This is an interesting question, especially at a time when we’ll soon be electing a US President and searching for a new WVU President.

I think leadership requires the ability to analyze and synthesize data and information about possible future directions. I think it requires communication. That communication needs to occur both when important decisions are being made and after a decision has been made. Communication during the decision-making process that solicits the advise of others often improves the quality of the decision by pointing out flaws and possible problems that might be missed if you operate alone. Once a decision has been made, it’s important to communicate it so others know the direction that will be pursued.

A leader needs to be willing to surround himself/herself by people who may be smarter and more talent than he/she is. Such people should not be perceived as a threat but as people who will ask the hard questions, make the good suggestions, etc.

Leadership also requires a thick skin. Not everyone is going to agree with the decisions made. A leader has to be able to withstand the criticism that he/she may receive. While withstanding it, they must also consider it to see if there are changes that should be made. However, considering such criticism doesn’t mean that they have to revise every decision made; it may mean they need to better explain the reasons for the conclusion reached.

At a time when leadership is often seen as taking credit, I also think that a good leader gives credit to others, when such credit is due. Doing so shows others that you value what they do and often encourages them to do even more.

Thanks for a thought-provoking question.

I agree with the previous comment, but I would like to add that I think good leaders communicate a clear vision and motivate those that they are leading to work as a united team. The team needs to be motivated to the point that each member is willing to sacrifice some their individual interests and desires for the sake of benefiting the entire group. Good leaders inspire dedication, pride, and hard work from everyone.

Leadership is so complex. All of the people who were interviewed in this issue made excellent points. I especially liked the point raised by Kyle, the 4th grader. Kyle thinks that great leaders have a lot of courage and determination. Great leaders don’t give up on the “mission” or the “vision” just because it gets tough.

I received an email this morning from a list I participate in that is very timely for this discussion on leadership. It included an interview with Nelson Mandela this summer in which he discussed his 8 lessons of leadership. I am including the link to the article here and encourage individuals to take a few minutes to read it as it provides leadership lessons that are traits I believe one does see in many people we think of as great leaders and supports everyone’s comments above but with a slightly different twist.
ttp://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1821467,00.html

A true leader must be personable, yet authoratative, willing to do anything she askes her subordinates to do, understanding of others’ feelings, yet try to the best of her ability to treat each person under her guidance, as a vital, active, and integral part of the team she is leading, but for which all share equally in responsibility. She doesn’t just issue orders, that’s what a boss does, she takes the time to discuss grievances with other employees, and tries to find a good equitable solution, she understands when the kids are sick, etc., and allows for a flex schedule when these types of emergencies occur. She is fair, impartial, and will sork for you to succeed in you career, and with you to do well where you are now.

A leader is someone who is not afraid to face adversity. A leader must be couragous and have clear goals that they intend to reach no matter what stands before them. A leader is someone whom the community can look up to and follow as an example to be a better person. Leaders come in many forms across multiple professions but i think the underlying personal qualities are the same.

I tend to agree with the above comments. Working in industry as a leader and as a high school coach I teach these 10 keys of leadership.

1. Vision- if you know where you are going people will follow.
2. Passion- If you get excited so will others.
3. Attitude- Your people will reflect yours.
4. Action- this implements your vision.
5. Trust- you can’t lead without it.
6. Teambuilding- you can’t do it alone.
7. Courage- leadership is not for wimps.
8. Influence- what you do speaks louder than what you say.
9. Responsibility- taking this will give you control.
10. Developing people and future leaders- investing time in people pays big dividends. Pass on what you know.

I make a clear distinction between leadership and management. They are NOT the same. Leadership doesn’t depend on position or title. Leadership can come from anywhere in a organization. I have found young people far easier to teach leadership to and have watched most of our high school seniors become effective leaders both on and off the field.

