1. Learn to be strong but not rude. It is an extra step you
must take to become a powerful, capable leader with a wide range of reach. Some
people mistake rudeness for strength. It’s not even a good substitute.
2. Learn to be kind but not weak. We must not mistake kindness
for weakness. Kindness isn’t weak. Kindness is a certain type of strength. We
must be kind enough to tell somebody the truth. We must be kind enough and
considerate enough to lay it on the line. We must be kind enough to tell it
like it is and not deal in delusion.
3. Learn to be bold but not a bully. It takes boldness to
win the day. To build your influence, you’ve got to walk in front of your
group. You’ve got to be willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first
problem, discover the first sign of trouble.
4. You’ve got to learn to be humble but not timid. You can’t
get to the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility.
Humility is almost a God-like word. A sense of awe. A sense of wonder. An
awareness of the human soul and spirit. An understanding that there is
something unique about the human drama versus the rest of life. Humility is a
grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that
we’re part of the stars. So humility is a virtue, but timidity is a disease.
Timidity is an affliction. It can be cured, but it is a problem.
5. Be proud but not arrogant. It takes pride to win the day.
It takes pride to build your ambition. It takes pride in community. It takes
pride in a cause, in accomplishment. But the key to becoming a good leader is
being proud without being arrogant. In fact, I believe the worst kind of
arrogance is arrogance from ignorance. It’s when you don’t know that you don’t
know. Now that kind of arrogance is intolerable. If someone is smart and
arrogant, we can tolerate that. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that's
just too much to take.
6. Develop humor without folly. That’s important for a
leader. In leadership, we learn that it’s OK to be witty, but not silly. It’s
OK to be fun, but not foolish.
7. Lastly, deal in realities. Deal in truth. Save yourself
the agony. Just accept life like it is. Life is unique. Some people call it
tragic, but I’d like to think it’s unique. The whole drama of life is unique.
It’s fascinating. And I’ve found that the skills that work well for one leader
may not work at all for another. But the fundamental skills of leadership can
be adapted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community, and
at home. - See more at: http://success.com/article/7-personality-traits-of-a-great-leader#sthash.xm7ED0Hl.dpuf
