To become a strong leader who inspires all of those around you, one who instills trust and confidence in everyone they meet, while still holding them accountable, you must first understand what qualities make a great leader, and what qualities help a great leader succeed. For a leader to be truly successful, they must be able to control their surroundings, as well as be able to control themselves. A great leader must be a master of self discipline, and must have a determined and steadfast will at all times. A leader must inspire confidence in all of those around them, and show that they have the determination and the strength of mind and spirit to accomplish any task set before them. This inspires confidence, which is the primary focus for any person in a leadership role.
A leader must also have a clear purpose and vision of what they wish to accomplish, and have an even clearer vision and purpose of how they are going to accomplish it. One step towards having a clear purpose and vision is learning how to successfully communicate this purpose and vision to others. They must be able to learn how to communicate effectively with everyone in their organization, and clearly understand the needs and wants of their employees. Learning how to communicate your vision and purpose to everyone in your organization is absolutely vital to the success and image a great leader is looking to instill.
A great leader must also have a great deal of inner strength and determination, but at the same time know how to work well with others. It is important that a leader have a strong personality and strength in their personal convictions. Whether it is having strength to make a tough decision, or strength in overcoming difficult challenges, a leader must be one who is looked up to for their strong personality, and one that can be trusted to accomplish any goal. Although the leader must have a high level of strength and will, a successful leader is one who knows how to listen, as well as work successfully with others. Any great organization can’t function without teamwork, and even though you might be the one calling the shots, you will never get anything accomplished unless you can successfully work with everybody around you.
A strong leader must also set a good example to their employees by knowing how to take responsibility for everything around them. A strong leader is not one who blames others for their mistakes, but takes responsibility for everything in the organization, even when it is not their fault. This sets a great example to employees that if the boss is willing to accept responsibility, and admit when they have made a mistake, then they better learn how to do the same. A strong leader is one who instills confidence in all of those around them.
Any leadership expert or leadership speaker will tell you that a great leader is not one who is born a great leader, but one who is created over years of trials of tribulations. It is impossible to become a great leader overnight, but if you follow the examples of great leaders before you, and study their actions carefully, as well as their mistakes, then you will learn what it takes to become the confident, and inspirational leader that you have always known yourself to be.
John Hersey
John Hersey is a successful business owner, published author and motivational leadership speaker. John writes one of the most recognized leadership blogs in the business world: http://www.JohnHersey.com/blog