What are the Qualities of a Great Leader and How You Can Apply Them

Speaker A: Chapter 10 qualities of a great leader and how you can apply them Great leaders throughout history have demonstrated that leadership is a lifelong learning process. It is a phenomenon that appears once a person acquires a comprehensive set of abilities. The ability to adjust to ongoing change is the foundation of leadership skills. This is because reality operates differently. One can never predict what might occur at any given moment, so he should always be ready for the worst case scenario. He needs to be aware of the things that draw negative energies and be knowledgeable about how to ward them off. The best way to become well prepared for the worst is by learning through the experiences of others, especially the great leaders of all time. Life throws unexpected situations at us that join together with someone else, I. E. We experience the same things under different circumstances so we can relate to each other and learn from the reactions of others. We can learn the skills to keep up the positive approach despite all the odds. This book has already discussed many things about strong leadership and great leaders. In this chapter, I will discuss the important lessons and how to improve them in a person. Great leaders make themselves accountable for their actions. The most important characteristic of all successful leaders is that they hold themselves accountable. They do not hold others accountable for the outcomes of their actions. Instead of worrying about problems, they they look for solutions. It makes them proactive rather than reactive. It improves their work efficiency and helps them to overcome adversity. They become more polished as individuals and more capable leaders. To understand how accountability shapes great leaders, let's see it through. An example of two friends who play a football match. One is confident that he plays the best game as he has played it since his early childhood, whereas the other thinks although he plays quite well, there is always room to improve as the days pass by. The first one starts to lose the game, so he blames the ongoing circumstances in his life. However, the second friend improves the game as he keeps taking lessons from well accomplished football coaches. By learning from the experience of others, he makes himself responsible for the wrong tactic that has led to his failure. Failure. So he chooses the right ones. Great leaders do not fear taking risks. Taking risks is quite simple. If you want to achieve something bigger, you must be ready to lose something far bigger. Nobody has harvested fruits from the opportunities that life has given him without taking risks. Life puts a person in a situation where he has to decide whether he shall take a risk to get to a better place or remain content with the current situation. His decision becomes a decisive moment and a foundation for all the actions he is about to take. If he succeeds in making a bold decision he emerges as a fearless leader who has the potential to realize great dreams. Moreover, risk takers make progress and innovation possible. All those who have revolutionized things have already taken risks. As discussed earlier, George Washington took a huge risk by standing against the British imperial system, which helped him realize the American struggle for independence. Bill Gates, who revolutionized information technology, took an extreme risk when he decided to drop out of Harvard to start his own company. Apart from the two notable mentions, great leaders like Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Nelson Mandela and Elon Musk were risk takers before they achieved anything. So the very important step to starting a journey towards tremendous success is the ability to take a risk. Great leaders take all necessary actions to accomplish great things. Spend less time blaming and complaining and more time doing what David Schuman the people who become fearless learn how to do more and more. They become familiar with the significance of all the necessities that could help them bring greatness. From ensuring peak performance to making every effort to maximize productivity. They never give up. They fall but lift themselves repeatedly, striving hard to maintain a balance. They do not waste time thinking about past mistakes, rather, they learn from them. They are always into the future, assessing the repercussions of actions. So they plan accordingly, considering every precise detail. Some of the actions many leaders have emphasized are discussed hereunder. Strive hard to ensure genuineness and stay loyal to whatever you do. Appreciate and empower others despite all the odds. Set the milestones for every day and strongly prioritize their objectives. Great leaders are the best communicators Effective communication is the most prominent trait of great leaders. From Nick Saban to Bill Belichick, Michael Jordan to Tom Brady and George Washington to Abraham Lincoln, all the leaders have been great communicators. Through their communication skills, they resolved several conflicts before turning violent, identified the strengths and weaknesses of the people around them, and work towards improving them. Washington and Lincoln inspired the generation of politicians, whereas Bill, Nick Jordan and Brady influenced an entire generation of sports people. How can you be a leader? As I have discussed earlier, leadership is not an, uh, inherited trait, but a learned skill. Usually we hear that some people are born to lead not because they were born with unique characters and qualities, but because they have acquired skills that have made them different and strong from many others. So if you are determined, becoming a leader is not that difficult. You need consistency, hard work, and the strength to keep going. However, above everything, you need to learn to flow in a vicious cycle, starting from comprehensive planning to taking actions, making mistakes, improving and implementing them in all situations. Step one Figure out the Roadmap. It is necessary for everyone who aspires to be a leader to figure out the roadmap. A, uh, roadmap shows a person the direction. It helps him sort out different ideas in his mind and align the most important ones. It safeguards the person from time overruns and allows him to squeeze the diverse ideas into one solid form, making their execution easy. So it is the first and the foremost step that is the most challenging and demanding. It always takes a lot of courage to take this step. However, if one succeeds in taking it on, the journey becomes smooth and the destination becomes clear. The ultimate question that comes to mind is what action plan is required to figure out the roadmap? It's simple. Everybody has certain principles based on which he sets ideals. So the action plan shall be based on one's principles and qualities. It must be specific and unique, mapping suitable values to achieve the goals. Step 2 Take inspiration and mentorship from a great leader Inspiration helps a lot in advancing the learning process. And since we don't have time to experience everything on our own and build from scratch, the wise approach is to learn from the experience of others. Now it is up to the individual to choose their mentors for some extraordinary results. They must select at least five mentors based on their support of their action plans and core principles. The concept and tone of this book in which I have selected examples of exemplary leadership from historical sources are similar. Take Action. After taking inspiration, one must always take action because nothing can be done without it. So as soon as you have planned to do something great in life, you must forgo procrastination and work on it daily. The approach of many great leaders has been to do it before you regret it, so it shall be yours. Step 4 Evaluate yourself only Taking action does not suffice. You need to evaluate the milestones and determine if you are on the right track. It helps you change your direction before it is too late, maximizing proficiency and minimizing the loss. Moreover, it helps a person investigate and reassess his potential, making him aware of Himself. Step 5 Strive to be better Certainly you are on the right track if your today is better than yesterday. So those struggling to improve with each passing day end up in better places than many others. Yet the dilemma is people do not know how to be better. Here I will, uh, address it by giving a few points. Attend workshops on great leaders. Acquire a set of skills. Invest time in reading good books. Make your physical health a priority. Do not forget to serve others. Work hard, never lose hope and never give up. That's all. I have ended up the book with the phrase never give up until you have the potential to be great in life. Be ruthless, stay motivated, and keep striving. I want to thank everyone who read this chapter and wants to be a great leader. I'm hoping this book will leave you feeling wise and inspired. I'm sure you can glean a few positive traits by drawing lessons from this book. Finally, I want each of you to make a promise to stick with the journey no matter how difficult it gets. And I pray that by rising to the top in your respective fields, you all will shine as brightly as the stars on the darkest night. I'm grateful.