Friday, January 7, 2011

Qualities of Great Leaders


Here are 11 attributes of great leaders, as well as the 10 major causes of failure in leadership, as described by Napoleon Hill in Think & Grow Rich.

Starting with the 11 attributes of great leaders...

1. UNWAVERING COURAGE
Based upon knowledge of self and of one's occupation. No follower wishes to be influenced by a leader who lacks self-confidence andcourage. No intelligent follower will be following such a leader very long.

2. SELF-CONTROL
A person who cannot control himself or herself, can never control others. Self-control sets a mighty example for one's followers,which the more intelligent will emulate.

3. A KEEN SENSE OF JUSTICE
Without a sense of fairness and justice, no leader can command and retain the respect of her followers.

4. DEFINITENESS OF DECISION
A person who wavers in his decisions, shows that he is not sure of himself. He cannot lead others successfully.

5. DEFINITENESS OF PLANS
The successful leader must plan her work, and work her plan. A leader who moves by guesswork, without practical, definite plans, is comparable to a ship without a rudder. Sooner or later she will land on the rocks.

6. THE HABIT OF DOING MORE THAN PAID FOR
One of the penalties of leadership is the necessity of willingness,upon the part of the leader, to do more than he requires of hisfollowers

7. A PLEASING PERSONALITY
No slovenly, careless person can become a successful leader.Leadership calls for respect. Followers will not respect a leader who does not grade high on all of the factors of a Pleasing Personality.

8. SYMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING
The successful leader must be in sympathy with her followers. Moreover, she must understand them and their problems.

9. MASTERY OF DETAIL
Successful leadership calls for mastery of details of the leader'sposition.

10. WILLINGNESS TO ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY
The successful leader must be willing to assume responsibility forthe mistakes and the shortcomings of his followers. If he tries to shift this responsibility, he will not remain the leader. If one of his followers makes a mistake, and shows himself incompetent, the leader must consider that it is he who failed.

11. COOPERATION
The successful leader must understand, and apply the principle ofcooperative effort and be able to induce her followers to do the same. Leadership calls for POWER, and power calls for COOPERATION.


*** 10 Major Causes of Failure In Leadership ***
  Now a look at the 10 major causes of failure inleadership... When it comes to leadership, it's just as important to know what NOT TO DO as it is to know what to do.

1. INABILITY TO ORGANIZE DETAILS
Efficient leadership calls for ability to organize and to masterdetails. No genuine leader is ever "too busy" to do anything whichmay be required of her in his capacity as leader. The successful leader must be the master of all details connected with hisposition. That means, of course, that he must acquire the habit ofrelegating details to capable lieutenants.

2. UNWILLINGNESS TO RENDER HUMBLE SERVICE
Truly great leaders are willing, when the situation demands, toperform any sort of task which they would ask another to perform.

3. EXPECTATION OF PAY FOR WHAT THEY "KNOW" INSTEAD OF WHAT THEY DO WITH THAT WHICH THEY KNOW
The world does not pay people for that which they "know." It pays them for what they DO, or influence others to do.

4. FEAR OF COMPETITION FROM FOLLOWERS
The leader who fears that one of her followers may take her position is practically sure to realize that fear sooner or later.The able leader trains understudies to whom he may delegate, at will, any of the details of his position. Only in this way may a leader multiply himself and prepare himself to be at many places, and give attention to many things at one time.
It is an eternal truth that people receive more pay for theirABILITY TO GET OTHERS TO PERFORM, than they could possibly earn bytheir own efforts. An efficient leader may, through her knowledge of her job and the magnetism of her personality, greatly increase the efficiency of others, and induce them to render more service and better service than they could render without her aid.

5. LACK OF IMAGINATION
Without imagination, the leader is incapable of meetingemergencies, and of creating plans by which to guide his followersefficiently.

6. SELFISHNESS
The leader who claims all the honor for the work of her followers, is sure to be met by resentment. The really great leader CLAIMS NONE OF THE HONORS. She is contented to see the honors, when there are any, go to her followers, because she knows that most people will work harder for commendation and recognition than they will for money alone.

7. INTEMPERANCE
Followers do not respect an intemperate leader. Moreover,intemperance in any of its various forms, destroys the endurance and the vitality of all who indulge in it.

8. DISLOYALTY
Perhaps this should have come at the head of the list. The leader who is not loyal to his trust, and to his associates, those above him, and those below him, cannot long maintain his leadership. Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.

9. EMPHASIS OF THE "AUTHORITY" OF LEADERSHIP
The efficient leader leads by encouraging, and not by trying to instill fear in the hearts of her followers. The leader who tries to impress her followers with his "authority" comes within the category of leadership through FORCE. A real leader will have no need to advertise that fact except by example -- sympathy,understanding, fairness, and a demonstration of expertise on the job.

10. EMPHASIS OF TITLE
Competent leaders don't need a fancy "title" to win the respect of his followers. People who make too much of their titles generally have little else to emphasize.

These are among the more common of the causes of failure inleadership. Any one of these faults is sufficient to produce failure. Study the list carefully if you want to become a leader in your career, business or field, and make sure that you are free of these faults.

Action Exercise
Pick one of these areas that represents a "weak link" in your leadership skills and resolve to do something about it.

Have a great week!

Culled from Rodger Constandse (Goals to Action)

1 comment:

  1. First off , I'd like to thank you for posting this extremely helpful article.I'm sure everyone who reads this can derive something useful from this.As a leader,i find this information very relevant to the needs of individual leader in this current day and age.Have a dynamite weekend.

    ReplyDelete