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