This article explores the qualities that make a good leader. These are the aspects of leadership that draw followers to that leader, whether they have the title of leader or not

How often have you heard the comment, “He or she is a born leader?” There are certain characteristics found in some people that seem to naturally put them in a position where they’re looked up to as a leader.

Whether in fact a person is born a leader or develops skills and abilities to become a leader is open for debate. There are some clear characteristics that are found in good leaders. These qualities can be developed or may be naturally part of their personality. Let us explore them further.

Seven Personal Qualities Found In A Good Leader

1. A good leader has an exemplary character. It is of utmost importance that a leader is trustworthy to lead others. A leader needs to be trusted and be known to live their life with honestly and integrity. A good leader “walks the talk” and in doing so earns the right to have responsibility for others. True authority is born from respect for the good character and trustworthiness of the person who leads.
2. A good leader is enthusiastic about their work or cause and also about their role as leader. People will respond more openly to a person of passion and dedication. Leaders need to be able to be a source of inspiration, and be a motivator towards the required action or cause. Although the responsibilities and roles of a leader may be different, the leader needs to be seen to be part of the team working towards the goal. This kind of leader will not be afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty.
3. A good leader is confident. In order to lead and set direction a leader needs to appear confident as a person and in the leadership role. Such a person inspires confidence in others and draws out the trust and best efforts of the team to complete the task well. A leader who conveys confidence towards the proposed objective inspires the best effort from team members.
4. A leader also needs to function in an orderly and purposeful manner in situations of uncertainty. People look to the leader during times of uncertainty and unfamiliarity and find reassurance and security when the leader portrays confidence and a positive demeanor.
5. Good leaders are tolerant of ambiguity and remain calm, composed and steadfast to the main purpose. Storms, emotions, and crises come and go and a good leader takes these as part of the journey and keeps a cool head.
6. A good leader as well as keeping the main goal in focus is able to think analytically. Not only does a good leader view a situation as a whole, but is able to break it down into sub parts for closer inspection. Not only is the goal in view but a good leader can break it down into manageable steps and make progress towards it.
7. A good leader is committed to excellence. Second best does not lead to success. The good leader not only maintains high standards, but also is proactive in raising the bar in order to achieve excellence in all areas.

These seven personal characteristics are foundational to good leadership. Some characteristics may be more naturally present in the personality of a leader. However, each of these characteristics can also be developed and strengthened. A good leader whether they naturally possess these qualities or not, will be diligent to consistently develop and strengthen them in their leadership role.

By Beyond Better Development

Barbara White of Beyond Better Development is speaker and trainer. Barbara inspires and empowers leaders and organizations to become Beyond Better . For more informative and inspiring articles visit her websites http://www.livingbeyondbetter.com and http://www.articlesbeyondbetter.com

How do you become a great leader? There are skills that you can continually learn that will develop your leadership abilities. However, to be a great leader it is not only what you do, but who you are as a person that makes the difference. Find out what really makes the difference by reading on.

Leadership Training Seminar - What makes a great leader?

At one point or another, we have all been either a leader or a follower. While both roles are equally important, a leader plays an instrumental role in providing direction for his/her followers. A good way to identify an effective leader is to see if his/her followers are able to support and accomplish what their leader is asking of their team.

In order to be a great leader, one must possess various qualities that will attract followers. The following qualities are just of few of the many qualities that are vital for effective leadership.

<h3>Charisma</h3>

A notable charismatic leader was Martin Luther King, Jr. Decades after his death, King is still honored today for his passionate movement towards equality. His most famous speech, “I have a dream,” still impacts a current generation as his powerful words grace the majority of history textbooks all over America. His speech radiates personality because of his expressive words in his fight against inequality. Like King’s speech, charismatic leaders have the gift to touch people through their choice of words. Charismatic leaders are alluring, charming and can encourage followers to support a grand vision or idea.

<h3>Positive Attitude</h3>

A leader who possesses a positive attitude will influence his/her followers to carry that same attitude. An example of a positive leader could be a parent or teacher. Mothers, fathers, or elementary teachers appear and are viewed as role models to the young children they are teaching and nurturing. These role models are the first leaders they encounter in life. Children become very dependent of leaders because they are their vehicles to the outside world and provide much needed help and assistance. If a parent is nurturing and loving to their child, they will thrive under this encouragement. If a school teacher provides a positive learning experience to the child, they will succeed and that success will become contagious. In any circumstance, a leader’s positive attitude will have greater impact and influence on their followers.

