When you've earned a place as a leader, it's rewarding to know that your experience, attitude and skills have helped you land a position of authority. However, being a new leader can also be challenging. There's a good chance you'll succeed, but you need to consider several points if you want your leadership to be impactful.

News anchor, author and businesswoman Nicole Lapin says that new leaders can take some steps to help foster relationships with their team members. In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we examine Lapin's four ways to make your employees adore you.

1. Get to know them. It's important to know more about your team members than their names and hometowns. Your new employees may be anxious about what the change in leadership (ahem, you) will mean for them, notes Lapin. Showing a genuine interest in learning more about them will help put some of those fears to rest. Ask employees about their roles, their goals and what skills they have that aren't being utilized—and then make it your mission to realize those goals together.

2. Allow for time to implement your changes. Lapin recommends letting your employees in on changes well in advance of implementing them so that everyone is on the same page. Set clear parameters of what will be expected of them and provide a (reasonable) timeframe for when you would like those changes to be completed.

3. Critique without being critical. Genuine praise can motivate a team to work harder, and so can genuine criticism. Lapin is a fan of the compliment sandwich: Start with a compliment and end with a compliment, with the zinger of what needs to be improved in the middle. It's not phony to compliment someone whom you are also reprimanding. Focus your feedback on behaviors and skills that you want to see more of, with examples of why certain things work better than others, says Lapin.

4. Don't be a dictator. You want people to want to work for you, and to root for you. By being a dictator, Lapin says you may get people to do the work, but they won't like it. If they don't like it, then they will not give you their best. Be open to the different ways people work and remember that productivity works in cycles. Be open to the varying ways employees can be the most productive and remember that time away from the computer can be very positive. You can be an efficient boss without turning into a tyrant.

Whether you've moved to a new company or you've been promoted at your current organization, you have an opportunity to create a leadership style that will win over your employees. You can positively start your journey as a new leader by following the guidance above.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Nicole Lapin is an American television news anchor, author and businesswoman. She is known for being a news anchor on CNBC, CNN and Bloomberg. Lapin also served as a finance correspondent for Morning Joe on MSNBC and The Today Show on NBC.