What's a good leader?

[Colonel]

So I've never seen a thread about this so I thought it might be worth a stab to see what OT thinks makes a good leader? Basic question what qualities have you seen in your bosses\leaders\mentors\teachers\etc that has made them a leader in your eyes? What have you seen people in leadership positions do that has inspired\motivated\etc to do the best you can at your job\school\etc? (Note you could apply this question to larger things ie. Political leaders and etc).

 

[Maniacal]

The question is what, not whom.

Charisma and (preferably) a good sense of humour are pretty important imo.

 

[NickyJ]

Charisma, stability, and experience. Also, a strong sword arm, and a loud, booming Viking war cry. That, or a nice and twangy Japanese ninja voice for when he screams 'BANZAAAAAAAIIIIIIIII' at the top of his lungs.

 

[Narz]

What's a good leader?

Depends on the enterprise.

Most important is knowing what the heck he's doing and/or telling others they should be doing. Not being hardheaded. Being creative. Letting me be his right-hand man and/or letting me take over.

 

[_random_]

Having good ideas and being able to convince other people to carry them out.

 

[emzie]

Passionate, smart, charismatic. These could also make for a really disastrous leader, if not tempered by reason.

Something something Pierre Trudeau love something something

 

[Nobody]

Being able to get the Job done while keeping the people they are leading happy and productive.

 

[bombshoo]

A bit corny but I really think the best definition of a good leader is someone who brings about the best in those that they lead. Someone who encourages their followers to go that extra mile in whatever it is they are pursuing in a positive fashion.

There is probably thousands of ways one can be a good leader and accomplish the above, so it's a little difficult to discuss without being very vague.

 

[Tee Kay]

Someone who can motivate people through passion, not incentive; someone who leads with love, not fear; someone who emphasise cooperation over obedience, and unity over loyalty.

 

[stormerne]

Here's just a few ideas of the top of my head, looked at from the point of view of a leader of a team of people. A good leader is...

• someone who can communicate, both speaking and listening;
• someone who finds out what motivates each team member, and finds out their abilities and potentials;
• someone who can see the big picture and crystallizes common goals for the team;
• someone who makes each team member believe that they can contribute to that common goal and makes sure there are opportunities for them to contribute;
• someone who supports the team, as individuals and as a whole, and who publicly backs the team in hard times;
• someone who shares in the hard work and shares out the rewards and glory...

... and lots of other things

 

[Takhisis]

Whoever can hurry my Wonders and/or make Armies.

 

[Archbob]

As long as your Financial and Industrious, you should be ok.

 

[Quackers]

Anybody who can make a firm good decison without changing his mind is a good leader. I need a confidant self-assured leader to motivate me.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

Giving people just the right (and just enough)information so that they figure out the benefit or method of performing said task themselves . People are far more like likely to enthusiastically get behind something if they have put the pieces together , not just been told what to do or that it will be good for them.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Someone who:

Puts pragmatism above ideology.

Isn't full of himself, is considerate of other people's opinions and listens to advice.

Is able to make quick decisions if he has to, but doesn't jump the gun if has enough time.

Will admit it if he has made a mistake, and changes his opinions and approach if the situation has changed or if he has new information, and isn't afraid of being labeled a flipflopper by boneheaded fools.

 

[Tahuti]

A good leader leads by example (as Sun Tzu said), has ambition and vision, has a responsible personality, views him or herself as just another member of the group he or she leads and must be able to make difficult decisions in a timely fashion. But the most important aspect of being a leader is to be both self-confident and critically self-evaluating at the same time, which is perhaps the most difficult aspect as self-confidence and critical self-evaluation often work against eachother.

Charisma is overrated IMO; It certainly makes getting a leadership position more easy, but being able to get leadership positions doesn't make you a leader. A good leader - once entrusted to a position of leadership - can easily command authority even with little charisma.

 

[Narz]

Someone who:

Puts pragmatism above ideology.

Agreed! Unfortunately such people generally don't tend to be all that popular among the masses.

 

[Murky]

Someone who can articulate their ideas in a way that it inspires others to action.

 

[civver_764]

A Good leader is one that isn't there hahaha

 

[Tahuti]

Agreed! Unfortunately such people generally don't tend to be all that popular among the masses.

That is because ideology is much easier to articulate and more palatable to the ones who hear it. Ideology represents itself as the solution of every problem and among the common rabble, nothing is more persuasive than that.