Twelve Leadership Traits
Leadership has often been described as the ability to get others
to follow willingly. Political, military, business, and religious leaders have
been studied throughout history in an effort to identify the traits that made
them successful.
Is there a common thread? And if so, what are those traits?
I spent years as a leader in military and business
organizations, and I have studied leaders from those with whom I have had
direct contact to those past and present leaders about whom so much has been
written.
I encountered a number of truly outstanding leaders in the
business world who were highly successful and widely respected, and who
provided inspiration for organizations to achieve remarkable results. In the
military, I encountered Marine Corps officers and non-commissioned officers who
had been highly decorated combat leaders under the most terrifying,
unimaginable conditions, and whose troops nevertheless followed them into that
dark hole of battle. With political and military leaders, I've studied the
lives of Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Grant,
Robert E. Lee, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Patton, Dwight D.
Eisenhower, Chester Nimitz, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Douglas
MacArthur, among others.
I've made it a point to learn about business leaders such as
Jack Welch, Lee Iacocca, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Herb Kelleher,
Warren Buffett, and more recently, Mark Zuckerberg.
I have identified twelve traits that great leaders seem to
demonstrate on a rather consistent basis. Some have strong traits that are not
on this list and still others some have traits that are not particularly
desirable, perhaps even detestable, yet they succeed anyway. This list is not
meant to be all-inclusive, such that every great leader embodies all these
traits; it is meant as a guide to what I would consider the common thread
bonding many of those leaders who are clearly exceptional.
Please note that in future articles, I will take each of the
twelve traits and elaborate further.
My twelve leadership traits are thus:
1. Ability to
Communicate
2. Courage
3. Integrity
4. Discipline
5. Fairness
6. Unselfishness
7. Dependability
8. Vision
9. Assertiveness
10. Professional
Competence
11. Judgment
12. Creativity
These are the twelve leadership traits that I have identified
among the best of the leaders I have seen and studied.
Are you a leader? If so, how do compare your own identified
leadership traits to the above list? If you are preparing for a life of
leadership, your possession and embrace of the above twelve traits would not
guarantee you career success, since there are no such guarantees, but it would
put you in good company. Very good company, indeed.
My next article will address the trait Ability to Communicate.
Gerald Gillis is the author of the award-winning historical
novel "Shall Never See So Much." Gerald's forthcoming novel, a
business thriller, is due for release in the Fall, 2012. Visit his website at http://www.geraldgillis.com and his blog at http://geraldgillis.blogspot.com
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