Nowadays, being a leader is often associated with someone who is a boss. However, after reading this book I came to the realization that many of the bosses I had were very far from being a leader. Leadership is much more than just a position because it requires a mixtures of morals and values and a set of skills.
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In his book Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill describes the major attributes that a leader should possess. It is well put together, in my opinion, as those are all traits that I would like to have seen in my bosses. Let me know what you think in the comments below, is there something you would add or remove?
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1 - "Unwavering Courage based upon knowledge of self, and of one's occupation. No follower wishes to be dominated by a leader who lacks self-confidence and courage. No intelligent follower will be dominated by such leader very long"
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2 - " Self - Control. The man who cannot control himself can never control others. Self - control sets a mighty example for one's followers, which the more intelligent will emulate."
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3 - "A Keen Sense of Justice. Without a sense of fairness and justice, no leader can command and retain the respect of his followers."
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4 - " Definiteness of Decision. The man who wavers in his decisions, shows that he is not sure of himself, cannot lead others successfully."
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5 - "Definiteness of plans - The successful leader must plan his work, and work his plan. A leader who moves by guesswork, without practical and definite plan, is comparable to a ship without a rudder. Sooner or later he will land on the rocks"
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6 - "The Habit of doing more than paid for. One of the penalty of leadership is the necessity of willingness, upon the part of the leader, to do more than he requires of his followers."
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7 - "A pleasing personality. No slovenly, careless person can become a successful leader. Leadership calls for respect. Followers will not respect a leader who does not grade high on all of the factors of a pleasing personality."
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8 - "Sympathy & Understanding. The successful leader must be in sympathy with his followers. Moreover, he must understand them and understand their problems."
9 - "Mastery of detail. Successful leadership calls for mastery of details of the leader's position."
10 - "Willingness to assume full responsibility. The successful leader must be willing to assume responsibility for the mistakes and the shortcomings of his followers. If he tries to shift this responsibility, he will not remain the leader. If one of his followers make a mistake, and shows himself incompetent, the leader must consider that is he the one who failed."
11 - "Cooperation. The successful leader must understand and apply the principle of cooperative effort and be able to induce his followers to do the same. Leaderships calls for power, and power calls for cooperation."
So what do you think about this list? Do you think Napoleon Hill did a good job at describing the attributes of a leader? Let me know in the comments below and if you like the review please like it and share with a friend that needs this.
Enjoy the sweet side life