<h3>Motivation</h3>

In an athletic world, a motivating leader could be a coach, trainer or even a fellow teammate. While the “talent” of players is a good determinant of a winning team, their coach is also an important factor. If a coach can not produce a winning team, his job is at stake. A coach’s motivation involves infusing his players with high standards, and setting challenging but attainable goals as they perform well. Thus, his/her ability to motivate his players will enhance their performances. Motivation also correlates with having a positive attitude. When a coach has a positive attitude and provides a positive environment for his players, then the team will most likely be motivated to move in his/her direction where ultimate success can be found.

<h3>Assertiveness</h3>

A leader has the responsibility to guide the direction of his or her company. When a leader is firm and assertive in delegating tasks to his subordinates, they will hold a greater respect to follow through on their assignments. An assertive leader has the ability to convey enforcement without being too autocratic or threatening to their subordinates. Furthermore, an assertive leader should not make his subordinates feel like they’re in a hostile environment. Instead, an assertive leader should respect his people, and require proper accountability at the same time. A leader’s assertiveness and confidence earns respect. With that respect, people are much more likely to follow, help, and emulate their leader to achieve success.

Leaders exude many qualities that make them effective and appreciated. These four qualities all compliment each other in constructing a well-balanced leader.

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By Stephanie Tuia

Stephanie Tuia is a Client Account Specialist with 10x Marketing - More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. For more information on how to conduct a Leadership Training Seminar, visit Leadership Training Seminar.

If you want to go far in the business world, you have to possess strong leadership qualities. In fact, you will find that having leadership qualities will get you much farther in every aspect of your life as well. From your job to your relationship, taking charge and radiating confidence will win you the respect and admiration from all that know you. Unfortunately, not many of us were born leaders. In fact, there are many shy and insecure people out there that would love to be able to lead instead of follow. That’s where leadership training comes in. If you are the type that has always followed a step behind the crowd, it’s time you learn to lead.

continue reading "Leadership Qualities and Leadership Training"

Leadership Qualities  Leadership Skills

Leadership qualities matter in business and in education. Yet the doctoral student can’t find information on leadership. If the discipline isn’t leadership she has to cry for help: What are leadership qualities? Others would like to know too what are the personal qualities of leadership! Business leadership is important. Educational leadership is in demand. But what are leadership qualities and skills?

Interest they have in business or educational leadership. Perhaps also leadership qualities. Knowledge of what is leadership, not. If they see a worker a few times resting who routinely unloads, sorts, stacks, rests, repeats, he is lazy. That’s not good leadership! If leadership qualities or skills are lacking it causes annoyance, loss of production.

Leadership in education or business are acquirable skills.

continue reading "Leadership Skills or Leadership Qualities"

What does a typical day in the corporate world look like? High tension atmosphere, people running helter skelter; some screaming on the phone, some sitting in strategy meetings-a look of extreme concentration on their faces. Business world is all about being on the edge, and often we find excellent managers suffering from burn-out and extreme stress levels because of the increased competitiveness at work. The lifestyle is crazy, the tension is palpable. The one thing which can make all the difference to people’s business acumen is sorely missing from the scene. If you are wondering what that factor is it is calmness.

Hypnosis brings that peace of mind and calmness. It is when people are able to put their heads down and think over something in a cool manner that some really positive results come out. Another big issue is that people are not able to understand each other in a perfect manner. They completely miss on the unspoken communication. This is the biggest barrier. Sometimes its more important to understand what the person actually mean as compared to what he is trying to say. This is the kind of power that Conversational Hypnosis (Read more Power Of Conversational Hypnosis) Conversational hypnosis is one area of hypnosis that is not much spoken about but has attracted a great deal of attention from the corporates. The reason is simple who does not wants more powerful and effective employees. Draw more sales per client and have more satisfied customers.

There are a lot of people out there who claim to be hypnosis gurus. I have found that most of so called gurus know so little about hypnosis. Most of them are con artists who try to fool people using tricks. However one person who stands out in this respect is Igor Ledochowski. His program conversational hypnosis is one of the best programs out there. To know why this program is so succesful and what makes Igor Ledochowski so popular follow this link - Igor Ledochowski.

Are you valued as a Leader?

A recent survey in the UK asked employees what qualities they looked for and valued most in a leader. The responses were
interesting and worth examining.