Leadership is the ability to be a good leader. And a good leader is made up of lots of traits, some of the most important are fairness, that is a key trait of a good leader. The leader also needs to be willing to work the same amount as the other people. They have to be willig to put in the same amount of effort as they are requesting from other people. Every leader doesn’t have the same characteristics, but if they are able to get the job done they are at least an effective leader.

believe that a good leader is very important, especially in a time where the country is in the crisis we are in at the moment. With all this talk about politics and the election, it seems even more important to me, that a leader should have good morals, honesty, and follow through on what they are going to do for the country

I feel a leader is a combination of all the previous comments. A good leader has many important characteristics and personality traits, its hard to just pick a few. I feel a leader should be charismatic and have a vision. A leader should be open to new ideas and change. After all what makes America geat is change and diversity.

The only leadership that I can relate to (at this time in my life), is the leadership that relates to sports and athletes. Being a leader is a very broad thing to talk about, so I am pin pointing on just the sports aspect of it. In high school I was the team captain of the boy’s volleyball team for almost three years. Within these three years I learned more from this experience than almost any other experience in my life. I learned that being a leader is a lot more than just being the best athlete on the team. A leader motivates, encourages, and constantly reinforces his team to focus on the main goal; winning. Many people don’t realize what team captains go through. My team struggled mainly because we couldn’t keep our heads on straight throughout an entire match. Game in and Game out, the biggest competition was with ourselves. Not only does he have to keep his own head up but a leader constantly needs to remind their team to keep their heads up. Positivity needs to be enforced constantly because negative comments always outweigh the positive. My coach was a very negative person, so not only did I compete against the other team, but I competed against my coach for my team’s attention. A leader constantly puts everything on the line for his team, and needs to watch his actions on and off the court.

I think a leader has to be someone who people will listen to and want to follow. Someone can have all the know-how and ambition in the world to create change, but if the people don’t like them they will never be a good leader. Leadership needs to not be concerned with its self and its well being, but more about the well being and advancement of those who follow them.

I think leadership has to be someone who is ambitious, honesty and and defenetly have a knowledge, likabl willing to commited to change world. A good leadrship must be someone who is self determine, has to someone who can resolve the problem of his/her own people and must understand the ideas of others perhaps willing to listen to others.

A leader has to be, as said in the video: a person with vision that will listen to views of the people they are leading. They then need to set up goals for whatever they are a leader for and try to accomplish them with the best effort put forth and wanted buy the people. They must have a very un-selfish attitude and a persistant one that does not give up and gives the best to accomplish the best of the communities goals. All these people I think must have some sort wisdom and really be patient and listen to what anyone says to them. They must always keep a positive outlook. That is what I believe leadership is about.

I think a leader has many traits. They have to be brave, intelligent, and thoughtfull. They can’t think of only their needs and wants. Leaders makes decisions that the whole group will benifit from. Also, a leader has to be a trustworthy person; so people can put their full trust in them to make all of the final decisions. Everybody is not capable of being a leader; not everybody can think of others before thinking of themselves.

I think to be a good leader one must put the wellfare of the group above his or her own. A good leader is someone who works to improve the the lives of those he or she leads or help them to reach a desired goal. Finally their success as a leader lies in his or her ability to show assertiveness over those they lead. They can not be overbearing or abuse their position over those they lead, but at the same time they can’t let those people walk all over them and make them unable to lead.

The definition of leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. When I think of leadership I think of role models someone whom you can look up to, follow their footsteps or to see one’s dreams come true. Set a good example for whoever may be looking up to you, a friend, a sibling, fan, coworker, or whomever. Develop good character and a good environment around you.

Different people have different styles of leadership. Leadership comes with an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can and cannot do. The follower of a leader determines whether he/she has good leadership or not. Actions speak louder than words. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation

Since leadership, in my opinion, is about fostering change, a great leaders key trait needs to be charisma. To be an outstanding and effective leader you must possess the charasmatic qualities which would allow you to inspire many different people to come together work toward a specific goal. A leader also needs to be intelligent, a quick-thinker, and be full of honesty and integrity, as Jason said in his interview. Integrity is an important aspect of leadership qualities. Without honesty, people would have a hard time trusting you and would be hesitant to work with you towards your goal. The nice thing about leadership is that everyone can be a leader. As long as you are willing to work hard towards a goal in an unselfish manner, you are a potential leader.

