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Leadership Defined

In: Other Topics

Submitted By tre703
Words 608
Pages 3
Thomas Harris

20 September 2011

C. Montesi

SOC 424

Leadership Defined

Many people believe that you have to be in a position to advise or manage somebody to be a leader; some also believe that in order to be a leader you have to have accomplished a feat of some kind or been elected to office. However, my definition of a leader is different. In order to be a leader, I believe three qualities must be present: the ability to think for oneself, a gift for inspiring others, and having been a follower before.

Leaders must always be able to think for themselves. To elaborate, that does not mean that a leader cannot take suggestions from others and be inspired by their followers; it means that as a leader you should be able to make your own decisions without being influenced or bribed. The leader is the head on the body, the director of the band, the person calling the shots. Usually there are people that give insight to how a leader can do better or what the followers want, but ultimately it is the leader that makes the decisions. This ability to think and act alone is what separates the leaders from the followers.

In addition to solo thinking, a leader should be able to inspire others to do something meaningful. A leader is not limited to a parent, teacher, or president, because a leader can be anybody that shows you the way. When I think of leaders, I think of the people that are in a position I want to be in. I have friends that are leaders. They are the type to call me out when I do wrong or suggest a positive attitude when I believe it is impossible. The best example of a leader inspiring someone else is a General that leads his soldiers into battle. They have the soldiers ready to do anything necessary for the best interests of the army. Another person I consider a leader because of inspiration is a tutor or coach. They are there

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