Lead….

Foresight, respect, understanding, empathy, emotional intelligence….just to name a few a characteristics. As an effective leader the need for power can’t be in your wheel house. There has to come a time when being “in charge” no longer matters as much as accomplishing whatever the collective goal is. Will there be times when you will need to assert dominance? Yes. Those situations are few and far in between in the life of an effective leader. Along with some of the traits I mentioned you also have to be of the mindset that “empowerment is key….”. Those who fall under your command should be given ways to sharpen their leadership skills as well. In the flip side I also do not believe that leadership can be taught, I believe is to be cultivated or nurtured. Some people are born to lead and others to follow. Everyone can’t be in charge….though everyone can be responsible. Being a service member, leadership is promoted throughout all ranks but you can see a clear distinction between who has “it” and who doesn’t. From what I’ve seen the ones that do…have a very charismatic way about them which allows them to bend but not break when it comes to building relationships and what comes with maintaining them. Those who don’t have “it” tend to struggle when it’s their time to shine and it shows. A hidden gem within the list of characteristics I mentioned is….RELATIONSHIP BUILDING. You can’t make the needle move on anything without having solid relationship to use as a bridge between you and your goal.