Leadership & Goals

Leaders must be tough enough to fight, tender enough to cry, human enough to make mistakes, humble enough to admit them, strong enough to absorb the pain, and resilient enough to bounce back and keep on moving. – Jessie Jackson

A true leader must have a real and honest understanding of who they are, what they want to achieve, their level of knowledge and abilities and be smart enough to know that their followers determine their how successful they will be. Therefore it is important to realize that it is important for your followers to trust and believe in you and what you want to accomplish. If your followers lack such trust and confidence in your goals and leadership abilities then this will lead you and your followers to nothing but failure. Why? Because there is no unity; no common goal. To be a successful leader your followers must be motivated to assist you in achieving your ultimate goal. They must believe that you are worthy of being followed.

Know Your People

The best way to know your followers is by communicating with them both verbally and through your actions. That old addage "actions speak louder than words" holds true in most cases and should always be considered. As a matter of fact, a good leader sets the ultimate example by being willing to get down and dirty with their followers. This communicates to your followers that you are more than willing to do anything you ask of them. It also screams that you are not too good to do whatever you ask them to do. This is the best communication and it affords you the luxury of letting your followers know that they can trust in you, while keeping the lines of communication open. A good leader is aware of the fact that communication can and will either build or damage relationships with followers if it is mishandled or ignored all together. So beware to pay attention to how you communicate with your followers. Good leaders speak and listen.

Leader or Bossy?

While your position as leader gives you the authority to accomplish your goals and objectives with the assistance of faithful followers, this power makes you the boss but you must know the difference in being the boss and being bossy so again communication comes into play. A good leader is aware of the fact that leadership is situational and differs accordingly but is NEVER overbearing and over-demanding. It is the total opposite as it makes followers want to achieve your goals, rather than resent them. It is emergent leadership that is used here and that influences your followers, not bossiness.

To be a good leader you must know how to lead, how to motivate, and how to get things accomplished without stepping on any toes, unless its unavoidable. Even then, a good leader finds a way to communicate hardships without stomping on motivation!

-PEACEFUL JOURNEYS