What A Leader Truly Is

There are 7.442 Billion People in the world and everyone is the leader of something. Whether you are only in charge of yourself or you lead a whole company, these roles require leadership qualities, but do you really know what a true leader is?

Let’s start simple, what is a leader? A leader is a person who guides or leads a group. Many people think a leader is a person who tells people what to do but that is not always the case. A leader listens, a leader thinks, they don't just take control of everyone and go their way, they steer the group in the right direction to achieve the best overall outcome for the group. I will be convincing you of four qualities that a leader must have for their group to be successful

A good leader listens

One of a leader's most important jobs is listening to their group. They should just be on their own if they only want their goal achieved. Imagine having a world where one leader was telling you what to do. NO ONE would enjoy. that. (Except the one leader of course.)

A leader is motivational

A leader needs to be encouraging. Who wants a leader telling you 'you can't '? I certainly don't. You need a leader who believes in you, who says 'you can'. It is a known fact that if someone believes in you, you believe in yourself more.

A leader also thinks of others

Most people would agree that a considerate leader is better than a selfish one. A real leader should put in lots of thought of what is best for the group before making decisions. Let’s take a vote. Everyone who believes that everyone should have a say of their own and we should value everyone’s ideas raise your hand. Well too bad! I am the leader and I make the decisions whether you like it or not. This leader is selfish. Eyes set on their own goal. Your decisions affect others so think about what choice you make.

A leader should be resilient

Of course, a leader needs to be resilient. Who wants a leader who throws things across the room when something doesn’t go their way.

Think of Richie McCaw, He started playing for the All Blacks in 2001 and became the captain in 2004. His first rugby world cup as captain in 2007. The All Blacks were eliminated in the quarter finals and he was criticized for not being a good captain. But did he give up? No, he kept leading the All Blacks and in 2011 they won the world cup as well as the one in 2015. Then on the 19th of November the same year he decided he had done enough for the All Blacks and retired to spend time with family. This shows, that if you have a resilient leader you can go far.

Now you know the four qualities a leader must have to guide their team to success. Listening, being motivational, being considerate and finally, resilience. If you want to be a great leader, I hope you listened carefully. (If you did that’s one quality down.) because you won’t get anywhere without this. Like Donald H. McGannon once said, ‘Leadership is action, not position.