Qualities of Leadership

Qualities of Leadership

Jarad Bowens

Leadership is one of those words that are not so easy to define. The attributes and qualities that make up a good leader vary from person to person and from situation to situation. The definition is so broad that there are over two hundred registered definitions on the books. However, the basic idea of leadership is understood to be that quality which allows a person to stand ahead of the masses and inspire them to move forward. There are several qualities which combine to produce this overall effect. Some of the ones that will be discussed below are Sincerity, Communication, Teamwork, and the ability to initiate change. These are the four qualities that stand out as most important for good leadership.

The first quality is sincerity. This one may seem a little hard to understand at first however, it is very essential. The dictionary defines sincerity as "The quality or state of being sincere, honesty of mind, and freedom from hypocrisy". The definition of sincere reads "Free from dissimulation (honest), free from adulteration (pure), marked by genuineness (true)". So you see that the quality of sincerity encompasses many of the virtues of not only a good leader but simply a good person which is always a prerequisite. Being a good person at the core is really a key issue in discussing good leadership. If the leader is sincere in his/her vision, in other words if their intentions are true then the people will be inspired to follow.

The next trait on the list is communication. This is probably the most important in terms of the leader's abilities. Communication can be viewed in two parts. Part one being the ability to effectively communicate person to person, such as being able to get one's point across and be understood. Part two being the ability to communicate to large groups or good public speaking abilities. Either way you slice it, communication deals with the ability to efficiently transfer information from one place to another. This ability gives the leaders the power and authority to carry their vision to the leadership team which surrounds them and to the people who support them. Being able to communicate effectively via any available media produces the effect of transfer for the leader of any group. The transfer is the direct spreading of the leader's vision to the people in the group. When the leader's vision is spread by communication and backed by sincerity then the leader now has the ability to take them anywhere.

Teamwork is the next item on the agenda and one of the more essential elements of a really good leader. Teamwork is one of those obvious words in that it is the ability to "work" with a group of people to form a cohesive unit or "team". The capacity for teamwork is made of several characteristics, such as, the ability to work well with others and the ability to be a follower as well as a leader, and the ability to accept ideas from others. This quality is essential in a good leader because the primary task of a leader is to utilize the team around him/her to accomplish all of the goals of the people. Teamwork enables the leader to remain in leadership by demonstrating his willingness to reflect the vision of the people in his/her vision for the group. It also enables the leader to avoid issues such as conflict resulting from power threats, and individual views not being represented. When the leader's vision is spread by communication, backed by sincerity, and carried forward by teamwork, the only question is where to go.

Finally, there is the ability to initiate change. This attribute is the one which separates the men from the boys, so to speak. It is the ability to initiate change which makes a leader step out from the norm and pursue new avenues of doing business and alternate courses of action. It is this quality which makes a leader push beyond the boundaries set by the past and follow his/her vision for the future. Without this trait, a leader will cease to lead and will instead keep following in the path of those who have come before. There are few key words in this final issue. These are "initiate" and "change". Initiate means roughly, to start or cause. This is a word that can be said to be synonymous with the word leader it self. Change is the shifting of one idea, condition, or pattern to another. When the leader's vision is spread by communication, backed by sincerity, carried forward with teamwork, and actualized by the initiation of change then the destination of any organization will ultimately be reached.

The formula for leadership that involves sincerity, communication, teamwork, and the ability to initiate change has been proven many