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Characteristics Of A Great Leader

Good Essays

To be a great leader one must have many attributes or qualities. Some of the most important are flexibility, communication, courage, humility, and responsibility. A great leader must be flexible as being a leader usually consists of dealing with new challenges all the time, especially in the technological age. Communication consists of effectively conveying expectations and understanding how people will interpret the leader’s directions. A great leader must have the courage to see the path that the group must take to complete the goal regardless of the consequences. When a great leader does not correctly handle a situation he or she must have the humility to admit that he or she was wrong. Also, this leader must be responsible for the …show more content…

Part of the reason that the idea of great leaders being born is appealing is that a great leader is so hard to define. It can be discussed what great leaders do and how they act. Sometimes all we are good at though is identifying who a great leader is outside of ourselves. It is difficult to answer the question “Why aren’t you a great leader?”. The initial reaction would most commonly be that you just aren’t. It seems that you weren’t meant to be. With that the idea that great leaders are born to be that way seems appealing. If we look at history many great leaders came seemingly out of nowhere. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln did not need to attend leadership seminars to lead the nation. With all that is done for leadership nowadays and the mixed results, it seems that there is something intrinsic that great leaders have. Many companies focus their efforts on trying to develop leaders from within the company to fill critical roles. Many times though there is a leadership talent gap from where the company would like the given leader to be and where he or she actually is. A lot of what is attributed to a leader begin great is luck. To be truly great the leader usually is presented with a monumental opportunity to lead in the face of adversity. The leader is lucky to have come upon this situation and be given the chance to rise to the occasion. By capitalizing on this lucky situation the

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