Personal
traits of leaders
- Are there
any leadership traits that all leaders possess?
- How many
different types of leadership are there?
- Two main
ones - leading by example and by direct influence attempts.
- To lead
by example you don't need charisma or a dynamic personality, so
these traits cannot be common to all leaders.
- Much more
leadership occurs by example than we normally recognize.
- Having
a dynamic personality is just one means of influencing
people - it is not the only one.
- You don't
absolutely even need any influencing skills. If you do something
remarkable, opportunists who see the advantages of your action
will jump on the bandwagon through no persuasive effort from you.
This is not to say that influencing skills are not helpful. It
is only that they can't be essential if it is possible to lead
without them.
- If they
are not essential then we cannot say that all leaders must have
them.
Traits shared by
all leaders
- Willingness
to stand out, differentiate yourself, risk rejection by being
different, a dose of rebelliousness.
- Determination
and perseverance to push through your own ideas.
- Improvement
drive - desire to find better ways of doing things, curiosity.
- Questioning
mind - not accepting authority, willingness to challenge the status
quo.
- Self belief
- believing that you can think for yourself and devise a better
way.
- Thick
skin - being able to withstand criticism and recover from setbacks.
- Learning
from mistakes - being prepared to try things to find what works.
You might
call this combination of traits a spirit of adventure. It is more
commonly, but not exclusively, found in younger people.
These are
the only (or main) traits you need to lead by example. Leaders who
use more explicit, direct influence skills will have these traits
as well.
So, to be
a leader you don't need outstanding interpersonal skills, to be
good looking, tall, well built, charismatic, a great speaker, highly
outgoing or dynamic. Think of the computer techie who leads the
field in a specialized software market only by being an outstanding
innovator.
Also, many
leaders do not happen to manage people, so the usual list of people
development skills cannot apply to all leaders either.
To become
a leader, start by finding something new to get excited about. Your
excitement will influence people even if you are not normally very
persuasive.
It is important
not to get real leadership confused with our primitive
conception of leadership. |