Over the next few days, I will share the knowledge on leadership that I gained over last twelve months as I attained my masters. As with everything I do, I researched and surveyed many people to come up with some fundamental assets of good leadership qualities.
We all have an innate longing to create a legacy. Knowing that everyone has the ability to be a leader, the one question everyone should ask themselves is “What kind of legacy do I want to leave?” What we neglect to remember is that with legacy comes great responsibility. Leaders at all levels of a company need to understand and remember that to be successful you can’t do it alone. A leader must be able to inspire and motivate their team to be as passionate about the company as they are. There are two essential traits each leader must have, the ability to communicate and cast a vision.
One of the greatest leaders I have always admired is Walt Disney, he mastered the art of communicating his vision for the future. Walt’s ability to effectively communicate his vision for animation brought buy in from not only his loyal employees but also with investors to be able to build his dream. Creating a company that was the first animation studio to use sound and technicolor in animations, and finally creating full feature films. To this day, you will not hear conversations about animation and not hear Walt Disney’s name.
“I have a dream” remains four of the most recognized and powerful words to this day, spoken by another great leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. What is it about this phrase that has stood out for so many years? When Martin Luther King, Jr. used these words in his speech, he was not sharing a dream, but rather he was casting his vision to 250,000 supporters that stood with him at the Lincoln Memorial. King’s vision exclusively created some of the greatest change in America’s history.
Vision is the single most important aspect of your organization. Vision allows for a description of where you want to take your organization in the long-term and allows you to generate enthusiasm for the future. Creating or having a vision is not enough. You must be able to communicate this vision with passion and conviction to get your employees on board.
Come back tomorrow to see Part 2 of the fundamental assets of good leadership qualities.