I've been around many great leaders from many different organizations and I can not give an answer the clearly defines what is leadership?The dictionarys definition is. Leadership is having the trust of a group that you can inspire to do something good. A definition more inclusive is "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen." This definition is broad, but i agree with it. A general in the army is a leader but usually leads because of his position, The unlisted do not have a choice they have to obey his orders. Gandhi is considered one of the greatest leaders historically and he led hundreds of thousands with influence.
Leaders must do these task. Leaders have to make the one following them feel sercure, and have a set of beliefs. How can leaders do this? Here are 6 great examples.
1. creative thinker: A leader brings a vision to the group. It's a plan by which others can FOLLOW. This vision brings the followers the emotion of hope and something the followers can strive to achieve. The vision should be clear and the leader should stand up for what the leader believes in.
"A leader is a dealer in hope" - Napoleon Bonaparte
2. assured: No one wants to follow a negative person. Leaders do not have to be positive all the time but the have to represent a sense of positivity.This is really important when things are difficult.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill
3. boldness: It takes guts to be a leader. It's not for everyone. Some people would prefer to tag along for the ride and that's fine. Not everyone can or should be a leader.
4. Empowering People: Inherently, people want to do a good job. They want to succeed and make others happy. As a leader, you need to allow people to succeed. By empowering people, the leader isn't doing the task for the person following the leader, but instead gives them the tools necessary to succeed.
5. Reliable: You don't want to follow someone that shows up late or doesn't do what they say they are going to do. In a leader, you want someone that's reliable, with a message that people can follow. If leaders aren't consistent if their efforts and their actions, it causes followers to begin to doubt the dedication of the leader to the cause. I can't find a citation, but historian Doris Kearns Goodwin was recently on The Daily Show. She stated that during the Great Depression and during FDR's tenure a citizen once said something to the effect of "I don't have any money, don't have a job, and I don't have a reason to live, but I keep on going because I know FDR is there."
"Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too." - Robert Half
6. Motivating: If you don't have the previous characteristics, it certainly isn't very motivating for the follower to follow the leader let alone do a great job. A leader needs a vision, otherwise people don't have a map and tend to get lost.
I've put together a list of behaviors that differentiate between leaders and managers.
" Managers administer; leaders innovate.
" Managers ask how and when; leaders ask what and why.
" Managers focus on systems; leaders focus on people.
" Managers do things right; leaders do the right things.
" Managers maintain; leaders develop.
" Managers rely on control; leaders inspire trust.
" Managers have short-term perspective; leaders have long-term perspective.
" Managers accept the status-quo; leaders challenge the status-quo.
" Managers have an eye on the bottom line; leaders have an eye on the horizon.
" Managers imitate; leaders originate.
" Managers emulate the classic good soldier; leaders are their own person.
" Managers copy; leaders show originality.
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What do you think about the 6 characteristics of leadership I've given? Do you have any to add?
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