As an entrepreneur, understanding how to be one great leader yourself—and how to find and instill great leadership in others—is critical.

Throughout my journey as an entrepreneur and CEO, I have reviewed countless leadership frameworks, read thousands of books, debated with colleagues, and spent years understanding what makes an effective leader. In my opinion, great leadership comes down to four main pillars: planning, people, process and performance.

Let's break down each pillar, why it matters, and how you can use it to become a better leader.

Connected: A Guide to Becoming an Effective Leader: The 6 Traits of Every Successful Leader

Planning: Conscious Strategy

Planning is the first pillar of effective leadership. My definition of planning includes setting clear, measurable goals, outlining specific steps to achieve them, and creating a strategic roadmap to guide the way.

Importantly, my definition also includes prioritization. Part of planning is realizing that not everything can be a focus at the same time and being proactive about the most effective use of your resources. Whether you're constrained by time, budget, team expertise, or something else entirely, great leaders will clearly outline what their priorities are—and what they aren't—over the life cycle of a project.

To be a leader who plans effectively, you must embrace foresight, determination, and a big picture. Practice seeing challenges and opportunities ahead, making smart decisions, and keeping one clear vision where you are headed.

When leaders neglect planning, their teams are likely to struggle to make progress toward their goals. They may feel disorganized, overwhelmed, or frustrated by the lack of results their efforts are generating. It's the leader's job to course-correct, managing the many variables that can affect a project rather than hoping everything falls into place.

People: Clear expectations

People are at the heart of any organization and managing them well is essential. I believe the foundation of people management is communication and clear expectations.

Why are they? clear expectations so important? People can only succeed in their roles if they know what success looks like—and that alignment may not come naturally.

For example, some leaders may feel that “success” in a role requires constant communication and getting results. Others may think that “success” requires innovative thinking and taking ownership of the role. Both perspectives are valid, but for employees to excel in their roles, they need to know how you will evaluate performance and what you want to see them achieve.

As leaders, it is also our responsibility to organize our time so that we can manage proactively rather than reactively. This requires clear, organized and thoughtful direction keep the teams in line and working productively.

When leaders fail to set clear expectations, teams can become confused and unmotivated. They may struggle to understand their roles or what is expected of them, leading to inconsistency and reduced productivity.

It is essential that leaders communicate openly and often, making sure everyone is on the same page and working toward common goals. This clarity not only enhances individual performance, but also fosters a culture of accountability and mutual respect.

Connected: 3 steps to help employees understand your goals and expectations

Process: Coordinated systems

The process pillar focuses on the importance of coordinated systems and productive organizational design. The heart of an effective team is a well structured organization with clear methodologies and processes. This structure serves as the basis for building growth and development of the next level.

By holistically understanding the current organizational model, leaders can identify areas for improvement and implement new systems that increase efficiency and productivity. Coordinated systems ensure that everyone is working toward common goals in a consistent and efficient manner.

Depending on the role and organization, creating processes may require establishing standard operating procedures, optimizing workflows, and leveraging technology to support organizational needs.

A well-defined process also requires regular attention. A system that is effective and efficient today may not be effective and efficient a year from now. As your company grows, your team changes, and technology advances, processes may need updates and adjustments to reflect the new environment.

When leaders overlook the importance of processes, teams can become inefficient and chaotic. Without clear systems and methodologies, you can see the effects of duplicate tasks and wasted effort on overall productivity. Effective process management enables teams to operate more efficiently, reducing redundancy and maximizing resources.

Performance: Consistent responsiveness

Performance is the last pillar, emphasizing the importance of sustainable accountability. Effective leaders measure results and hold teams and team members accountable for achieving their goals. This includes an action bias, finding ways to solve problems, and breaking large projects into actionable parts.

Accountability is also about ensuring that everyone is accountable for their contributions, and that performance is is regularly monitored and evaluated. Leaders should set clear performance metrics, provide regular feedback and recognize achievements among their teams.

When leaders neglect accountability, performance can suffer. Teams can lack direction, miss goals, and miss opportunities for improvement. In the long run, the business may struggle to move forward at all.

Inciting one the culture of accountabilityleaders encourage continuous improvement and drive high performance throughout the organization.

Connected: Fostering this trait is one of the hardest things for leaders to get right

At the end of the day, “being a good leader” can feel like an abstract and intangible goal. However, it really comes down to getting these four fundamental areas right. By applying these pillars to your leadership and infusing them into your team, you'll be well on your way to sustainable growth.