By Imtitoshi Ao
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. — John Quincy Adams
Do you believe that leaders are born or made or is it an art and skill that you need to be a leader? In today’s world it’s all of the above because of the various professions we have. In each profession, we will need leaders who are born with the qualities or are made and have an art and skill to lead. However, there are some basic things that differentiate a leader from the rest and those are — the drive to lead, people who have the desire to achieve something in life and have the energy to be persistent and always show initiative.
People who have the will to take responsibility and have a strong desire to influence others by showing consistency between word and deed and by being truthful to the people he is about to lead or he is already leading. A leader should have self-confidence and should be intelligent to gather information, create visions, solve problems and make correct decisions. In depth knowledge allows leaders to make correct decisions and also to understand the implications of that decision.
So, now I ask you looking at the above qualities of a leader, do you think you are a true leader? Do you inspire others to dream, to learn, to do more, dream more and in turn become more. I think each and every one of us has been a leader in some point of our lives, among friends, among family, at work, depending on the situations we have faced. All of us have one, two or all of the above qualities and that’s what makes us lead and become great leaders.
My friends, I urge you to be inspired and in turn inspire people to be excited about their lives or their missions and share your excitement so that others may do the same. Share your life experiences about your struggles, mistakes and life lessons and don’t maintain the image of a perfect leader who has no doubts or struggles for we all know that all of us have been through struggles to become what or who we are today. To become a great leader you must focus on the goals and dreams of others and always get a feedback of your decisions. Help others to bring out the best in themselves.
A true leader always tries to build someone up and helps people to put their insecurities to sleep. Always encourage and remind people that they are worthy and magical and always be a light in a dim world. A true leader respects people, because the person who respect to others, shows that it is a reflection of his own personality. A true leader is always helpful and listens to the needs of others and offers the best solutions because of his/her knowledge and understanding.
“Leadership today is about values, working with people, building consensus. It’s about thinking about a greater good than you. It’s not about the person on the white horse anymore.”—Joanne Ciulla
Today, I encourage each and every one of you, reading this article to dream more, learn more, do more and become more so that you are able to inspire more and become true leaders and in turn show and teach others how to become true and great leaders.
(The author is a motivational speaker)