Trustworthiness.

Top of the list came trustworthiness. A clear majority of those asked put this as the quality they valued the most. Could this be, I wonder, because they find that this quality is so rare? Recent examples of the behaviour of some of the top men in
industry and commerce suggest that this quality is rare indeed.

A Good Communicator.

A close second was the ability to Communicate. Employees like someone who can tell them what is going on. They like to be
told what the plans for the company are and how it is performing. They like to have the aims of the company and their
own part in it spelled out clearly and unambiguously.

Decisiveness.

Then came decisiveness. Employees look to their leaders to be decisive. They don’t want to be subject to frequent changes of direction or imprecise goals. They don’t want to see any form of shilly-shallying in their leaders. They want clarity and
action.

Motivation and Inspiration.

The abilities to motivate and inspire followed next. Maybe these came lower down the list because they follow from the qualities listed previously. They are the results of those other qualities rather than primary qualities themselves. After all,
you are not likely to inspire anyone unless you are first a good communicator. You are not likely to inspire if you don’t know where you are going.

People Focused.

Being people focused as a desirable quality was next on the list. This amounts to valuing and caring about your staff and
looking after their well being at all times. This also is a quality that sometimes seems in short supply when the going gets tough. But you won’t motivate or inspire without it.

Visionary and Strategic Planner

The qualities of being a Visionary and a Strategic Planner have been grouped together since they came next in order and very close together in the ranking. They are also very similar in nature. It does seem to me, though, that these qualities are
vitally necessary if the higher ranked qualities of motivation and inspiration are to be of much use. You have got to have the vision before you can motivate someone to go after it.

Driver of Change.

To be a driver of change is apparently not so very highly rated amongst employees. Perhaps this is because change can often be uncomfortable. This is a quality that the top management of the company will probably value much higher than the majority of the staff.

Charismatic.

This was ranked lower still, but I suggest that this is not something that exists in isolation anyway. You either have
charisma (or you don’t) because of your other qualities. It doesn’t exist on its own.

Entrepreneurial and Risk Taker.

These two were ranked lower than all those previously listed and at a similar level. Is this perhaps a reflection on the fact
that it was employees who were asked rather than captains of industry? By the nature of things the majority of employees do not have these qualities themselves in large doses, and so they probably don’t want their leaders to take a lot of risks
affecting them either. In uncertain times employees put a high value on stability and security.

So what can be learnt from this survey?

If you want to stand out as a leader in business you must persuade others to follow. That much is obvious. But to get
them to follow you have to take account of what they think themselves. You cannot ignore it. So you need to be an amalgam
of what is popular with what is less popular but necessary all the same.

With that in mind, I draw the following conclusions from the above survey …

1. You must be, and show yourself to be, honest in all that you do and say.
2. You must have a precise and steadfast view of where you want yourself and your company to go and you must be able
to communicate it clearly and unambiguously.
3. You must take decisions quickly and decisively, and having taken them you must stick firmly to them.
4. You must consider at all times the well being of your staff.

It doesn’t sound too difficult. Now is your chance to take the lead.

By Arthur Cooper

Arthur Cooper is a business consultant, writer and publisher. For his mini-course ‘Better Management’ go to:
http://www.barrel-publishing.com/better_management.shtml

Are You Valued as a Leader?
By Arthur Cooper
(c) Copyright 2003
http://www.arthurcooper.com

This article looks at the qualities of a church leader. The author takes the example of Joshua in the Old Testament and draws out important leadership qualities, especially for leaders in the Christian Church

Then He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”
-Deuteronomy 31:23

Joshua became Israel’s leader during one of the most difficult times in its history. Within days of his appointment, he led
the nation across the Jordan River into hostile territory and set out to conquer, divide and settle in the land. It was a
daunting task and Joshua’s success in this enormous assignment lied in these very important reasons:

First of all, Joshua’s hunger for God’s presence. Joshua often accompanied Moses to the tabernacle of meeting where
God talked with him face to face. Moses, after hearing from God, would leave and address the people.

But when Joshua came into God’s presence in the tabernacle of meeting, he “did not depart from the tabernacle”

(Ex. 33:11).
Joshua demonstrated a deep passion to be in God’s presence. This intimate relationship with God would serve him well in his demanding leadership challenges to come.

Secondly, Joshua’s commitment to obey God. Of the 12 spies who checked the land in preparation for Isreal’s invasion,
only Joshua and Caleb encouraged the people to follow God’s command to move forward.

