5 CHARACTERISTICS OF A LEADER

People often confuse or inter-change the terms Leader and Manager.  What is the difference between management and leadership?  The most basic distinction is that Leaders lead people and Managers manage tasks.  This is not to imply that Managers do not have subordinates.  The biggest difference between Managers and Leaders is the way they motivate the people who work or follow them, and this sets the tone for most other aspects of what they do.

Leaders typically have 5 important characteristics – Character, Team Builder, Decisive, Passionate, and Visionary.

Character

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.

Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865)

Team Builder

When you’re part of a team, you stand up for your teammates. Your loyalty is to them. You protect them through good and bad because they’d do the same for you.

Yogi Berra (1925 – ), “When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It” — Ch. 3

Decisive

Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement, and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success.

Brian Adams

If I had to sum up in one word what makes a good manager, I’d say decisiveness. You can use the fanciest computers to gather the numbers, but in the end, you have to set a timetable and act.

Lee Iacocca (1924 – )

Passionate

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong — because someday you will have been all of these.

George Washington Carver (1864 – 1943)

Vision

Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.

Henry Miller (1891 – 1980)

A vision without action is called a daydream; but then again, action without a vision is called a nightmare.

Jim Sorensen

Although there are many people who are both Managers and Leaders, there are also many Managers who do not possess the Leadership traits or characteristics.  They have management jobs, but they realize that they cannot buy the hearts of their employees – especially to follow them down a difficult path.

The employees passionately follow their Leader (even down a difficult path) with the confidence that he/she will lead them to success.  The Leader by definition will always put the well-being of their team before themselves but as a result, maintain their loyalty and commitment.