What it means to be a leader

LeadershipIt’s always important to have role models in your life, people you look up to, admire and respect, people that inspire you, give you hope and motivation. We usually find these characteristics in people who are determined, brave, powerful, passionate and sometimes they are the best at what they do, they are the masters in their field. These are the leaders among us, politicians, athletes, people that can take charge and responsibility. They sound very good on paper, but what makes them elite, how do we become one, is there a genetic predisposition for leadership or all it takes is hard work and determination? Next we will name a few qualities and traits that are necessary for a leader:

 Awareness is one of the key aspects of becoming a leader.

This refers to the ability to be self-aware, concentrating on the here and now. From a mindfulness perspective self-aware means taking a mental step back and imagine you are another person observing you. Then you can focus and absorb everything, you can concentrate on your breathing, skin temperature, hearing and even thoughts, you are only a passive observer watching your thoughts move on a chess board, a nonjudgemental evaluation of the self. Being a leader means knowing yourself, always self-aware of your own strengths and weaknesses, your mistakes and successes and contemplating effective strategies and plans to always improve and evolve. Being more aware means being in control, thus enhancing your own ability to regulate you emotions and your engagement in proactive behaviors

 Feedback is also important and strong related to awareness.

Always listen, listen to others and their opinions, ideas, dreams and aspiration, but most importantly listen to yourself. This means being honest with yourself, setting realistic expectations making short term and long term goals.

 Never giving up.

We live in a world where cognitive dissonance rules our mind and behavior, but leaders always exhibit a strong axiological system of values and principals. Of course I am not here to discuss their valance, sometimes even values that come from evil and greed can represent strong motivators, for example the totalitarian regimes. For the sake of this article I prefer focusing on the positive aspects, on the positive values like selflessness, responsibility, courage, optimism, hard work etc. Success and failure are not opposite forces in our lives, they are just located on opposite directions on a continuum, you can’t win if you don’t fail.

 Life responds to a merit not a desire.

You can’t be a leader only by wishful thinking, there is no recipe or easy steps on become a leader. You become a leader through you voice, your actions, your accomplishments, a leader is recognized not named, his actions speak for himself, he plays the role of a leader because he is different from everyone but also the same, meaning he can empathize with others, show compassion and relate to their personal history.

We look at history and we find many people that inspire us, people that makes us believe in ourselves even if the odds are against us, people like Muhamad Ali, Michael Jordan, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela. These are the personalities that are different from the pack, these are people that stand out that managed to change history as we know it, their courage and determination led them to believe that everything is possible even if no one believed in them. Maybe these attributes are necessary for a leader, even if you run a corporation or a small business, if you are the captain of a football team or the debate team, leadership is earned through respect.

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