Qualities of a Leader: Part I

In my opinion, John Maxwell offers invaluable advice and knowledge for anyone who strives to be a leader. In the book "The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow", Maxwell lays out a great blueprint for leaders to follow. Over the course of the next three days I will cover seven of the leadership qualities per day along with some notes.

CHARACTER
“Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.”

• How a leader deals with the circumstances of life tells you many things about his character.  Crisis doesn’t necessarily make character, but it certainly does reveal it.
• We choose our character.  In fact, we create it every time we make choices.
• The respect that leadership must have requires that one’s ethics be without question.  A leader not only stays above the line, between right & wrong, he stays well clear of the “gray-areas.”
  

CHARISMA
“How can you have charisma?  Be more concerned about making others feel good about themselves than you are about making them feel good about you.”

• I have yet to find the man who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism.
• Charisma is the ability to draw people to you.
• People enjoy leaders who love and are passionate about life.
• One of the best things you can do for people is expect the best of them.
• Highly successful people could only see the good in people.
• The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches but to reveal to him his own.
• Hope is greatest of all possessions.
• As you lead people, give of yourself.  Share wisdom, resources, and even special occasions.
  

COMMITMENT
“People do not follow uncommitted leaders.”

• Michelangelo – “God will see.”
• The world has never seen a great leader who lacked commitment.
• Law of Buy-in: People buy into the leader, then the vision.
• Some people want everything to be perfect before they’re willing to commit themselves to anything.  But commitment always precedes achievement.
• Jordan – “Heart separates the good from the great.”
• The only real measure of commitment is action.
• There will be times when commitment is the only thing that carries you forward
  

COMMUNICATION
“Communicators take something complicated and make it simple.”

• Leaders must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others.
• Communication is not just what you say.  It’s also how you say it.  The key to effective communication is simplicity.
• Speeches = Exciting opening, dramatic summary, as close together as possible.
• To become a better communicator, become audience-oriented.  People believe in great communicators because great communicators believe in people.
• First, believe in what you say.  Second, live what you say.
• As you communicate, never forget that the goal of communication is action.

COMPETENCE
“Competence is the leader’s ability to say it, plan it, and do it in such a way that others know that you know how – and know that they want to follow you."

• Competent people come ready to play everyday, no matter what the circumstances they face.
• All highly competent people continually search for ways to keep learning, growing, and improving.
• The person who knows how will always have a job, but the person who knows why will always be the boss.
• Quality is never an accident: it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution.  It represents the wise choice of many alternatives.
  

COURAGE
“One person with courage is a majority.”

• "Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities, because it is the quality which guarantees all others.”
• “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”
• Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do.  There can be no courage unless you’re scared.
• Courage isn’t an absence of fear.  It’s doing what you’re afraid to do.  It’s having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into new territory.
• The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
• Courage deals with principle, not perception.  If you don’t have the ability to see when to stand up and the conviction to do it, you’ll never be an effective leader.
• “Courage is contagious.” – “Fear limits a leader.”
• “Fear not that your life will come to an end, but that it will never have a beginning.”
• “What’s ironic is that those who don’t have the courage to take risks and those who do, experience the same amount of fear in life.”

DISCERNMENT
“Smart leaders believe only half of what they hear.  Discerning leaders know which half to believe.”

• Discernment = The ability to find the root of the matter, and it relies on intuition as well as rational thought.
• “Nothing in life is to be feared, only to be understood.”
• Discernment enables a leader to see a partial picture, fill in the missing pieces intuitively, and find the real heart of the matter.
• The closer a leader is to his area of gifting, the stronger his intuition and ability to see root causes.  If you want to tap into your discernment potential, work in your areas of strength.
• “Never ignore a gut feeling, but never believe that it’s enough.”