The Truth About Good Leaders

I've had many good leaders in my life that have truly benefited me. I read once that even a superstar needed a good leader. I don't call myself a superstar but I can see that even the person at the top needs someone to believe in and inspire them. I believe the truth that it's lonely at the top, but a good leader always inspires others - even the ones at the top. Here are some of the qualities that I think exist in a good leader:

A good leader inspires their people to be the best they can be. They tell them what they don't know and understand that when someone assumes their role - they automatically move up (they keep growing - just because they no longer have that role doesn't mean they go backward...no, they go forward.)

A good leader follows rules and respects authority. They don't tell their people to do things "their way." They believe in their organization and support what it says.

A good leader hopes their people will back up their words with action. They give their people room to learn and grow and hope they will learn and grow. They never stop hoping even when their people make mistakes because they know that people learn from their mistakes and become more.

A good leader is merciful. They forgive when their people come to them and admit they did something wrong. They wipe the slate clean and forget about the past. They don't hold grudges and condemn people for who they are but inspire them to become more than the people thought possible.

A good leader inspires their people...from their people's perspective. They don't expect their people to think like them - because their people get stressed and think I can never be like that - but they say things that cause their people to consider possibilities.

A good leader is a regular person. They aren't perfect but are willing to do things that others aren't. They get called courageous, inspiring, and other things but it all comes down to one thing, namely that they act; that they do what others only wish. 

Some leaders are in the public's eye like Oprah, Ellen, Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr., The Dalai Lama, Thomas S. Monson, and others. We think I could never be like them. The truth is that everyone is a leader. Everyone inspires someone whether they're a parent, a spouse, a friend, or a co-worker. Everyone has the same opportunity to lift up or to drag down, to see the best or to see the worst, to forgive or to hold a grudge.

I've heard people say, "This world needs heroes." I believe that anyone can be a hero. A hero is based upon the choices they make and who they are. I hope that everyone will believe in themselves and become what the world needs.