Does it exist? Can it be narrowed down to one? Scrivs asked his readers this back when current Wisdump, a business and web blog, was Whitespace and got some interesting answers (”Afro” made the list) and many very wise ones as well.
One that resonates with me today is “responsibility,” as shared by Javier Cabrera [site]. I think I see two things in the word (which might be cheating but it’s my thread.)
- Good leaders are responsible to get their work and their team’s work accomplished. Sometimes it means putting in extra time or making sacrifices to ensure obligations are met and promises are kept.
- Good leaders take responsibility for their team’s work or lack of work.When everyone else decides it isn’t worth it to finish strong, a good leader makes sure people don’t get hurt because of it to the best of their ability.
I share these because… Well, I’m not really sure. I’m processing how to encourage leaders quite a bit lately and I think this is one area I have some room to grow on. How about you?
- What one quality is necessary for a good leader?
- What area of leadership would you like to improve in?
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Friday June.9.2006 at 4:03 pm PDT
stephen
Trust. We must trust leaders. I think trust can only happen when you believe in that person, which brings me to not so distant 2nd characteristic of leadership- Integrity. Without integrity you eventually lose trust. When you lose trust you have lost everything.
For me, I would like to develop more in the following areas:
Humility
Risk
Patience
Friday June.9.2006 at 4:57 pm PDT
tobee
This is more of a litmus test than a quality, but leaders have influence.
You know the saying, “if you want to know who the leader is, see who people are following”…and I appreciate the quote from Margaret Thatcher with respect to leadership, “Being in power is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”
(See, John Maxwell, “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” p. 45)
So, influence. Who is influencing me, who am I influencing? And what am I imparting to those who are following me? My prayer for leaders and for myself, “Imitate me just as I also imitate Christ.” No calling is higher or lower.
I’d also like to improve in the area of casting vision. I think that is related to influence as well…realizing that if the vision is from God, then it is more likely to be caught.