Leadership is not an easy thing to come by. Above all you have to have the abilty to be self-sacrificing and put what is best for those you are leading before what is best for you. Although in many times they may be the same thing. A good learder also should have an open mind to consider the different possbilities that someone would not normally see.

Also that a good leader would know the power that he has, over others, and yet not abuse that power to make his life better but to make the life of the followers better. Again self-sacrificing. To be able to make a commitmet and stick to that commitment no matter what, to not back down. A good leader should be trusting and trustworthy.

My entire life I have always considered myself to be a leader. I believe that most of it came from the people that I decided to surround myself with and the way that my family brought me up. I always had a huge support system no matter what it was that I wanted to do. Support is a huge factor in being able to become a leader.

I believe that leadership comes from having a high self-esteem and thinking that oneself can achieve what may seem impossible. Being able to lead is about being able to take others ideas into account when deciding something for a team or a group. A hard shell is needed to be a good leader and not take advantage of the other people in the group, but rather, include them in the team. It is very important to put all other reasons and benefits aside that are interesting or helpful to oneself, because “your” ideas aren’t always the best ideas.

This is a very interesting question in my opinion because there is a difference between leadership, and a sucsesfull leader. Leadership is when someone takes a stand and decides to almost become the boss. When you become the leader you basically have the final decision in decision making. Some leaders look to their advantage when making a final decision, and some leaders look at the people and whats best for them. What seporates a leader from a sucsesfful leader is a sucsesfull leader is generally liked by the people. A sucsesfull leader looks past what he wants, and into whats best for the people and the community. A sucsesful leader in my opionon uses the Mills theory and weighs out the good from the bad, and goes with what ever causes more good overall for the community.

Leadership is many things and is defined differently by everyone. Leadership includes many different qualities that are all combined to make a great leader. By my definition, leadership includes skills such as being outgoing, have the ability to manage different situations well, and deal with adversity/change. Leadership also includes being selfless, being responsible, and being inventive/creative. A person with good leadership skills takes charge and knows what the group expects of him/her. This said person also implements all of the above listed qualities effectively in their daily leading.

Leadership is the ability to lead others to a common greater goal. It requires a person to have a great deal of respect for others and dedication to help out. Leaders should be trustworthy, intelligent, and willing to make sacrifices. Leaders also have to be willing to always be themselves and not follow others. It’s important for them to have their own views and ideas.

A true leader, someone who sets forth in life, expecting only to excel in teaching others. A leader has followers, who put their trust in them, who follow them, and who respect them. Leaders have a lot of charecter, responsibility, and most of all perserverance. A leader must be dedicated to what they do, and love what they do, as well as teach what they love to their followers. Anyone who can rise to the occasion and bring a team, or even fellow co-workers, to their greatest potential, can be a leader. To be a leader one must be, giving, understanding, and willing to learn as well as teach.

In particular to the question on leadership I am taking what Dr. E. Jane Martin mentioned, “inspiration”, because if a leader did not inspire then no one would follow. The best example that comes to mind is the founders of America: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin… the list goes on and on; but what is so important about them being good leaders is that they inspired a whole group of people from different regions to rise up as one nation and fight for what they deserved. Withouth the inspiration of leaders there would be nothing but talk without action, and the world would be mundane.

Leadership is a broad thing. People that are and have been great leaders, are all able to contain the complexity of Leadership. Being a leader requires rolling with the punches and dancing with fire, all the while choosing to do the right thing and set a precedent and example for others that are bound to follow. That’s another aspect of leadership, you will know a true leader when you see them. Some of the personal traits of a good leader include charisma, courage to do the right thing, willpower to finish what he/she started, and the ability to make sense out of this complicated thing we are all stuck in the midst of: LIFE.

All of the previous entries I have read include qualities that I agree make a good leader. I think that in most good leaders you will see a degree of assertiveness, knowledge of the particular subject they are leading in, and a positive attitude that must be maintained at all times. However, in the posts that I have read I did not see anything about a leader by example. In football I was selected as a captain despite being one of the quietest kids on the team. This is also sometimes the case in other levels in all sports. A quiet veteran that does his job well can be just as effective of a captain as another player. This brings up the question of how effective is “leading by example”? And does it apply in other phases of life, or is it applicable only in sports?

