Obviously, there are more characteristics than five that contribute one to being an effective leader. However, I believe these characteristics are vital to being a leader that people would want to follow. Here they are:
1. Lead by Example
“Do what has to be done. Do it when it has to be done. Do it as well as you can. Do it this way all of the time.”
Follow the Golden Rule and don’t be a HYPOCRITE because no one will be lead by a person who does not lead by example. It is important to remain constant and reliable for one’s followers.
2. Learn from your Mistakes
“Success comes from good decisions. Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions.”
We are humans and make mistakes. No one is perfect, but out of our mistakes, something good has to come out of it. Turn it around and see what you can do better next time and maybe even use that to your advantage.
3. Put Others’ Needs First
“No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Showing that you sincerely care makes all the difference! A leader arises when he or she believes that a group of people needs help and they are passionate about leading them to their goals and dreams. A leader with no passion or care might as well forget about people wanting to put their faith and trust in him or her. Also, corrupt leaders put their needs first, but that is not true leadership. Leadership is meant to serve others and not one self!
4. Have Confidence
“Don’t ever take a shot you aren’t confident you are going to make.”
Everything you do must be done with full confidence. If you doubt yourself, no one will believe in your capabilities.
5. Set a High Standard
“It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you often get it.”
If you have low standards, your outcome will be even lower. If you have high standards, your product will reach it closely or even go above and beyond of what one expected.
No matter what leadership position one takes, from being a basketball player, a politician to a manager at McDonald’s, it is important to possess these traits. Then and only then one can truly be a productive and effective leader that people would want to look up to and follow.
What other characteristics would you want to add?
COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED (:
April 19th, 2013 at 3:19 pm
I really liked this post. Even though there are more than just five those five that are listed are key examples of being an effective leader. Each different point had very good incite and could help other that don’t follow these points.