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What is a great leader?
How do you become a great leader? Is it a gift, or something that can be learned?
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Great questions....and if every aspect of a good leader could be defined, or learned, then there would be many more great leaders. Some parts are instinctive, some can be learned and no two great leaders have exactly the same qualities.
That being said there are a few traits that are very common and if you imagine what you look for in a leader, as a follower, then here are a few:
Listening: I want to follow someone who listens to me.
Empathy: I want to follow someone who understands my viewpoint.
Dependability, Integrity, etc.: I want to follow someone who is dependable and I trust and respect.
Communication: A very big one and the above three traits are part of it. In your example, as a follower, if I believe riveting is stronger than welding and tell you so then I want you to listen, understand why I think so and then communicate to me why you think it may not be true in such a fashion that I trust your response.
Be Fair: Not equal, but fair
Enjoy Every Minute: When my "leader" is not upbeat, I am not upbeat.
And probably the most difficult one for many leaders is to let your sub-leaders do things you don't agree with. Question, inspect, advise but let your leaders lead. Real leaders know when not to turn wrenches or write code. A leaders job is to motivate, have a plan, a strategy and keep the group headed in a direction that everyone knows.
Some of these come natural, some are learned and there are many more. But the biggest thing you can do as a leader (and one that very few leaders do) is to GET FEEDBACK. I mean true, honest, good and bad, feedback. It has to be anonymous from most people to be truly honest and you must devise your own methods but if you get that information, and act on it properly, you will learn why you aren't a good leader and become one if you have the ability. So many "leaders" are ineffective, or not as effective as they could be, and have no idea why.