What Makes A Good Leader?
Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower,
you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never-ending
process of self-study, education,
training, and experience. To
enthuse (inspire) your teammates into higher levels of solidarity (teamwork),
there are certain things you must know, and, do. These do not come naturally,
but are learned through
recurrent (continual) work and study.
Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT trying to take it easy. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the team in a way that makes it more cohesive (unified) and coherent (logical). Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, temperament (character), knowledge, and skills. Although your position as a manager, supervisor, controller, etc. gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the team, this power does not make you a leader, it simply makes you the boss. Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals, rather than simply bossing people around.
When people are deciding if they respect you as a leader, they do not think about your attributes, rather, they observe what you do so that they can know who you really are. They use this observation to tell if you are an honorable and trusted leader or a self-serving person who misuses authority to look good and get promoted. Self-serving leaders are not as effective because their teammates only obey them, not follow them. The basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to your squad. In your peer’s eyes, your leadership is everything you do that affects their working and their well being. Respected leaders concentrate on what they are, what they know, and what they do.
An important principle of leadership is to know ones-self and seek...
There are three main things that make a good leader. The first is that a leader must practice what he preaches. The second is that he has to look after and protect those around him. The third is that he must be able to develop other good leaders.
A good leader is excellent at practicing what he preaches. I love the quote that states, "Your actions speak so loud that I can't hear what you are saying." This goes back to the old proverb that says, "Live by the sword, die by the sword." This is the same with leadership and how much a leader abides by what he says. As a good leader, how can you expect people do what you say, when you don't even do what you say?
A good leader looks after those he wants to lead. He does this by always doing what he can to protect them from harm, criticism, or blame from other people. People want security. It's integrated into our nervous system that we want to feel secure.
When you have a team of people that you are leading, it can be very powerful when they know that you are on their side, and that you will do whatever you can to make sure that you protect them from harm of other outside forces. A big part of being a good leader is knowing how to take the blame when things go wrong, and how to give away credit when things go well. A good leader knows that when things go bad or wrong, it's his responsibility to take the blame, even if it was not his fault. And when things go well, a good leader knows that it's his responsibility to make sure that he gives the credit to the deserving person who did the great work. Hence, making that person look very good.
A good leader develops other good leaders. This can only be attained once a person has first become a good leader. How can you expect to develop other good leaders, if you are not one first? Most of this just boils down to taking the time to spend time with the leaders that you want to develop and cultivate. By being a good mentor, you can teach and coach them through their trials and tribulations as a young and developing leader. Sometimes just being there to help them get back up after they have fallen is all you have to do. One of the best ways that you can invest time, is by investing it in the relationships of others around you.
The making of a good leader is extremely broad. If you practice what you preach, look after the others around you, and invest time to develop other good leaders, I believe that you will be well on your way to making yourself a good leader.
We all have the same potential to be a leader. It is just how we harness these qualities being given to us that make us a good leader or not.
Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT trying to take it easy. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the team in a way that makes it more cohesive (unified) and coherent (logical). Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, temperament (character), knowledge, and skills. Although your position as a manager, supervisor, controller, etc. gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the team, this power does not make you a leader, it simply makes you the boss. Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals, rather than simply bossing people around.
When people are deciding if they respect you as a leader, they do not think about your attributes, rather, they observe what you do so that they can know who you really are. They use this observation to tell if you are an honorable and trusted leader or a self-serving person who misuses authority to look good and get promoted. Self-serving leaders are not as effective because their teammates only obey them, not follow them. The basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to your squad. In your peer’s eyes, your leadership is everything you do that affects their working and their well being. Respected leaders concentrate on what they are, what they know, and what they do.
An important principle of leadership is to know ones-self and seek...
There are three main things that make a good leader. The first is that a leader must practice what he preaches. The second is that he has to look after and protect those around him. The third is that he must be able to develop other good leaders.
A good leader is excellent at practicing what he preaches. I love the quote that states, "Your actions speak so loud that I can't hear what you are saying." This goes back to the old proverb that says, "Live by the sword, die by the sword." This is the same with leadership and how much a leader abides by what he says. As a good leader, how can you expect people do what you say, when you don't even do what you say?
A good leader looks after those he wants to lead. He does this by always doing what he can to protect them from harm, criticism, or blame from other people. People want security. It's integrated into our nervous system that we want to feel secure.
When you have a team of people that you are leading, it can be very powerful when they know that you are on their side, and that you will do whatever you can to make sure that you protect them from harm of other outside forces. A big part of being a good leader is knowing how to take the blame when things go wrong, and how to give away credit when things go well. A good leader knows that when things go bad or wrong, it's his responsibility to take the blame, even if it was not his fault. And when things go well, a good leader knows that it's his responsibility to make sure that he gives the credit to the deserving person who did the great work. Hence, making that person look very good.
A good leader develops other good leaders. This can only be attained once a person has first become a good leader. How can you expect to develop other good leaders, if you are not one first? Most of this just boils down to taking the time to spend time with the leaders that you want to develop and cultivate. By being a good mentor, you can teach and coach them through their trials and tribulations as a young and developing leader. Sometimes just being there to help them get back up after they have fallen is all you have to do. One of the best ways that you can invest time, is by investing it in the relationships of others around you.
The making of a good leader is extremely broad. If you practice what you preach, look after the others around you, and invest time to develop other good leaders, I believe that you will be well on your way to making yourself a good leader.
We all have the same potential to be a leader. It is just how we harness these qualities being given to us that make us a good leader or not.
Indeed, great leaders are made. If you want to be a good leader today, you have to improve your leadership skills. For example, my brother developed his leadership skills at a Toronto strategy consultant seminar organized by http://www.robinsonleadership.com. It was a great experience for him and because of this reason he highly recommends this seminar!
ReplyDelete