Characteristics Of a True Leader

I have been thinking a lot about true leadership lately and what that really means.

When I think of good examples of leaders in my life the first person who comes to mind is Jesus Christ:The perfect example in everything.  The next people would be my parents and my In-laws and then my wonderful Grandparents! {not necessarily in that order}

But, why would I even call them a leader? What does being a leader mean anyway? The basic definition of a "leader" from the Miriam-Websters Online Dictionary says," [To Lead, is] to go at the head of (2) : to be first in or among (3) : to have a margin over."

This definition has a lot to be desired! Did the Savior, my parents, in-laws and Grandparents  go "at the head of" or "to be first in or among?" They sure did!  But,  what is not said in the definition is what makes them great examples of True leaders.  And that is their character.

Now the Savior was perfect, but does that mean we have to be perfect to be good leaders?  Nope!  But, there are key characteristics  that set them apart from everyone{or in other words, "to have margin over"}.

From my experiences and observations true leaders posses at least these few mentioned characteristics.

1. True Leaders have a solid "Center" of Principles~True leaders  have values, standards, personal commitments, mission statements, creeds, motto's , beliefs etc. that they keep no matter what.  It means more to them to keep a commitment than to do what is popular or convenient at the time.


2. True Leaders "Care" about everyone~ I have observed that the a true effective leader must care for others and want the best for others. This takes a great deal of humility and selflessness.


3. True Leaders "Serve"~When the Savior walked the earth it seemed this is all he did!  He served His Disciples, He served His family He served everyone around Him, even people He did not know!  And He still serves today through the Atonement.  If this is what the Savior did, how much more do we need to do this to be an effective, true leader!


4. True Leaders "Learn"~Have you ever heard of the phrase the best teachers are even better students?  Why? Because they never stop learning.  How can you teach if you haven't learned anything? Plus, information changes and improves all the time.   In addition, when we regurgitate old information our credibility becomes old as well.


5. True Leaders "Take Risks"~ In the definition above it indicates that leaders,"to be first in or among."  True Leaders take risks for many reasons! One may be because they know that all real learning happens outside the comfort zone.  Another may be because the benefits of the risk outweigh the risk itself.


6. True Leaders "Do Hard Things"~ True leaders know that success comes from doing things most of us just don't want to do...the hard, tedious boring stuff:) But, with the tedious, hard and boring stuff comes the part of  life that everyone wishes to live.

These are just some of the many qualities True Leaders posses.  There are so many true leaders in my life that I look up to and try to emulate.  Who are the True Leaders in your life?