After hearing what everyone had said about being a leader, I can’t help but compare each person’s answers with each other. Come to find out each person said about the same thing about what a leader is. I feel the key elements of being a good leader is trustworthy, a group has to have trust in their leader. Vision of the future, a leader should be able to make rational decisions and look toward the future and give people hope. Skillful, they need to know what they need to know. Look towards others for questions and take what others think into consideration. Patient but persistent on what the leader and group wants. These are the key elements of being a good leader. Although, even if someone has these qualities doesn’t mean they are a good leader. Good and effective leaders are different as Jason Parson, President WVU SGA stated, Hitler was an effective leader, but he wasn’t good. A leader has to have both qualities, being a good effective leader, such as George Washington. Washington had visions, skilled at leading an army, and talking to each person and listening. Also, a leader should listen to his advisers and not be threatened by smarter people or different views. This is what leadership is all about.

A leader is a different thing to different people. Each person is an individual and thus each person might need their own individual form of guidance. For this reason I believe the most important characteristic in a true leader is the ability to the adapt and alter their approach depending on the person they’re dealing with. You can be a strong person, a wise person, a brave person; it doesn’t matter unless you can relate to the people your dealing with. A good leader has the ability to make people buy into their message, and once they have the support of their followers, have the ability to make good decisions to help solidify their backing. A leader definitely needs traits such as responsibility, selflessness, and wisdom, but without being able to gather a following and make sure everyone believes, and continues to believe, in them, they are useless.

Leadership is often defined as a person with the ability to lead. Well, that’s obvious. But what is leadership really? Leadership requires a person of perseverance and determination. It requires a person who has the ability to rise above their hardships and fight for a better resolution. Leadership takes a person of strength, passion, and undoubted reluctance to give up. A true leader has a vision in which they follow at all costs, stopping at nothing to stand up for what is right. Leaders have to be able to not only make a path for themselves, but to create a path in which their followers feel safe and trust the decisions of that person. Without faithful trust in the leader, their efforts will only fail. Leadership does not follow one specific stereotype of who is fit to be a leader. Look into the past for example? Martin Luther King Jr. was a quiet minister who rose above all odds to lead the fight against the war on race and for equality all around the country; Ronald Reagan stood up against deficits and hardships only to come out on top with a thankful and appreciative nation behind him. There is no one person who is more qualified to be a leader more so than any other. It takes experience and determination to be a good leader.

Good leadership is something that, unfortunately, you don’t find very often. I have definitely known a few good leaders in my short life, and I am glad to have known them. I think that a leader needs to be caring, knowledgable, assertive, and progressive. A pesimistic attitude can not be present when attempting to lead someone. One of the best leaders I have known was my Calculus teacher in high school. I am not very strong in Math, but this teacher helped me through some very hard times. Not to mention, he was also leading my entire class toward success with his positive attitude toward teaching, his care for our learning, and his availability upon request. I think that leadership is definitely something that can be learned. I have gone to numerous leadership forums that attempt to teach youth how to be a leader. I have learned so much at these lessons about how to take charge in a positive manner and do the task at hand. Sometimes the smallest thing like being the leader in a lab group or organizing a way to solve some sort of puzzle, makes you ready for a time when leadership skills are very necessary. Leadership is making the effort to help those around you by enforcing your knowledge, optimism, and care upon your followers.

A leader is generally an adept, wise person that has the ability to interpret what motivates individuals and manages, utilizes, and manipulates these motivations for a common good.

A leader is a person who provides guidance and/or direction. They occupy positions of authority and play an important role in decision making. Leaders need to be able to manage people and promote new directions. Leadership involves standing up for what you believe in. Leadership means responsibility, leaders overlook others to get a job done. Not only do leaders need to know how to teach others, they need to know how to learn from others.

There are so many qualities in leadership, but it all starts with attitude. Ive never had or seen a good leader with a poor attitude. Most leaders come through times of adversity which makes them strong individuals with cofidence, persistence, and determination. But like my coach use to say leaders are born not made. Mainly saying that not everyone can lead it takes a unique individual to take on that role of resposibilty.

