A leader is....

He who thinketh he leadeth 

and hath no one following him 

is only taking a walk.

Anonymous

It's fairly easy for most of us to list the qualities of a good leader.  When you read the words "good leader" you probably thought of at least one person you consider a good leader.  Let me ask you this question: What is the very first word that comes to mind to describe that person?

Is that person you're thinking of right now honest? Intelligent? Confident? Passionate? Kind? Do you try to emulate that person?  

I've worked with many different people I consider to be great leaders over the years and I've come to the conclusion that while all the qualities listed above are certainly valuable,  the most important quality of a leader is the ability to inspire others to follow!

There are professed leaders who can talk about leadership and seem to know all the right answers when asked about team building, strategic planning building a vision for the future, yet they never seem to see their ideas come to fruition. They may have read all the right books and they may be able to quote another leader's ideas verbatim, but they can't seem to get those who are supposed to be following to fully embrace the vision.

The successful leader is one who can "lead" others to embrace a vision and set a course for true progress.

The successful leader leads by inspiration, not intimidation. 

The successful leader has enough confidence to know it's important to train other leaders in an organization to become a leader worthy of a following!

Do you know someone who displays these leadership qualities?  What other qualities must a leader posses? I would love to know what you think about leadership!

Blessings,

Sharon

My Goals for 2014

It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goal. 

The tragedy in life lies in having no goal to reach.

Benjamin E. Mays

I find myself, once again, writing a blog post and wondering how it could have been so long since I last posted something here!  It's a little disappointing to know I've let a busy lifestyle and dealing with life in general get in the way of doing something I really enjoy!  Maybe it's because I never really set a goal for how many posts I would write in a year's time.

Benjamin E. Mays believed the real tragedy comes when one has no goal set, so I am going to set a goal for blogging in 2014!  But, let's make this achievable....hmmmm....how about 36 posts for 2014?  That's 3 posts per month, an improvement on 2013!

I've thought about goals for the upcoming year and other than writing 36 blog posts, my overarching goal is to focus on one word in 2014. That word is  peace.  There are many tasks and projects I need to finish and a certain level of productivity and equanimity I am hoping to achieve.  Finishing those tasks and projects and increasing my ability to feel a better sense of stability and composure will go a long way towards helping me feel peaceful.  Undone tasks have a way of zapping my energy levels!

What are your goals for 2014? What if you set some new kinds of goals this year?  Goals for relationships with family and friends? Goals for improving your spiritual well-being? Goals for improving your health?  What if, like me, you set a goal to strive for peace in your life this year?What will have to happen to achieve your life of peace?

Blessings!

Sharon