Attributes of a Good Leader
ATTRIBUTES OF A GOOD LEADER
Leadership is a very delicate topic. It's one that a lot of people have had to talk on, different philosophies over the years. But what still remains true is that there are two kinds of people in the world: LEADERS & FOLLOWERS.
I wanted to try to make this article as short as possible but honestly there is need to write at length. I've been reading a book recently --- Think & Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill. A book that helps me to understand the concept of leadership.
Many people shy away from leading, they'd rather be followers & complain about the people leading. There is nothing wrong with being a follower. All leaders started as followers. But then there are intelligent followers & sooner or later they get to overthrow unwise leaders.
Back to the topic of leadership, there are leaders & there are Great leaders. Leaders like every other person whose name would readily be forgotten & great leaders who would always be remembered & loved. What is the major difference between these two kinds of leaders?
There are two forms of leadership: the first one is leadership by CONSENT of, & with the sympathy of the followers. While the second one is leadership by FORCE, & without the sympathy of the followers.
The latter one used to be the norm back in the days but I'm here to talk about leadership by consent which is by far the best form of leadership. Nothing good can be obtained through force & that is why history is filled with stories of devastating overthrows. People can endure leadership by force but not for long.
In modern day, democracy & other forms of government have given birth to leadership by consent. There is a new relationship between leader & followers. There is nothing better than when the people choose their leaders & follow them out of love & respect. There is no limit to what such a system can achieve.
There are eleven attributes of a good leader I would like to discuss according to the book by Mr Hill.
THE MAJOR ATTRIBUTES OF LEADERSHIP
1. UNWAVERING COURAGE
nobody is willing to follow a leader who lacks confidence in himself & who cannot stand up to a fight. Courage to speak truth & to stand for what is right even if it is against a portion of his followers.
2. SELF CONTROL
the man who cannot control himself cannot control others. A leader is not one who flares up all the time. Self control sets an example for his followers.
3. A KEEN SENSE OF JUSTICE
a leader that cannot offer justice is unwise & would always face a lot of revolt & unrest from his followers. By being just a leader wins the respect of his followers.
4. DEFINITENESS OF DECISION
a leader is the first person to make his plans & the last person to change them. A leader should always be purpose-driven if he intends to win the will of his followers.
5. DEFINITENESS OF PLANS
a leader should be able to work his plans & make his plans work. A leader who cannot make plans a success would always be punished as he cannot lead others.
6. THE HABIT OF DOING MORE THAN PAID FOR
willingness on the part of the leader to serve is key. He should always be ready to give more than he requires of his followers.
7. A PLEASING PERSONALITY
it is not by coincidence that great leaders were loved by their followers. This is because while they were still followers they took their time to build their personality. There is not much a leader can change after taking up the mantle & impressions of leaders are usually lasting. Leaders don't necessarily have to have personalities that everybody loves but they need to have personalities that everyone respects.
8. SYMPATHY & UNDERSTANDING
the successful leader must understand the problems of his people. He must be one with them & seek to uplift his followers.
9. MASTERY OF DETAIL
a leader should understand what is required of him in his position & should deliver.
10. WILLINGNESS TO ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY
a leader gets all the praise for every successful endeavour but it takes a good leader to accept responsibility for the not too successful ones. A leader is not one to apportion blames or delegate tasks without taking any for himself.
11. COOPERATION
the successful leader must understand & apply the principles of cooperative effort. He should be able to get the best out of his followers by keeping them motivated all the time.
There is still space for other attributes but no leader can go wrong with these eleven. In my next article I would be talking aboutthe causes of failure in leadership. While a leader should know what to do, he also ought to know what not to do.
Till then check yourself & know where & how to improve yourself. You can decide to stop being the follower that complains but is unable to do anything about his situation to being a leader that harnesses the strength of a people to achieve a definite purpose. This is where I drop the ✒ pen :)