A leader is someone that others look too. They are charasmatic. They have perseverance and are strong and passionate.Leadership takes many forms- there are the quiet ones that are hidden but are resilient and then there are the ones like Martin Luther King, Jr that stand up in front of the crowds and say what needs to be said. That’s another important quality in a leader confidence and good communication skills. They are also very knowledge. Good leaders always stand for what is right and pushes through all the hardships and fights to the end and accomplish what they set out too. Good leaders also inspire people to be better than they ever thought possible. They also, though indirectly, inspire people to become leaders in the future.

Leaders are born and not made. I can bet almost every coach in the country uses this to inspire their players. This statement couldn’t be more correct in my eyes. I believe that great leaders will arise when there is a great need. Leaders are born with certain traits or skills that give them that leadership quality. Some of these skills include: dependable, dominant, self-confident, intelligent, and achievement-orientated. I believe that every leader is good at leading one thing but not everything, such as one person able to lead a country and one person able to lead a basketball team. Once someone realizes they have all these skills and they know that there is a great need for a leader, then the real leader will come out and guide whoever of whatever to greatness.

I think Corey is absolutely 100 percent right Sharon. A leader must know what is right. A leader also needs to know where they are going with their ideas and beliefs. Some of the greatest leaders in the world (presidents, coaches, parents…ect) always know what is best for them and others. They have to have strong determination and ability to take GOOD risk. Being a good leader is having the motivation everyday to show what is the best possible ways to do things and what is best for the situation.

Leadership requires that someone make the decisions that no one else can make; the hard decisions. They will not shy away from making a hard decision just because it will make them less popular. Anyone can be “in charge” of something, but a leader will always have the group’s best interests in mind, not just their own interests. A leader will learn from past experience which sounds easy, but I think is easier said than done. “Tradition” will not be a good enough reason to make a decision for a leader. They will need more than “that’s always the way it’s been done” in order to make a decision.

There are many characteristics and requirements to be considered a good leader. A good leader should be able to bring their group together during troubling moments. They should be able to keep the peace among their group. They need to be intelligent. They need to be charasmatic, and have high self esteem. They need to be strong-willed. You have to have more than one or two of these qualities to be considered a good leader. No one thing alone will make a person a good leader. Being a good leader is something that takes time and work. They need to be able to see situations from all points of view, and not make decisions too hastily.

I think that anyone can become a leader at some point in their life. If someone isn’t a leader through their childhood but then as their growing up they become a stronger person, I definitely think they could be a leader. I think all the people who were interviewed had good points and ideas of what a leader is.

Leadership requires the tenacity and confidence to make a justified and educated decision for the betterment of a situation. Leadership leads back to the element of wisdom; a leader must know how to apply knowledge to a situation that will supply the best outcome.

A leader must also know how to follow when necessary. If they recognize that someone can handle a situation better than themselves because they possess a certain knowledge that the leader himself lacks than he must learn how to step aside. That has a great deal to do with wisdom. The wisdom is the knowledge to use the appropriate available means to accomplish a goal. A leader is an individual that best knows how to accomplish this goal through their use of knowledge and the actions to apply this knowledge in the best way fit.

To me leadership is having the motivation to take control. It requires motivation and desire to make difficult decisions that many do not want to make. A leader is someone that others look up to and want to be. A leader is charismatic, strong-willed and confident in what they do and the decisions they make. They are not afraid to be disliked and direct and help those who are less confident.

After thinking about this for a long time I have had to face a true fact. Since I believe in absolute truth, then there has to be an absolute definition as to what a good leader is. At first I simply discarded this question a simple and unworthy of my time, but in all reality when I actually thought about it, there is absolutely NO question out there that is simple and unworthy of anyone’s (including my own) time.

As I stated above, I am not one of these people that have grown into this post-modern thinking process of everyone is right no matter what. I believe heavily in the fact that there is absolute truth, and that there is always one answer to every question (might be a long and complex answer, but always one answer). The problem I have though with absolute truth is that for someone to know if something is absolutely right then someone has to be omniscient and able to know everything that there is to know about that particular something. Seeing as how I am not omniscient, I’ll take a simpleton’s guess as to what truly makes a good leader. Here’s my argument.

