A very interesting realization I have made is that on nearly each leadership coaching I have, there are a lot of different discussions about what leadership really is and what different qualities of leadership are there? Surly there will be so many different answer, some go in the direction that you are ether a leader or not (the born leader theory), which is basically not true. But the question remains what is a leader and or what makes a leader and what are some of the qualities?
Studies of leadership have suggested qualities that people often associate with leadership. They include:
· The ability to get a vision of something or a vision of direction
· A clear sense of purpose (or mission) - clear goals - focus - commitment
· Charismatic inspiration - attractiveness to others and the ability to leverage this esteem to motivate others
· Ability to encourage and nurture those that report to them - delegate in such a way as people will grow
· Results-orientation - directing every action towards a mission - prioritizing activities to spend time where results most accrue
· Preoccupation with a role - a dedication that consumes much of leaders' life - service to a cause
· Cooperation - work well with others (this is a part of social competence)
· Role models - leaders may adopt a persona that encapsulates their mission and lead by example (it should always be – do as I do, not only do as I say)
· Technical/specific skill at some task at hand
· Self-knowledge (in non-bureaucratic structures)
· Self-awareness - the ability to "lead" (as it were) one's own self prior to leading other selves similarly (emotional intelligence competence)
· Social-Competence (this has become a more and more demanding task in leadership)
· Optimism - very few pessimists become leaders
· Rejection of determinism - belief in one's ability to "make a difference" (your mindset, is in reality will make the difference)
I know we talk about traits, but in the end the end I would like you to think about what the Leadership business guru -David McClelland said about leadership skills. He believed that it was not so much as a set of traits, but as a pattern of motives (very interesting thought). He claimed that successful leaders will tend to have a high need for power, a low need for affiliation, and a high level of what he called activity inhibition (one might call it self-control). The rest they need to learn
I'm looking forward to read some inspiring thoughts about this subject
Regards – Mark von Rosing
