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| Picture credit: Corbis/Microsoft clip art |
I’m curious about something.
When you think about your life (either at work or elsewhere), who were
the most positive influential leaders you had the opportunity to interact with or be around? Think about it for a second, I don’t
mind.
…
Ok, got your leader(s)?
I have mine. Think about this
person or persons. Why made them so
great? Why did they spread awesomeness
wherever they went? What was it about
them that influenced you to look up to them and hang onto every word and action
they did? Write it all down if it helps
you think.
…
Alright, since this isn’t really a two-way conversation, I’ll
share mine. There are two that come to
mind, and we’ll call them N and B.
N
·
Excellent listener
·
Thoughtful speaker
·
Never interrupted
·
Was human (made mistakes and admitted it)
·
Admitted fault when wrong/sought to make things
right
·
Intelligent and took time to understand how
things work
·
Would shield others when necessary/took brunt of
backlash
·
Constructive with feedback
·
Looked for opportunities and gave them to people
·
Neutral
·
Good business sense/understanding of the
corporate climate and business
B
·
Excellent listener
·
Thoughtful speaker
·
Never interrupted
·
Was human (made mistakes and admitted it)
·
Admitted fault when wrong/looked at how to make
things right
·
Intelligent and took time to understand how
things work
·
Would shield others when necessary/took brunt of
backlash
·
Offered feedback in a positive manner
·
Gave opportunities to people for development
purposes
·
Humble
·
Great speaker
·
Neutral
·
Made time for anyone
·
Good business sense/understanding of the
corporate climate and business
·
Futuristic outlook with respect to moving the
company forward
**********************************************************************************
Notice anything? Yes,
they have many of the same traits. Did you find that to be true for the leaders
in your life? What else do you
notice? How about the fact that there
aren’t any negative or derogatory items on the list?
The reason I’m writing about this is people often
misunderstand what it means to be a great leader. A good business person or manager isn’t
necessarily a great leader. Great
leaders are selfless, they understand others are needed to help them achieve
their goals, and they want to bring people together from all walks of life to
get to a successful end result. They don’t
step on people to get to the top, they don’t alienate people, they don’t lie or
cheat, and they take responsibility for their actions.
To be at the upper echelon of leader greatness seems to be a
rare thing. Some of us may think we
haven’t had an opportunity to be in the presence of a great leader. However, we are often given the opportunity to
choose to be among them; specifically, in the form of elections. Don’t squander it.
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