1.X is a good leader if and only if X is 1.capable of raising morale of the people that the person is leading 2. intelligently savvy in whatever field they are attempting to lead in 3. someone that does not consider themselves greater than the body that they lead.

These issues are some that I think that most if not all of the greatest leaders of all time have had. Do I think that it is the perfect definition? I don’t really think that I could ever make a perfect definition on anything, so no I don’t think it’s the perfect definition. But I do tend to like it!

The United States Army once defined (and I believe they still do) leadership as the process of influencing others to accomplish a mission by providing purpose, direction, and motivation. I think that works pretty well.

Leadership is a complex word with many definitions. Many indiciduals have been able to motivate others into doing something, or reaching a goal; but this ability can be utilized for both good and evil. For example, Adolph Hitler was an individual who had the ability to,”get people excited”, or to motivate them to a common goal. He did this however with his own personal agenda in mind. Without further explanation, we all know where that ideology ended.
True leadership allows a person to do what is right even if it means that person has to ,”take a back seat”, or suffer personally for the benefit of others. A real leader never looks to his own personal gratification or success. A true leader will always have the best interests of others in his sights.

Leadership is the ability to motivate others to follow your orders. As a leader you should be able to build confidence in your unit, yourself, and the individual soldiers.

I feel that leadership is the ability to motivate a group of individuals to accomplish a common goal. While a leader must have a particular skill set that entices individuals to follow them, they must also have other characteristics that distinguish them from the rest of the crowd. Since the topic is “leadership”, which references the ability to provide guidance, purpose, and influence, I feel that the real root of leadership is how well a leader applies their abilities. In order to be an effective leader, an individual must also be able to follow. However, this individual will also have traits that distinguish them from everyone else. I believe that a leader should be charismatic, confident in their abilities, considerate, moral, and calm under pressure. A leader should constantly be setting the example for others to follow. Lastly, an effective leader should motivate their subordinates to the extent that they should not be “telling” them perform a task, but that subordinate should legitimately desire to perform that task because they see how it will benefit the entire group.

“The greatness of a leader is measured by the achievements of the led.”—Gen. Omar Bradley

This is the standard the army typically uses to evalutate it’s leaders. The leader is responsible for everything his/her soldiers due or fail to do.

Leadership defined simply is the ability to influence actions and behaviors. The ability to do so may be derived from two sources: legal authority to do so, and charismatic following. The person in charge may not necesarily be a good leader, likewise a good leader is not necesarily the one in charge. Being in charge is having power, which is a concept seperate from leadership.

Leadership is having the ability to motivate others to accomplish a task or goal. Not only should you be able to motivate others, but yourself as well. Self motivation goes a long way. It also means that you are willing to except constructive critism, because a good leader never gets into a habit set; you should always be willing to better yourself.

Some mistake leadership for someone who is simply in a position of power. Having a title or position givin to you simply, because of where you grew up or who your parents are is not a true leader. A leader can come from the humblest of beginngs and have a nation believe in them. It is not by their words that people follow them, but their actions. It is not only those that can be seen by the public doing what is right, but those in which no one is looking. The one who not only tells his soldiers to charge a machine gun nest, but the first one out of the trench leading the charge. Not the one who tells his soldiers to tough out the cold and hunger, but the one whos stomach growls and shivers alongside their subordinates. Those are the true acts of a leader, one I would be more than willing to follow.

“What does it take to be a great leader?”

In my opinion, a person who is otherwise physically and mentally capable for a position of leadership must only possess one other attribute: they must care about their followers.

A leader who cares will work hard to attain the technical knowledge of their position. They will always be prepared because to not be ready will be detrimental to their subordinates. A caring leader will set the right example. A leader who cares will strive to improve themselves and their organization.

Leadership is plain and simple-leading by example. If you don’t set the example for your subordinates they will not follow you.

Alright, everybody is going to pull out some serious from the the heart stuff well here’s what I got:

Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it.

