Who is a leader?
Are leaders born or made?
21 qualities of a successful leader
Who is a leader?
A leader is:
1- A person who influences a group of people towards achievement of a goal.
2- Someone who sets a good example for people in a group (a company, family, community, religious setting).
3- A person who does the right thing (which often determines success of a business or undertaking) as opposed to a manager who does things right.
4- A person who creates an inspiring vision of the future.
5- A person who motivates and inspires people to engage in his or her vision.
6- A person who coaches and builds a team towards achieving a vision.
Are leaders born or made?
Some people are naturally charismatic, influential, inspiring individuals and naturally predisposed to leadership. Are leaders born that way? Or is it possible to cultivate the skills necessary for leadership? Are leaders made? A legendary American football coach once made a statement that has stood the test of time “Leaders aren’t born, they are made, and they are made just like anything else, through hard work”.
So regardless of whether you are born “talented” or not, to be a leader you must work to develop and refine certain characteristics that make people great.
21 qualities of a successful leader
If you can become a leader first on the inside, you will become the person you want to be on the outside. Then you become an influencer and people will want to follow you. These are the next set of qualities of a successful leader:
15-You must have CHARISMA: Charisma is the quality that magnetizes people to you. First impressions are usually lasting impressions and first impressions can seal a deal. Be more concerned about making people feel good about themselves than you are about making them feel good about you. When you put others before yourself you exhibit charisma.
16- You must have great skills in COMMUNICATION: You must learn to simplify your communication, how you say what you say is more important than what you say. Really care about your audience. Depict the truth by believing and living what you say. Seek a response to what you say, action is the goal of all communication.
17- You must cultivate the art of LISTENING: To connect with people’s hearts listen with your ears. You have to be silent to listen. It is better for you to be told what you need to know rather than what you want to hear.
18- You must build SELF DISCIPLINE: Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you ought to do when you ought to do it. The first person to lead is yourself. Refuse to quit because once you start it can become a habit which may be lifelong.
19- You must practice SERVANTHOOD: When you put others first, you get ahead. Serving others brings fulfillment and is the way to personal individual happiness. Always remember that the way up is to go down first. Then you will be lifted up. True leaders are motivated by loving concern not personal glory.
20- You must learn to be TEACHABLE: To keep on leading you must keep on learning. Why should you keep growing? It is because growth determines who you are. This in turn determines who you attract. Who you attract determines the success of your organization.
21- You must have VISION: Courage to fulfill vision comes from passion and not from position. Vision for a leader is absolutely indispensable.
In conclusion, these are the third and final set of 7 qualities of a good leader. He or she must: have charisma, have good communication skills, cultivate the art of listening, possess self-discipline, must practice servant hood, must be teachable and must have vision.