Effective leaders are known to possess certain types of characteristics. Individual people may have different perceptions of what leadership means. One common definition of leadership is a person’s effort to influence others in a positive direction to achieve the goal at hand. I believe good leadership begins with honorable and selfless people, people who put others before themselves. People want to be guided by those they can trust, and therefore, by following a positive example, they become better leaders themselves. I personally feel there are several strong characteristics that a person must possess in order to be a successful leader.
Leaders tend to focus on what is most important. They set examples and guide the way to achieve the goals that have been set. When referring to businesses, most leaders would agree that it is more the quality and not the quantity of products produced that is most important. By showing employees, friends, and coworkers the proper way to complete a task and focus on the best quality, the outcome is sufficiently greater. For instance, if a company pushes to produce high quantities of an item but they lack in the quality department, the initial profit may be high, but in the end the company would lose its customers to a company who can produce the same product with a better quality. A successful leader can foresee profitable and positive outcomes and focus on the importance of these two factors.
Along the same lines, a leader that portrays a good amount of optimism is always beneficial. When leaders believe in their people and openly portray these feelings, the people following or working for them will put their faith into them. Most people need that boost of knowing that they are doing or have done their job well. A pat on the back goes a long way to reassure them that they know what they are doing. In addition to verbal appreciation, leaders can keep morale high by offering bonuses, incentives,...