John Naisbitt

Want to learn about leadership, then read, learn, teach, inspire, love…then maybe someday if your lucky you’ll deserve have a quote on leadership.

A good leader is loyal to those that they lead. They lead by example from the front. They must strive for excellence in all manners. A good leader is one that strives to make all of those being led to be better. They lift others to higher levels. Good leaders let us know that nothing is truely impossible. They don’t pass their responsibility to get out of their duty.

As you can see by the various posts, leadership can be defined in many ways. I believe leadership is about creating a vision or common goal while inspiring, motivating, and fostering the trust of the people you intend to lead. Leadership is developed on the inside, and demonstrated on the outside. In order to be the leader you want to be on the outside, you have to develop certain qualities on the inside. My number one quality starts with character because it is the summation of a person. Everything we do, think, and say depends on our character. Character is the foundation for every person and for leadership. I would make communication, competence, and problem solving my second, third, and fourth qualities. The ability to effectively communicate, solve problems, and be competent within your job field is key to being a successful leader. I round out my top five with vision because it is important to me to have a clear picture of where you want to go and workable design to accomplish your goals.

Leadership is the ability to make the right decision under pressure. These decisions being ethical and moral, meaning the best decision to finish a mission.

Leadership is the ability to make the right decision under pressure. These decisions being ethical and moral. Meaning, the best decision to finish a mission. As a Leader, you are making the best judgements that will affect other people. Once a task is given, be sure to follow it through, dont hold back, because not only do you challange your own judgement, but also what others judge of you.
At times your best decision may not be the right one, its your ability to pick yourself up and follow through with the task you set. There is no time say, “I probably should not have done that”. Simply store that mistake in your brain for the next time, because if you keep kicking yourself, you’ll never accomplish anything.

A great leader, to many people, has to portrait many skills. Being able to think logically and quickly, build team cohesion, problem solving, communicating, and understanding are all great skills to have to become a great leader, but I believe the best way to become a great leader is by love. Proving that you love your soldiers, family, friends, or employees really shows a lot about a person. Most of all by showing that you really do care and love for the persons underneath you, will pay off in the end when you see how much more effort they will give just for you and how much further they will go that extra mile just to not disappoint their leader. To me that’s what a great leader is all about. The second would be confidence. Have confidence in your people and most of all yourself and you can occomplish anything.

Leadership is simple. Leadership is moving others do what they would not normally do in order to accomplish a goal. Leadership is not only having them do so, but is also to have them carry out this task in a manner in which they are choosing to do it and want to do it. Truely leading is to do this while pushing them toward the greater good, not only for your goals, but also for theirs.

Leadership is a complex idea. Every type of organization requires leadership, and it is fundamental to a functional society. A leader must take the responsibility for everyone else in the organization that he or she leads. Since leadership varies so greatly, the only unifying description for leadership is the ability to make others follow. A leader must be able to effectively communicate with people to convey his message, goal, or intent and have the skills to convince others to carry out those goals.

I appreciate all the interesting comments and would like to share my personal view of what good leadership means. As an active duty Army Major my leadership philosophy is rooted in my mission based approach to solving problems or accomplishing work. I believe that effective leadership requires the willingness and ability to accomplish every aspect of a task at hand. I believe that a good and effective leader understands his or her mission and can communicate the mission’s requirements as well as his or her confidence in their subordinates or those working for such leader. I further believe that good leadership recognizes that subordinates come from different backgrounds and possess different skill levels. Good leaders will motivate their subordinates into giving their best effort toward mission or task accomplishment and will care about and will be interested in the physical, spiritual, and mental well being of each of their subordinates as well as their families. Good leadership will recognize that a difference in opinions, life philosophy, religion or other common everyday denominators will not be a hindrance to an effective and motivated subordinate. Good and effective leadership will always be willing to teach, will always be approachable, and will allow subordinates to learn the their mission or task at hand, even if from their mistakes. Finally I believe that good leadership understands that it is easier to be pleasant than it is to be unpleasant all with the realization that a happy and appreciated subordinate will be more likely to contribute to his or her best ability at the maximum level.

I think leadership starts with being a guide for humanity. Leading by example is all leadership is.