I have been thinking a lot lately, what does it take to be a true leader (in fields like business, politics and society in general)?
Can a True Leader be made or is he just born being one?
Think of True Leaders as Jesus, Buddha, Alexander The Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Jeanne d'Arc, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill.
On the other hand, there are the average leaders. Anyone can become an average leader, all it takes is some energy to do tasks and the right circumstances, like being the manager of a company, or being the captain of a football team, or having a lot of knowledge in a certain area where others don't. Average leaders' followers might dislike them, might disdain them, might disrespect them, might fear them. It's easy to learn to be one. That's why currently the experts' paradigm is that leaders can be made, while years ago they thought leaders were born only. I think there is a misunderstanding here between experts. Some of them are talking about average leaders while others talk about true leaders.
Here's what i think it takes to be a True Leader:
Boldness: A true leader is bold. He is defiant when he needs to, is fearless in challenging ideas or concepts he knows are wrong. Being bold does not mean to be rebel, but rather to have the courage to change what's not right. Boldness is highly associated with self-confidence/reliance. The true leader has an easier time being bold because he is sure that his convictions are right.
Can it be Learned? Hardly. Someone who wasn't born bold will have a hard time to learn how to be it. It demands a lot of energy to be bold unnaturally, and until the habit is developed and implemented in the values core, it will take months, at least. Most people who try will probably just give up in the middle of the way or forget about it, given the enormous amount of everyday focus that is needed.
Self-Confidence/Self-Reliance: Similar to boldness, this characteristic is always there in every true leader. Being confident does not mean to be cocky, but rather to be sure of one's own capabilities and not allow oneself to be shaken by external critics, unless the critics are constructive; in this case, the true leader has enough confidence in himself to admit he was wrong. A cocky leader would never admit himself to be wrong.
Can it be Learned? Yes. I don't know if it's possible to get to extreme self-confidence like true leaders have, but it is certainly possible to get close to it. There are many ways to become more self-confident, i'm too lazy to list it here, but since we're on this PD forum you guys probably know the methods.
Ease to speak: This also involves public speaking. A true leader has an almost unnatural verbal skill. He debates easily; words flow out of his mouth. And it's not just BS ("bush-sh*t"
), all his ideas make sense, he rapidly organizes the ideas on his head and manages to communicate it extremely clearly. He makes a lot of gestures most of the time, it's a powerful tool he has mastered. He throws humorous comments when he needs to; sometimes to disarm the person he's debating with, sometimes to avoid his own embarrassment.
Can it be Learned? Yes, to some extent. With a LOT of practice. It’s extremely hard to get to a good speaking level. The person must have inherited it to some extent. Verbal intelligence varies from person to person. It can be enhanced, but each one has its limits.
Gook Looks: A true leader has good looks. He is tall and handsome (there are exceptions; napoleon was very short, joan of arc was a woman -commanding armies in the middle age-, and winston churchill wasn't exactly the model of beauty). But it has already been proved by studies that people that are tall and handsome do better in politics than those who aren't. Fact.
Can it be Learned? Some things can be done to improve looks; getting in shape, dressing well, and doing some plastic surgery (just don't turn into michael jackson).
Sharp Humor: Humor is good. The true leader throws humorous lines that have something to do with the current situation; people realize that he just made them up at that moment and admire him even more. As i said before, humor is also great when debating.
Can it be Learned? Yes. To some extent, of course. Some people are gifted comedians, like eddie murphy and jim carrey. But we don't need that much humor; if only making others laugh would get someone successful in politics, bush would be the US president forever. He cracks me up.
Intelligence: This is one of the most important aspects of a true leader. He has high both IQ and EQ. The true leader must have a high IQ, otherwise he won't be able to take the right decisions, and his self-confidence will be blown away. If he keeps insisting on making the wrong decisions, he will be arrogant, and that's not the same as being confident. The confident leader makes the decisions and knows they are right. The true leader also has a high EQ, he knows how to deal with people and take the most out of them be it on an environment like a business company.
Can it be Learned? I really don't know much about improving IQ. It's possible to improve it, but i think there is a limit of improvement. So, for example, one who was born with an IQ of 110, would be able to reach a maximum IQ of let's say 125. I don't know the dynamics of IQ enhancement, so i won't say much on this topic. What i know is that a true leader must have a minimum IQ of 130; he is the visionary, he must be very smart to realize before others, for example, where is a company heading. About EQ, i'm sure one can improve it as much as one is willing to, it just takes a lot of practice, as many other areas.
Energy: The true leader is always enthusiastic about life. His high energy makes others feel great when they are around him. He brings the whole environment's energy up. Optimism is a rule. After all, he is in control of his life, why would he pessimistic about anything?
Can it be Learned? Being always enthusiastic about life isn't very easy to many people. But optimism can be learned. Optimism brings high energy, so i think one can learn it.
Sense of Justice: The true leader shows to everyone that he is fair, that he judges everyone equally, that he wouldn't harm someone without a good reason; he is integer. People admire him for that; they see him as their role model. He might be selfish and not care much about others inside, but he definitely won't show this side of him. But this mask makes him expend too much energy, and once he holds a position of power in society, he tends to show his other side. Picture Hitler.
Can it be Learned? Fortunately, it's easy to most people to hold or just pretend to hold such values. So its not a hard task.
Charisma: The most important characteristic of the true leader after intelligence. Charisma is a mix of many attributes such as humour, good looking, good speaking skills, confidence. Charisma is hard to define, the word comes from the Greek word χάρισμα (kharisma), "gift" or "divine favor," from kharizesthai, "to favor," from kharis, "favor". Is this fascinating attribute really a gift? I don't know. There are many kinds of charisma; people that are charismatic because of their power, money, good looks, personality, and so on. The true leader mixes many of these positive characteristics and creates a super aura of charisma. Even without money and power, his looks, intelligence, wit, and confidence emanate such a charismatic aura.
Can it be Learned? Yes, with lots of efforts. Most people who weren't born truly charismatic will never be, that's the cold truth. There is a magic about the true charisma, the one that really captivates other people and draw others to the reality of the true leader. This is the ultimate attribute. One who has it, goes very far in life, thats for sure. Doors open to him. People want to help the one who's got this powerful charisma. In order to achieve this, one should first have to get the other attributes i stated above, so the chance of achieving this attribute get higher. But when you achieve it, you will know; out of nowhere you will notice people want to help you in everything for reasons that you don't really know. Here's when you feel the real power of being a true leader.
Side Note: I probably didn't state some attributes, i didn't want to make the thread too long. There are many subcategories and informations to add to each attribute, but the thread would get endless if i stated each one.
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Conclusion
Except for good looks, most of these characteristics are present in the true leaders i stated as example in the beggining of the thread. Were they born or did they make a conscious effort to become such leaders?
Being a leader is easy; being a real leader is the hard stuff.
Can you imagine yourself with all the traits of this thread? Inspiring isnt it... One would have the possibility of accomplishing so much stuff in life. The person who carries such a personality and skills outshines others by miles.
Theoretically, with NLP, Personal Development and other stuff it should be possible to get there, but is it really?
Theoretically it should... But seems like the void might be too big; there might be not enough time in a lifetime to build such a huge bridge between a normal person's skills and personality and the skills and personality of a true leader.