“An army is like spaghetti. You can’t push a piece of spaghetti, you’ve got to pull it!” ~General George S. Patton Jr.
Are people born or taught to be leaders? Throughout your high school or college career, you may have taken a class generally revolving around leadership and ethics. In that period, you may have written essays or read articles on how leaders become leaders and you had to memorize a list of leadership traits. Perhaps you wondered how such activities would make you into a good leader. The answer is, that these won’t—at least not by themselves. Classes plant seeds of knowledge in the back of your head so that you will be able to train yourself to become a sort of leader that you may admire, like General George Patton. This is a journey that you must take on your own, under your own will and power. A great leader may not necessarily have all of the traits that will be discussed, but he or she can put a considerable amount of effort to develop as many as they can.
- Knowledge: Your first requirement as a leader is to have knowledge of yourself, profession, and the people you are responsible for. Firstly, do you know your strengths and weaknesses? Do you know how to correct your weaknesses? You only know yourself best. Secondly, do you know what you are responsible for? You cannot maintain respect of your people without knowing what is required of you. Lastly, do you know your people? You must assess situations and be decisive in keeping your people’s morale high.
- Integrity: Integrity is the cornerstone of what leaders possess. More than simply standing up for your beliefs, the development of integrity is an active process that begins when you identify what you believe in and determine what you are willing to sacrifice for your beliefs.
- Loyalty: Many different kinds of loyalty will be demanded from you: loyalty to yourself, loyalty to your superiors, loyalty to your subordinates, and loyalty to your organization. You must stay truthful which each one of these and have the honor to lead.
- Self-Discipline: Learn to set realistic goals and hold yourself accountable for them. You cannot impose discipline on your subordinates without first imposing it on yourself.
- Courage: Overcome your fears to carry out your mission and duties in different situations. The ability to honestly counsel subordinates on their weaknesses.
These are only five of many leadership traits, but I find these to be the most important. As a leader you must set the example and these are crucial traits a leader must have to do so.