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John Quincy Adams Leadership Qualities

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John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” This is how I see leadership as well. It is not about proving you are the best, controlling others, or even winning a race. The meaning of leadership, at its core, is having the ability to turn followers into strong leaders. This is how truly great things can be accomplished. John Quincy Adams had this ability, turning one of his followers and proteges, Abraham Lincoln, into perhaps one of the greatest and most inspiring leaders this nation ever saw. A true leader, one who inspires others, will embody the three most important qualities of a leader: confidence, vision and integrity.
First and foremost, confidence must be at the head of any leadership style. Without confidence, nearly all other great qualities of a leader are rendered impossible. Without confidence, one will inevitably struggle to share their vision, exhibit what integrity truly looks like, or challenge popularly held beliefs. Furthermore, in order to attract followers, one has to exhibit that they are confident in their …show more content…

Integrity creates a standard for performance and sets a precedent for doing things the right way. Even if a leader possesses supreme confidence and an outstanding vision, their goals will inevitably fall to pieces without integrity at the forefront of their leadership. People can be successful taking short-cuts by being dishonest and taking advantage of others up to a certain point. If leaders do not put a strong emphasis on integrity and creating a standard for how things are to be done, one of their followers will eventually begin taking short-cuts, and leaders will begin to see their goals fall apart as lack of integrity spreads like a wildfire. For this reason, integrity must be firmly built into and established by all

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