Leadership is the one area that every person wants to excel at and use to make a difference. When you are an entrepreneur, running a small business, or leading a group of employees in another company, you need to be on top of your leadership game. Without having leadership abilities and skills, then you will [...]
The most important quality of leadership is integrity, understood as honesty, strength of character, and courage. Without integrity there is no trust, the number one element in the leader-follower equation. Integrity leads to trust, and trust leads to respect, loyalty, and ultimately, action. It is trust coming from integrity that is needed for leading people [...]
Charisma is a special personal quality that generates others’ interest and causes them to follow. Napoleon makes the point that great leaders are optimists and merchants of hope. Optimism, a sense of adventure, and commitment to a cause are traits found in charismatic leaders. These are qualities that unleash the potential of others and bring [...]
Even if the spirit is willing, strength and stamina are needed to fulfill the tasks of leadership. Effective leaders are typically described as electric, vigorous, active, and full of life, no matter how old they are or if they are physically disabled. Consider Franklin Roosevelt, who had polio, and Helen Keller, who was blind. It [...]
The leader must have drive and determination to stick with difficult tasks until they are completed. According to Niccolo Machiavelli, “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain as to success, than to take the leader in the introduction of a new order of things.” Former Israeli [...]
OK I got a little behind in this one. Sorry! Confidence in one’s ability gives the leader inner strength to overcome difficult tasks. If leaders lack self-confidence, people may question their authority and may even disobey orders. Researchers at the Center for Creative Leadership have found that successful leaders remain calm and confident even during [...]
At the heart of caring leadership is concern for others. The leader must not look down on others or treat them as machines – replaceable and interchangeable. The leader must be sincerely and deeply concerned about the welfare of people. The character of caring stands in clear contrast to the character of bullying. The caring [...]
The leader must understand her or his own world and how it relates to the world of others. One cannot solve the equation of others when preoccupied with the equation of self. Empathy for employees cannot be developed if the leader is emotionally involved with personal problems. Problems with alcohol, problems with money, and problems [...]
Genuine enthusiasm is an important trait of a good leader. Enthusiasm is a form of persuasiveness that causes others to become interest and willing to accept what the leader is attempting to accomplish. Enthusiasm, like other human emotions – laughter, joy, happiness – is contagious. Enthusiasm shown by a leader generates enthusiasm in followers. As [...]
The leader must know the job – or invite loss of respect. It helps if the leader has done the job before and done it well. Employees seldom respect the individual who constantly must rely on others when making decisions, giving guidance, or solving problems. Although employees usually show a great deal of patience with [...]
