Leader Traits

What is leadership? Depending on the person it can mean many different things. For example, my father thinks leadership is, "The process of influencing people to accomplish a mission by providing, purpose, direction, and motivation." To my stepmother, leadership is, "Helping others to do the right thing, even if it is not popular." Also, my dictionary states that leadership is, "guidance; capacity to guide or command"
These answers are all great answers, and they all describe leadership. Yet, they are all completely different answers. To understand leadership you must first know what a leader is. The Webster’s dictionary describes a leader as this, "a guide, one in command a person with influence or importance" Now whether they are a good leader or a bad leader depends on their character. If they have good character, then they will most likely be a good leader. If they have bad character, then they will most likely be a bad leader. So what are some character traits, that a leader should have? There are many. The three that I would like to talk about are, responsibility, devotion, and honesty.
A leader must have responsibility. So, what is responsibility? The Webster dictionary states that responsible is, "accountable, able to work alone." If a leader has to always be told what to do, then how could he be a good leader? A responsible leader would take action right then. When he realizes that something needs to be fixed then the leader should fix it as soon as possible. If a leader does not do the jobs that he is supposed to do, then he is not being responsible. Which is why it is good for a leader to have responsibility.
"A great dancer is not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion." Martha Gram said that. A great leader must have a passion or devotion in whatever they are leading. If a leader is not excited or devoted about what he is leading then what is the use? When America was in the Revolutionary war our soldiers had to be devoted to their country. George Washington had to be devoted to his army. He was passionate about what he believed in. If George Washington was not devoted to his country then we might have never won the Revolutionary war. When someone is passionate about something, then they will give it their best effort. So when a leader is passionate about his group or organization then he will try to do everything he can to make his group better.
Proverbs 12:22 "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight." Honesty is another good thing that a leader should have. If a leader lies to you how can you ever trust your leader? Proverbs 6:16-19 "There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are and abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devices wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers." The verse stated that the Lord hates lying. Proverbs 19:1 "Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool." A leader who lies to his people is a fool. It is better to be honest with your people than to lie and try to hide the truth.
Depending on someone’s opinion, leadership can be many things. When it comes to leading people you can have good leaders, and you can have bad leaders. Good leaders usually have good character traits like responsibility, devotion, and honesty. There are many other character traits that a good leader should have. But I think that a good leader should definitely have these character traits. A leader should have responsibility. What is the use of a leader if he does not do what he is supposed to, independently? Also a good leader should be devoted to his group. If he is not devoted or passionate about what he does, then he would probably not give his best effort. Then last but not least, a good leader should be honest. If your leader is not honest with you, then how can you trust him? How do you know if he is keeping secrets from you? Being a leader is a huge responsibility, and will take much work. To be a leader you must be ready to make sacrifices, and much more. When you are responsible, honest, and devoted then you can be a good leader.