subject: Ten Characteristics Of Good Leadership [print this page] Summary: These ten characteristics of leadership are by no means a complete list of necessary leadership qualities. Some you may not have thought about before but they should make a difference in your life.
1. Loyalty: Loyalty is something you earn. Your position or title does not automatically demand loyalty from your followers. Personal example is mandatory to earn loyalty. If you treat your people well they will reciprocate it back. You will gain their loyalty when you serve them selflessly. Go the extra mile. The more you sacrifice and serve the greater will be their loyalty to you. Christ said the greatest in the kingdom of God is the greatest servant.
2. Duty: Understand that leadership is everyone's business, not just the business owner or president. If you want to move up in your organization you have to show leadership qualities. Duty means you exceed your boss's expectations. Duty means you will do what you say you will do. Duty implies doing your job without supervision. If you are the business owner it implies self mastery. Duty is proactive. It is your duty to make the business, team, organization etc better, that is true whether you are the top person or not.
3. Respect: Respect is simply treating your people the way you would want to be treated if you were in the same situation. Respect means you honor all people especially their differences. Respect is about love, obviously not the romantic kind of love but the brotherly kind of love.
4. Selfless-Service: This means you put others ahead of yourself. This doesn't mean you neglect yourself. How can you become a good leader if you don't do as Stephen Covey says, sharpen the saw. You need to make time for yourself to grow and develop. You need to be in tune enough to know when you are off balance.
5. Honor: Honor means you do what is right. Most likely your organization has a mission statement specifically for your organization. Honor is to live up to it. You as the leader above all must be passionate about your mission statement. You show through your example to your team that the mission statement is not some pretty plaque on the wall. Your team must know that the mission statement is important and they will make a big difference by following it.
6. Integrity: This is being honest. Deceivers and liars don't succeed in business or any aspect of life. You are always on display as a leader. It is doing what you say you will do.
7. Personal Courage: Personal courage is doing the right thing no matter what. Psychology has shown that it is very difficult to take action in a crowd of people who are not complacent. You have a natural human tendency to want to fit in. Personal courage is taking action when everyone around you is doing nothing. You act and you do not care what others will think or say about you.
Moral courage is part of personal courage. Moral courage is taking responsibility for your own actions and decisions. You don't blame others and you don't make excuses for your personal decisions and actions.
8. Good Communicator: A key ingredient of a good leader is your ability to inspire. You can't inspire without good communication. You need to know how to work with individuals and also in groups of all sizes.
9. Humility: If you think you are the greatest you will fail. Humility means you are teachable. Armand Morin an internet marketer leader always emphasizes the point that you suck. "You suck" means never think you know everything. Every six to 12 months Armand questions everything he does to see if what he is doing really is the best way to do business.
You must be hungry for knowledge and to learn what you don't know. If you are prideful and think you know it all, you will be passed up and left in the dust. You do not stand a chance to stay competitive if you are prideful. Pride makes it nearly impossible for you to make necessary changes. If you are humble you will not accept your weaknesses or negative aspects as "that is the way you are." You will work on turning your personal character and personality weaknesses into strengths.
10. Perseverance: Perseverance is the ability to face failure and obstacles and press on anyway. You ignore the naysayers. You will certainly find people who will say you can't do it. So what!
Conclusion: If you adopt these ten characteristics of good leadership, will help you build a strong foundation of leadership.
