“A leader squelches doubt and fear and fuels others with confidence, passion and purpose to build an unwavering mindset of prosperity.” – Nicola Smith Jackson
Becoming a leader is something I’ve always known I was destined to be. You might say it is in my DNA. However, I didn’t always have the skills to rise to the top and be that leader but because of the burning desire to take my place as a leader, I sought help.
I turned to the help of expert, mentors and others who were already where I wanted to be – incredible leaders in their own right. Now, it’s my turn to help others to understand the important keys to becoming successful in life and in business – the keys to becoming a leader.
If you asked fifty people who are the leaders they look up to and why they think they are leaders, you will probably get fifty different answers tied to things like financial status, social status, titles and positions. But when you look closely at leadership, it is more about creating atmospheres for themselves and for others to grow thrive and have an impact. When that happens, more than likely, all the other areas that people attribute to leadership will fall into place.
What do you look for if you were asked to identify a leader? Are there traits that leaders all have in common that others may not have tapped into yet, sometimes never?
It was important to me that I study leaders and then identify what I thought made them leaders. It was clear to me that leaders are winners. They have exceptional talent. The only way for me to immolate that was to look for those commonalities and try to be sure that I was working on those attributes myself.
Below are the 10 Attributes of a Top Leader that I have found to be necessary in order to become that Ultimate Entrepreneurial Leader. This took time for me to fully develop. But, just like you, I had to start somewhere, at sometime and I had to commit to a lifetime of mastering these attributes and sharing their importance with others. I found the following to be important to the development of a leader:
1. Vision – the ability to conceive a viable idea.
2. Commitment – the ability to follow through on making the vision a reality.
3. Passion – emotions high enough to believe strongly enough in your concept, product or service.
4. Investment – of both time and money; few things are free.
5. Initiative – It won’t just come to you like magic; the idea might but you must actively seek leadership.
6. Consistency – starting off and on or working the same way will rarely result in leadership.
7. Communications – the ability to inspire others with your words and to show compassion and empathy for others.
8. Integrity – as in all other aspects of life, you must have a set of rules that guide you in your decision making.
9. Influence – the ability to persuade others to follow or assist you as you pursue your dreams.
10. Endurance – the ability to persevere even when others say quite or you feel you can’t go on, physically or mentally.
The interesting thing about these ten attributes is that they are generally all present in true leaders. They are intertwined and generally interdependent. You seldom, if ever, see a leader that exhibits just one of these attributes.
Helping others to see these attributes in themselves is my passion. It’s what I excel at and strive to become better at. It is my goal to champion others, to help them see and develop these attributes in themselves. That has become my measure of leadership.
