Leadership Defined!

Over the course of my career, I have worked with and for many successful leaders. Unfortunately, I have also had the experience of working with and/or for a few failed leaders as well. When I think about what qualities separate the two, in its purest sense, it comes down to igniting passion in people and inspiring them. This is superbly captured in one of my favorite quotes on leadership:

"Great leaders move us. They ignite our passion and inspire the best in us."?Daniel Goleman

So what are some of the leadership qualities that inspire individuals? Which leadership attributes ignite passion in others? I encourage you to share your thoughts; below I share mine.

Leaders have impeccable CHARACTER that flows from personal INTEGRITY and uncompromising ETHICS.

Leaders see current REALITY clearly and have the COURAGE to seek out imperfection.

Leaders ENVISION the desired future state and COMMUNICATE it clearly and transparently.

Leaders have ENERGY and?SET PACE through personal involvement and behavior modeling.

Leaders act DECISIVELY to make consistent, principled-based decisions.

Leaders MOBILIZE, EXCITE and ENERGIZE others into action.

Leaders EMPOWER, ENABLE, and ENCOURAGE their team.

Leaders exhibit EMPATHY when supporting people.

Leaders have the DISCIPLINE to stay the course.

Leaders EXECUTE flawlessly to deliver big results.

Leaders EXTOL and celebrate individual and team success.

Whatever leadership behaviors you subscribe to, being a leader has nothing to do with your title, nor the number of direct reports you have. Leadership is all about establishing an environment where others are able to maximize their collective contribution to deliver a result or accomplish a goal because they want to, not because they have to or because you tell them to. If you are leading a group of individuals, you must model the behaviors you seek from your team. You must lead by personal EXAMPLE. If you are successful, your people will be inspired and their passion ignited.

Thank you for reading my article. Leadership Defined!?is the 1st article from Dr. Michael Edwards. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe to my Newsletter,?Leadership Explained,?to get notified when I publish a new article. Please 'share' this article with your network, click 'like', and/or leave a comment.?Click 'Follow' if you wish to follow me on LinkedIn. Have a look at my other Leadership Explained articles by clicking here.