· Leadership is based on self sacrifice. It is the act of doing something or giving up something for the greater good. The best example of this leadership characteristic is in military combat where one person sacrifices them self for other(s).
· Leadership is based on setting by example. The banker in Florida, Leonard Abess Jr., who voluntarily shared the proceeds of the sale of his business with the employees who helped build the business, illustrates this characteristic as well as generosity. Leaders look out for others.
· Leadership is based on the recognition that fame, wealth and power is fleeting and that it only lasts as long as it serves others. Mr. Abess sought no fame or publicity for his sharing.
· Leaders do not “jack” the system for personal benefit. They are selfless; not selfish.
· Leadership is adherence to fundamental values. Fundamental values are honesty, frugality, charity, humility and self sacrifice.
· Leadership is rejection of destructive traits. Destructive traits are gluttony, greed, hubris, promiscuity, debt and sloth.
· Leadership is the pursuit of the difficult path. The difficult path is always based on fundamental values, sound principles and time tested processes and the rejection of destructive traits.
· Leadership does not require consensus building or poll taking to determine success.
· Leadership is knowing oneself. It means knowing one’s own strengths and weaknesses. It means knowing what you know and knowing what you don’t know. Pretension behavior is the antithesis of leadership. Polling is the antithesis of leadership. Appearing on TV shows, talking too much, pretending to be an entertainer, writing books, giving speeches and sending out talking points are all signs of weakness. Let others analyze your acts and entertain.
· Leadership is exiting before your time. Leaders do not need term limits or mandatory retirement ages.
· Leaders develop successors. Leaders surround themselves with capable people. Leaders accept responsibility. Leaders acknowledge their mistakes and give others the opportunity to lead.
· Leadership is paying your own way. Leaders do not surround themselves with trappings of royalty in the form of perquisites, security, pensions and other benefits provided by others.
These are the characteristics of a leader. Can you name any?
5 comments:
The four characteristics of a REAL man area:
Rejects passivity.
Expects the greater good.
Accepts responsibility.
Leads courageously.
E pluribus unum. (Out of many, one.)
- Motto for the Seal of the United States. Adopted 20 June 1782, recommended by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, 10 Aug. 1776
Leadership consists not in degrees of technique but in traits of character; it requires moral rather than athletic or intellectual effort, and it imposes on both leader and follower alike the burdens of self-restraint.
One day I will register and not be quite so anonymous. for now this will suffice. There are many quotes from many great leaders. Funny I could not find or chose not to search for any from Geo. W. Doubtful anyone would consider him a great leader. Just as I suspect Obama will be absent from this list, though time will tell.
I did however stumble across this by Niccolo Machiavelli. Many ideas are outdated yet some endure. We can only hope that the leadership of the future attempts to surround themselves with strong selfless individuals who have the greater good of the people in mind.
Since the modern state is too complex to be managed by any single human being, the effective ruler will naturally need to have advisors who assist in governance. Choosing the right people for these jobs and employing their services appropriately, Machiavelli supposed, is among the practical skills most clearly associated with good leadership. (Prince 22) A good ruler will invariably choose competent companions who offer honest advice in response to specific questions and carry out the business of the state without regard for their private interests; such people therefore deserve the rewards of honor, wealth, and power that unshakably secure their devotion to the leader. Ineffective leaders, on the other hand, surround themselves with flatterers whose unwillingness to provide competent advice is a mark of their princes' inadequacy.
mf
One last post that even Pat can agree with!!!!!
Who were great leaders?
In the last 200 years, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill and James Madison. Lincoln proved that the highest grace can be attained by a person of ordinary origins. Churchill showed that a person from the aristocracy who excelled in all ways could become a servant of democracy. Madison, a 126-lb. weakling with no charisma, framed perhaps the most incredible document of our time: the U.S. Constitution. Until Madison, no famous or thoughtful person—from Socrates to Montesquieu, from Plato to Hobbes—had ever endorsed democracy.
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