What Makes a Great Leader?
October 6, 2009
This post is by Justin Dixon Follow me on Twitter Photo courtesy of Tony the Misfit
I have always been interested in leadership. I have always thought about men like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, or Thomas Jefferson. As long as I can remember I have always looked for the secrets that made these leaders so great. That made it so that we still remember their names today. What makes a person a great leader? The thing about being interested in something is you can’t help but learn an incredible amount about it. This is everything I’ve learned so far.
Great leaders have a story. Humans think in stories, its actually the number one way we learn. A great leader takes a simple story, a simple needed message, and doesn’t just tell it, they embody it. For Gandhi the story was that India needed its independence, and that the only people who could be governed were a people who chose to obey. Every leader has a story, its what makes us respect them in the first place.
Great leaders are servants. The role of a leader is not to be over people, but to become a servant to a message and to every person who may benefit from this message. They know that if example is the highest form of leadership and it is service that is needed than an example of service must be set.
Great leaders don’t care who gets the credit. They just want their message spread in the best possible way. Whether that means them leading the crowd or not.
Great leaders take time for themselves. Every major leader in history made a regular habit of getting away from the influence and demands of every one else for a little while to spend some time working on there own beliefs. If you are always around the same crowd you will all start to think alike, and than who will come up with new ideas?
Great leaders offer something of value. If nobody needs something than there is no story tell, there is no service to be given, and thus there is no opportunity for leadership. Leadership is about offering value to your supporters and your team.
Great leaders call out the best in people. The do not accept the idea that other men should be less than them. Instead they call out the best in each man, and show us what we can really be.
Great leaders are more concerned with their message than with what others might think. Every major leader in history has had some voice condemn them. Gandhi broke the law and went to prison, Buddha challenged the major religion of his country, Jesus was crucified, and Martin Luther King was shot. These men all knew the risks that they were taking on. Their message was just more important to them, than whether anyone would agree, or even if it would of put their lives in danger.
Great leaders are passionate. You can only promote something you don’t care about for so long before it gets to you. Every human is like this and great leaders are no exceptions. These people are just so passionate about what they are doing and what they are fighting for that it becomes infectious. We get excited about things when they are presented by someone who is excited about what they are doing and talking about.
Great leaders are down to earth. Jefferson ironed his own socks. Gandhi did all of the servants work in the house. Jesus said “turn the other cheek”. They weren’t super humans, they were human, and that is what made them great.
They didn’t start off great. In fact, they didn’t even start as leaders. Whether anyone would have listened to them or not, they started, and through every struggle they kept going until they got good at it.
They did not give up. If you think its bad having your mom or dad tell you that your idea is bad imagine an entire culture tell you that you are wrong. This is the inevitable result of doing or saying something different from the norm. Even more impressive is that they didn’t give up before becoming accomplished at their goals.
“A professional writer is an amateur who did not give up”~Richard Bach
So leadership takes a message that serves, puts passionate service to that message over ego, starts off small, and doesn’t give up. What leaders have you known with these traits? What other traits have you noticed in great leaders? What are you going to do about it?
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1.
Karlil | October 6, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Beautiful. Simply beautiful Justin. I can’t help but to stumble this. The list is great and the message is clear. A leader is a giver who have a purpose and vision to bring about greatness in the people they serve. Great job. This is the best article I read from you so far. Keep up the great work.
2.
Patrick @ unwrapyourmind,com | October 6, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Justin, by giving these key concepts of great leadership we are indeed in need for more of these people. But don’t think of these people as being out of your league. You are in the same league as they are – it was not about where they started, what their talents were. Very often they stumbled through life for a long time and thought of them as anything else but a leader. But some incident awakened the leader that was already hidden within them.
So what incidents to we need to wake up the leader within us?
3.
Justin- AlittleBetter | October 6, 2009 at 8:18 pm
I full heartedly agree with you patrick. I think it is a mistake that too many people make. What I’m hoping with this post is not to confront something that I feel is missing so much as it is to let the rest of the world know that they can do it to.
4.
Jai Kai - SharingSuccess.tv | October 6, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Great Leaders are true teachers… They educate you through their own experiences and lessons in life. They teach by example. All the people I consider great leaders have taught me something this way and taught me to teach others through my own experience.
Great points…thanks for sharing.
5.
Justin- AlittleBetter | October 6, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Great point on the teaching. You are absolutely right. Thanks for sharing that tip, and for commenting.
6.
Belinda Munoz | October 7, 2009 at 12:21 am
For me, great leaders are visionary, have a burning desire to serve their cause and are willing to put their lives on the line for it. When we encounter a great leader, we simply can’t help but be inspired by them.
7.
Justin- AlittleBetter.net | October 8, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Understandably so, they call out the best that is in us. They don’t put something new in to us, but they remind us who we are, and to walk accordingly.
8.
Tristan Lee | October 7, 2009 at 6:02 am
Hello, nice tips on leadership Justin. Thanks for this. Like you said, great leaders aren’t selfish and I think all you points hit on that subject. They worry more about how they can benefit the world, rather than how can benefit themselves.
9.
Justin- AlittleBetter | October 7, 2009 at 9:55 am
I’m a big Ayn Rand fan, so I think a little bit of selfishness is a good thing. Its more that they put their message be for themselves. Thanks for the comment.
10.
Jeffrey Tang | October 7, 2009 at 11:26 am
I believe that a strong, passionate message only comes from a strong sense of self. It’s about -your- passion. A message that’s important to -you-, not necessarily to someone else. That’s selfish, but it’s also good.
But as Ayn Rand points out, rational selfishness doesn’t mean walking all over people. In fact, it means the exact opposite: absolute respect for the freedoms and rights – life, liberty, and property – of other people, and all the consequences that come with having those rights.
Ayn Rand’s concept of selfishness doesn’t rule out caring about other people’s needs either. She simply makes the astute observation that “to say ‘I love you,’ you must first be able to say the word ‘I.’” When you care about someone, they become one of your values, and selfishness, in this case, means protecting and supporting your values.
Sorry for the long comment. Philosophy talk gets away from me sometimes.
11.
Justin- AlittleBetter | October 7, 2009 at 11:36 am
Feel free to give long comments you brought up one of my favorite writers. I’m not sure if a strong sense of self is in every leaders style. But a strong sense of their values definitely is which is what I suppose Ayn Rand would say a strong sense of self is. This is what I believe to be the reason that all great leaders go off on their own for a little bit to gather their thoughts.
12.
Francoise | October 7, 2009 at 6:21 am
Great list Justin, it’s nice to think about these tips and see how one can use them ourselves … on our way to becoming leaders / great leaders. I especially like the last two as they are so down to earth.
One point I would maybe add to your list is the fact that great leaders not only call out the best in people they also do surround themselves with the best people acknowledging where these people might be better then themselves.
13.
Justin- AlittleBetter.net | October 8, 2009 at 2:55 pm
I wouldn’t say on the way to becoming great leaders. More as reminders of the leaders we already are, and how we can manifest it. The fact is that if you recognize these things as being statements of a great leader, than some part of you already knew these things. That is the great leader within you.
14.
Nea | Self Improvement Saga | October 13, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Great post. Great leaders are so many things, but the most significant one to me is that they are inspirational. Unlike dictators who take charge and force actions, leaders have a way of making others feel a desire to act. And nothing is greater or more powerful than inspired action.
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” -John Quincy Adams
15.
Justin- AlittleBetter | October 14, 2009 at 11:56 am
Well said.