LEADERSHIP
Qualities That Will Help
You Stand Out As A
Leader
By Matshona Dhliwayo
W
hat is leadership? Are lead-
ers made or born? What
differentiates ordinary leaders
from great ones? These are just three of
the countless questions among many that
contemporary philosophers, sociologists,
and leadership experts have been
grappling with.
Some say in order to truly understand
the qualities that make leaders great,
study extraordinary people like Alexander
the Great, Nelson Mandela, Abraham
Lincoln, and Mother Theresa. Though all
these leaders had different world views,
vocations, training, and resources, it is
undeniable they all shared at least one or
more of the traits below.
Courage
People are drawn to heroes but repulsed
by cowards. When we look at brave
people, we see something inside of them
that we desire for ourselves, which is why
all great leaders stand out, even before
they achieve seemingly impossible feats.
Courage expands one’s potential; when it
shrinks, so does the prospect of achieving
success. Fear is limiting; therefore, leaders
must be fearless when pursuing their
limitless ambitions. Had Alexander the
Great not been valiant, he wouldn’t have
conquered the Persian army of 200,000
soldiers with just 35,000 men!
Integrity
A leader is only as good as his word. No
business, organization, or country can
function at its highest potential if its
principal lacks integrity. People are only
willing to go to Hell – and - back for
someone they trust. If they don’t have faith
in you, you could promise them the world
and they wouldn’t walk a mile for you. A
A leader’s task is to lift people up when they are
down and to lift them even higher when they
are already up. To do this, great leaders are in-
cessantly positive; one cannot give what one
does not have himself. And as a result of their
perpetual optimism, they are able to take great
risks and inspire others to do so, which is the
only route to great accomplishments.
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great example of someone with integrity is
Jesus: His disciples were willing to die for
Him even long after He had died because
of the faith they had in the integrity of
His promises.
Passion
When you love what you do and do what
you love, it shows in the quality of your
work. It is difficult, if not impossible,
for one to greatly excel at that which
he does not enjoy. Passion is the very
fountain from which one gets the energy
to keep going in spite of fear, obstacles,
and critics. Likewise, love is the most
powerful force in the universe, so powerful
that philosophers, both ancient and
contemporary, opine: “God is love, and
love is God.”
Therefore, when a leader loves what he
does and does what he loves, he can expect
transcendent success. Michelangelo’s
passion for sculpting is what made him the
leader in his field. He was so passionate
about his work that he continued to
work on the Sistine chapel, even after it
impaired his sight and badly injured his
neck.
Creativity
It is impossible to create anything new
without original thoughts, so when a
business or organization stops coming
up with new ideas, new companies, both