 

Conducting, coaching, culture creation, and capacity: whether your goal is to be successful in business, ministry, or both, establishing good leadership skills is crucial to your success.