By Simon DavisEffective leadership is defined as the ability to successfully integrate the individual talents of various individuals into a cohesive and cooperative whole that can effectively work together towards a perceived goal. Based on this definition, the characteristics of an effective leader consist of being able to create cooperation and cohesiveness within a team setting. This includes the ability to promote and guide the individual talents of team members, create effective and open lines of communication within the team and set appropriate goals and expectations in order for people to understand what is expected of them.Defining LeadershipThe true measure of an effective leader can thus be seen in two things:

• How the team arrives at a goal.
• The culture apparent in the team setting.

These two aspects reflect on the ability of the leader to foster and create a cooperative setting for the team by which they are able to successfully and effectively meet target goals. Investopedia states that the better the inherent culture is within the team, the more likely it is that they'll be able to meet goals and exceed expectations. It is based on these aspects that the use of conference calls is one of the best ways in which you can observe and manage potential leaders within your company and determine their capacity to lead the business into the future.Video Conferences and AccountabilityOne of the benefits of utilizing conference calls BlueJeans is that they allow leaders to be informed of all aspects of the company's operations, regardless of where they may be at the time. This level of awareness is important since it allows them to enable their individual employees to develop their own leadership skills and create a sense of accountability when it comes to performing certain tasks. In essence, the concept of individual accountability is a unit of measurement which refers to how a person is accountable for their actions and how this reflects on the success of a particular goal or stratagem. For the members of a group, this is reflected in their accountability in doing their job right in order for the group as a whole to succeed. Business News Daily states that for a leader, this means that he or she will be held accountable for all decisions made, whether successful or not. It must be noted that the measure of an effective leader is the ability to accept the one's own individual accountability in the face of an unsuccessful operation. With this in mind, video conferencing enables an executive to properly vet and examine how individual employees are able to take in the concept of individual accountability. This is especially relevant in terms of personal projects and determining which employees are the most effective based on how they present themselves, their reasoning for particular actions and how they justify the end result.Video Conferencing and Evaluating Personal StrengthsOne of the main issues when it comes to predicting whether a person will become an effective leader or not is the process of evaluation. Simply put, it is hard to gauge an individual's strengths via an informal email or company report and, as such, utilising conference calls can be an invaluable means of examining the worth of a person, so to speak. Inc. explains that personal strengths can include effective conflict management skills, the ability to empathise with employees, analytical abilities to think without getting personal and variety of other similar characteristics that define good business leadership. Every individual has their own specific set of personal strengths with some characteristics being more dominant than others. It is these particular qualities  that shape an individual’s ability to become successful since they define what they are capable of doing. These strengths can support success by:

• Enabling a person to make necessary instead of emotional choices.
• Giving the means to understand and empathise with employees in order to understand their strengths and limitations.
• Creating an effective work environment by reducing causes of conflict and mitigating problems as they arise.
• Creating a mindset that takes into consideration all possible outcomes and views before making a decision.
• Weekly conference calls can help evaluate how an employee reacts to challenges, and management can determine whether they are suitable for more leadership roles in the future.

Based on what has been presented so far, it can be seen that video conference calls can be effective in determining an individual's capacity to think on their feet, make snap decisions and evaluate on a moment's notice what is needed then and there. On the other hand, being a business leader also entails the level of interaction one has with employees or team, effective leadership must always take into account the various nuances that compose a team and learn to effectively mitigate problems, guide individuals appropriately and be a leader that is open to communication and new ideas.