Many people say that a leader has to have a certain quality about them. For example, people might say that a leader has to be a great speaker and that they could rally the people behind them. Having that quality is nice, but not every leader can do that. I found an interesting article on this topic by Dr. David G. Javitch. His article, 10 Characteristics of Superior Leaders, talks about what great leaders should have.
The first characteristic that he talks about is mission. This is plain and simple. The person knows what they want to do and why they are there. “A superior leader has a well thought out (often written) mission describing the purpose of the organization.” The next big quality of a leader, is their vision. Its not about the eyesight, but rather about what they plan to do in the future. “A vision needs to be abstract enough to encourage people to imagine it but concrete enough for followers to see it, understand it and be willing to climb onboard to fulfill it.” The next key characteristic is having good communication skills and interpersonal skills. The leader needs to be able to get everyone to understand what is going on and then being able to take input from their followers. That feedback from the followers is crucial. The person in charge might not know that what they are doing is disliked. This leads me into the next quality, inspiration. Leaders need to have this. It is mainly about the morale of the group. If the morale is high, then the group will accomplish more.
That was a brief summary of some good leadership qualities that can be used. Do you have any qualities that a leader should have?
February 5th, 2013 at 5:07 pm
I think being a motivator is a good quality of a leader. If someone can get people excited and willing to work towards a comment goal, then they can accomplish a lot. I also think that a leader needs to learn to be a follow to understand true leadership. When a leader knows what it is like to be at an opposite view point then they can properly communicate and understand their colleagues.
February 6th, 2013 at 5:43 pm
I agree that a leader should be able to explain and know what is going on to the poeple he/she is leading. Doing this also ties in with having good interpersonla skills with followers. I think building a relationship with the followers is something every leader should do.
February 6th, 2013 at 10:46 pm
It is my belief that “mission”, “goal”, and “vision” all blend together, but they involve an important aspect of being a leader. To know and follow these three aspects, a leader must be in tune to the needs of their people. A leader must be selfless in their actions and know that the decisions they make will ultimately affect the people of the community in a positive way.