What Makes A Good Leader?

From the vantage point of the present, it is easy to look back at the tenure of any great leader and draw conclusions about just what it was that made him/her great. We can examine the circumstances under which their leadership flourished; piece together what we know of their character and personality traits; delve into the factors that may have driven them; and dissect their leadership style all in an effort to pinpoint the source of their success. The ‘Great Man’ theory, popular in the 19th century and now thoroughly debunked, held that leaders are born, not made; suggesting that men like George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., and Winston Churchill were born with the innate capacity to change the world (Landis,

Many people would not hear the words “good leader” and “Adolf Hitler” in the same sentence. Nor would anyone usually say that Mahatma Gandhi was an aggressive leader. Both past leaders show many similar leadership qualities, but the way they broadcasted their ideologies diverges severely. Many world leaders possess the qualities of authority, but none can quite be a perfect commander. In fact, there is no such thing as a perfect leader. No commander can perfectly lead a division into battle, and no chief can perfectly manage his tribe. For every strength of a good leader, a flaw exists. There is no impeccable image of a leader.

19). Still a part of the Great Man Leadership era, these trait theories just went a step further in attempting to pinpoint exactly which traits of these “great men” were consistently associated with the leaders, in an effort to more clearly define what a great leader was. This was again a further attempt to be able to identify a leader early on and predict which individuals were born to become leaders. It is thought that a major flaw with these theories was the failure to account for external factors, such as the environment in which the individuals were brought up in, as well as the situations they experienced (Horner, 2007, p. 270). Still today we do continue to study the characteristics of leaders in order to better define and understand what makes someone a good leader.

What is leadership, and how do we attain the best and most effective leaders? These are questions that are as old as civilization itself. Bass (1974) wrote that, “from its infancy, the study of history has been the study of leaders” (as cited in Wren, 1995, p. 50). Since the study of history in the West is commonly held to begin with Herodotus of ancient Athens, it is not surprising that we should examine the historical views of leadership through the eyes of two titans of Greek thought: Plato and Aristotle.

As many countries developed over time, changes have occurred that benefited the citizens of each nation. However, there is one important element that is needed to establish laws, peace, and harmony in each country. This element is known as leadership. Leaders around the world have contributed to the success and evolution of all of our nations, proving to be a huge responsibility. Residents are dependent amongst leaders, who are in charge of protecting their citizens at no cost. Without the presence of them, chaos and corruption would establish, which could ruin relationships and trade with other nations. In history, great leaders have been praised and admired. The characteristics of three great leaders, who are Suleiman, Nelson Mandela, and Queen Elizabeth I, have exhibited the qualities of being a great leader. These traits include causing admiration and inspiration, demonstrating intelligent knowledge, and guiding residents and themselves to solve conflicts that may cause death.

Throughout history, certain leaders were described as having exceptional qualities, such as charisma, that enabled them to motivate followers to achieve outstanding performances. Used wisely, it’s certainly a blessing; indulged, it can be a curse and therefore, these leaders can lead people ahead or astray. Famous leaders such as Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Roosevelt all shared a similar quality, charisma, which helped them rise in power and become leaders for their countries. This rise in leadership is a cause of crisis situations, distress in people, and inspirational and charismatic leaders who give promising deliverances. At the time, many leaders were struggling to rebuild their nations and as a cause, many totalitarian dictators such

For a leader to be a “great” man, he must exemplify certain qualities. A few of these qualities might include emotional and cognitive intelligence, superior communication skills, bureaucratic, pragmatic and rational, and trustworthy. Long before

As a growing debate, the question at hand is whether great leaders are born with specific leadership traits, or if one can be taught certain traits over time. According to (Wikipedia.com) the approach of listing leadership qualities, often termed "trait theory of leadership", assumes certain traits or characteristics will tend to lead to effective leadership. I believe that leadership traits such as honest, competent, initiative, inspiring, hardworking, intelligent, and the ability to lead the masses, are some of the leadership traits one should possess. Within this paper, I will examine the overall concept of leadership traits, while observing the traits that were, or can be associated with successful leaders.

Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. – all possessed such leadership traits as ambition, self-confidence, and intelligence. These cannot be learned; they are innate. Two well-respected research studies that support the notion that personality traits can predict leadership were published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and in the Leadership Quarterly.

When societal leaders are envisioned a faction of elites often comes to mind. These identifiable individuals embody desirable leadership characteristics. Resourcefulness, charisma, strength, tolerance, compassion, honesty, and determination are just a few of the personal facets ascribed to these leaders. However, this oversimplification of perfection is a narrative created by followers and it ignores some vital details. The leaders held above all others are simply human, and they too are flawed. The ignorance of this fact leads to blind faith which is dangerous. The leaders we look to for guidance should be ordinary people, rather than conventional figures whose established significance often overshadows their true character.

Leadership is defined as influence the actions of people of an organization in order to reach certain goals or targets. There are two types of leaders that have been identified; the first once includes the traditional leaders which concentrate on leading a limited zone, whereas a global leader will have control over a larger global sector. This essay will examine the leadership style and contrast of two powerful leaders such as Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler who had different methods and styles of leading to expanding beyond the nations (Mendenhall et al., 2008).

The essay “How to Be a Leader” by Michael Korda, published on January 5th, 1981 in Newsweek, illustrates what attributes make a good leader. People seek for a leader in desperate times, inflation, crisis’ or unemployment. Korda argues that we have a distinct image in our heads of what a leader should be like. An unforgettable trademark is one feature that is easy to remember, whether it be a big nose or a hat. Furthermore, people look for someone better than them, but they should not be too different than the majority.

From Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela’s charisma, to Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King’s intelligence and Steve Jobs’ analytical nature, there can be as numerous ways to lead as there are leaders (Crossman, 2010). Leadership is a hot debate both in the business world and other areas of the society. Throughout the world's, there have been as many leadership models as there have been their commentators (Burns & Peltason, 1966). Fortunately, psychologists and businesspersons have established useful frameworks that refer to the main ways of leadership.

What qualities make a good leader? You can ask a hundred different people, and you will get a hundred different answers. A good leader is someone who accomplishes the mission, has the respect of their subordinates, and makes the difficult decisions when needed. For me, I believe that a great leader needs to have a variety of qualities, but most importantly a sense of fairness, hard work/care, and common consideration for others. Different experiences throughout my life and time at West Point have lead me to believe that these three tenants are what are most needed for a great leader. In terms of a leader’s moral character, common consideration has the greatest influence on the success of a leader, because without common consideration, a

In shaping my personal theory, I sought out my own definition of leadership. To do this, reflected on some of the leaders I admired such as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, Indira Gandhi, and Mahatma Gandhi, Why did I admire them? Were there any shared qualities they possessed? What I noticed with many of these leaders was their selflessness, their strong ethics and their ability to bring