ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF A LEADER
- Serenity
The number one handicap is fear:
Of not being obeyed
Of having no authority
Of not being recognised, accepted, appreciated
Of negative reactions of subordinates
Of criticism and individual, or collective bad spirit
Of change or evolution of group, or role
Of not knowing what to answer, or what to do if we start listening to others, and dialoguing with them in view of inviting their participation
Of being unequal to task (exaggerate its size)
Of personal phobias (not directly related to exercise of authority), interfering with our freedom to decide or act.
In a serene leader, these fears do not exceed a certain level, and the leader is a feeling person. While experiencing fears to some degree, he is at peace, free, and sensitive to people and situations. This inner strength enables him to weather the storm without panicking or going under.
- Intuition.
A leader must be sufficiently attuned to catch eth mood of individual and the group, and to grasp its significance. From this gift of intuition stems creativity, and enables him to sense what should be said or done, taking into account all the elements of the situation. An ideas person is a poor leader, as he is centred on objectives, and fails to take persons into account.
- Decisiveness and Sense of Responsibility.
Very open to his group, allowing each and everyone to express himself, the leader must be capable of taking a stand when necessary, according to what is best for the group as a whole, even if the course of action is unpleasant personally.
- Technical Competence in Keeping with the Nature of the Group.
He must be able to do the job himself and to co-ordinate the efforts of others. While he may surround himself with competent persons he must be competent in choosing his collaborators, and in forming a team with them. He must have respect of his team, through his own competence. He must have training to enable the members of the group, including himself to be happy together.
5. Personal Formation and Growth
Changes must be made at the root of our being, rather than at the periphery or edge of our being. An in0depth transformation is demanded, so we must detect the very origin of our actions, so that we grow in freedom and maturity.
“The greatest leaders go unnoticed
Great leaders are praised and cherished
Lesser leaders are feared
Poor leaders are despised”
(From a Chinese Taosit Scripture of 600 – 500 BCE)