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9 Qualities of a Leader
- 1. Communicate
2. Network
3. Offer New Solutions
4. Build Consensus
5. Action-oriented
6. Opportunity Seeking
7. Marketing
8. Goal-Oriented
9. Persistency
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1. Communicate
- Leaders are always good communicators. Their styles differ.
- Through their communications, leaders can
- Develop and share an empathy with listeners
- Persuade those who listen to follow a course of action. Pursuading an audience is not always easy, but generally calls for
- Clarity of mission
- Clarity of meaning
- Good reasons for action
- Providing a Way Forward
- Leaders are great networkers.
- They keep in touch with people, and they use their networks to highlight issues and find solutions.
- They build on their networks consistently, as well as make each and every person in that network feel special.
- The result? People more happy to follow through an earned respect.
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3. Offer new solutions
- Leaders offer New Solutions.
- The solution does not have to be actually "new" - it can be that sitting around a table for dialogue may be a new solution for the circumstances, even though there is nothing new about talking.
- New solutions need to be perceived as "new solutions". The important points are:
- It needs to be a solution - not a problem, not an issue. But a way out, and a new way ahead.
- It needs to be seen as "new" in that hope needs to be given to the people who listen.
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4. Build Consensus
- Consensus building is a skill of leaders.
- Consensus building takes planning, effort and meticulous care to make sure that every one agrees to goals.
- There are many ways consensus is built - sometimes, the word of a leader is enough consensus in itself. People will follow if they trust and believe.
- Often, however, consensus building is a process that builds on years of experience and knowledge of the person by those who participate.
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5. Action-Oriented
- A leader is also action-oriented.
- He or she is not scared to get their hands dirty to get the job done.
- Through actions, the leader identifies himself with the people who follow, and vice-versa.
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6. Opportunity Seeking
- A leader always looks at the positive - at what can be done, rather than what cannot be done.
- He or she always seeks out the potential in a situation, no matter how difficult or demanding.
- Where it's all too much, a leader will focus on the small doables and build on those for the bigger plans that lay ahead.
- Leaders are great marketers.
- "Marketing" is not the 'sale' - it is used to prepare the ground for the crop. It gets the people who follow to get excited about the concept or image that the leader is trying to convey.
- Marketing today involves a mix of technology, image building, and an effective public relations program.
- Leaders need to understand these or at least have people on the team who do.
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8. Goal-Oriented
- Leaders are always goal oriented.
- They are always working for "something" - something better, an improvement in existing conditions, the dream of a peaceful society, the vision of a great empire or corporation.
- They possess clarity in their thoughts, and they possess vision. Without these qualities, a leader is not a leader.
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9. Persistency
- Finally, a leader has amazing courage and persistency.
- There are no safety nets for leaders - they walk tightropes on their own, and they reduce risk through mechanisms such as culture, history, relations, and society structure.
- Above all, they show enduring persistency. They never give up! Persistency - in the face of defeat, humiliation, and seemingly insurmounatble odds - is the telling factor between leaders, success stories, and those who are not.
- Perhaps courage and persistency are the greatest qualities of leaders.
- Source:
- Glen Paoletto, "An Overview of Environmental Leadership". Seminar on
Leadership for the Local Environment. World Environment Day Special Event, 8 - 9 July 2000. Tokyo: United Nations University
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