Although the 12 spies saw the same obstacles, 10 of the 12 concluded that the people should turn back. Joshua’s and Caleb’s
response (Num. 14:5-9) helps explain why Joshua succeeded as Isreal’s leader when he was appointed 40 years later.

Thirdly, Joshua’s integrity and character. God (and Moses) established and legitimized Joshua’s positional leadership
for the nation.

God left no question about who was in charge when Moses departed (Josh. 1:1-9). Both Joshua’s positional and personal power were based on an impeccable life. Joshua’s integrity and character were essential to his effectiveness as a leader.

Fourthly, Joshua’s discipleship by Moses. There are four passages that call Joshua “Moses” assistant.” That reveals
an important fact about Joshua’s success as a leader. Moses had spent years training his successor. Isreal had a great leader in Joshua because Moses had the foresight to cultivate and equip him as the next leader.

Finally, Joshua’s godliness. Joshua 4:14 says, “On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Isreal; and
they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.”

Joshua was a powerful leader because he was a godly leader. Joshua was a godly leader because he was a godly man.

Article Source : http://www.holy-spirit-led-christian.com/ready-for-leadership.html

By Rev Kong Hee

Tian, Singapore, http://www.holy-spirit-led-christian.com/

There are many examples of effective leadership skills throughout history. This article looks at the good leadership skills of Sun Tzu from The Art of War, and draws out lessons for leadership today.

The book was written around 4th century BC. However, for each generation ever since it appears to be important and valuable. The Art of War teaches how to control and how to lead people in war in the simple words, yet with the use of symbols.

The main concept of “The Art of War” is the leadership and its significance in control and managing. Leader must discipline and direct. In the war according to Sun Tzu the leader only could win or loose the battle. And the power and the number of the army didn’t make a difference to him. It becomes obvious from his book that he was a strict and demanding leader, whom army had to obey and follow his commands without questioning. In the war Sun Tzu was the authority. However, Sun Tzu did allow himself to be understanding and supportive to his army. The dignity and wisdom were a different side of his leadership style. At the same time he said that the devoted and loving leader is a loss for the army, as people follow him in disasters.

continue reading "The Art of Leadership"

Neuro Linguistic Programming or NLP has made its recognition in almost every human sector including the education, business, law and sports. NLP is another form of psychotherapy and psychotherapists around the world are considering these techniques highly valuable. They use these techniques to solve the problems of the people who come to them to change or fix some area of their lives modifying their internal language to reprogram their internal system.

The meta-model NLP method consists of specifying questions or language patterns designed to challenge and expand them limits to a person’s model of the world. This involves processes of detecting the distortion, deletions and generalizations from the understanding of the patient. The NLP method tries to find out the reasons behind patient’s condition and then to modify the meaning of the event.

To see how and where NLP can be applicable, let’s look at an instance of a person with post traumatic disorder. This person might have a question why some incident has happen to him only. A psychotherapist will find out what is the understanding of the event in patients mind, then employ the NLP method to alter the meaning of the event so that is something more logical and manageable to the patient.

Anyone who is interested in helping others should employ NLP techniques into their own life. Knowing these techniques will be useful in your life to guide someone who’s confused and in need of someone who can show him the proper way. Also NLP plays an important role in schools, for building relationship, in jobs and career building. To gain NLP training you can join NLP training courses run by accredited training centers. If you want to do detailed study of NLP, an NLP Practitioner training will be ideal for you. With Neuro Linguistic Programming you will have the opportunity to work on your own self-development. You will learn that there is no limit to what you can do with your life.

The success of a business is dependent on the qualities of the leader. Good leadership qualities will facilitate the results needed for a successful business. This article looks at the seven qualities that a leader must display in order to successfully manage a business.

While there are many qualities that differentiate a leader from the rest of the pack, there are some important ones that are common to most business leaders that help them to manage work and people. These are as follows.

Ambition:-
The person with a dream is the most likely to attain success, simply because he or she has a goal to work towards. Someone with the drive and high aspirations will be propelled towards the determination and diligence to make a success of their business. Every great leader, in business and in other fields of life has an objective that they work to achieve and this becomes the driving force that shows others the vision of what can be. This inspires the leader and the people around him or her towards the actions required to make the vision a reality.

continue reading "What Qualities Must a Leader Have in Managing a Business?"