What are the qualities of a good leader you ask? Well, let’s start off by reviewing something Doglous McAuthur said;
“A good leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough descisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one beacuse of the quality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.”
According to him a good leader is courageous and confident, yet humble and has pure intentions. A leader is not a person who wants the throne, he or she is the person who the throne is thrust upon and rises to the occasion.
The truth is a good leader is like the human body (odd reference but bear with me), just like the body is made up of millions of cells and molecules, a leader is a combination of millions of things. You don’t need the same combination every time to make a human, every person is unique but you do need a specific set of organs that body can’t survive without. Similarly, there are a few qualities that you can’t find a leader without.
We decided to list them out, and here they are, the 7 qualities of successful leaders:
7. Integrity:
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A good leader should have strong moral principles. He or she has to be the person the company or the specific set of people look up too. If you can’t set a good example yourself you will not be able to inspire others to do anything either. A good preacher has to practice the text he’s teaching or else he’ll be marked a hypocrite and a person who can’t be trusted to follow his own rules cannot be trusted as a leader and will lose the respect of subordinates or followers.
6. Honesty:
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A good leader should be honest, and while this relates a bit to the first, honesty is important enough to make a headline. We all have shortcomings and no human being is perfect and while a leader should always aim to be perfect, (that’s right, you have to be as close to perfect as possible) there will always be shortcomings and you’ll make a mistake or two eventually. It’s important to be forthright and outspoken about it, putting the first foot forward on the honesty front.
5. Far-sightedness:
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A good leader is far-sighted. They can see into the future and can tell what events will be taking place in the future, in the workplace they should be able to predict the outcome of a project or should be able to know which investment is worth making and which isn’t. He or she should be able to tell which of his or her employees should fit in where. In a political workplace, a good leader should be able to see the outcome of a situation before it has happened and should have the farsightedness to see and feel danger and opportunity equally.
4. Good communication skills:
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A good leader has a magnetic personality. Good communication skills also mean the ability to inspire the other person, a good leader should be able to light a fire in you using only his or her words and personality.
3. Should never be self-centered:
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A leader exists solely for his people (i said it before didn’t I when I was telling you had to be perfect) as a company owner he has to be completely devoted to his company, as a country leader he has to be completely devoted towards his company. The thing is, being a leader simply look glamorous on the outside, I mean people are cheering you on and they look up to you, what more could a person want right? But the simple truth is, that a leader is an extremely self-sacrificial person. They have to invest themselves in the project completely immersing themselves in their jobs. There is a reason why Dogolous McAuthur thinks a leader is a person who doesn’t set out to be one.
2. Full of hope:
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A good leader is full of hope and does not fall prey to despair and hopelessness. This quality is an essential quality in a leader because the people that follow him or her will derive most of their hope from him or her. A leader should always be able to see the bright side of a situation, (even if there isn’t any), a leader needs to find the silver lining even if it isn’t visible to the naked eye because people will always look to them in the time of need.
1. Empowerment:
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A leader is a person who gives back power to the people, who invest in them and brings them up instead of strengthening himself, he strengthens them. According to Bill Gates,
“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others”