Essential qualities of a good leader

John C. Maxwell once said, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” Leadership is a set of qualities that leaders possess so as to inspire others to learn more, do more and become more. I believe that the essential qualities of a good leader are the qualities of being sincere, confident and most importantly, resilient. Firstly, sincerity is essential for leadership as it is a natural extension of the leader’s personality and this allows for each leader to be unique in their own way. Actions speak louder than words and a sincere leader would ensure that he does not promise the sky. George Orwell said, “The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.” Therefore leaders should not pad conversations or employ verbal misdirection that dilutes their intended meaning which leads to insincerity, instead they should ensure that the serve others to the best of their abilities with zeal always in order to show their sincerity. Also with sincerity comes honesty, even though it is hard to always tell the truth, sincere leaders would not lie to others or disguise their emotions. This is not easy to achieve as lying and sugar coating can be the quickest way to escape from sticky situations or gain the approval of others. However, silence does not imply that one is insincere. Thus I personally feel that leadership without sincerity is baseless and it is essential for good leadership. Secondly, how is a leader going to lead without the confidence of always being the important decision maker and without the confidence that he will be backed up by his followers? Helen Keller once said, “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” If the followers of a leader realise that their leader lacks confidence, their trust in the leader will be significantly affected negatively. This is so as people would rather work with a leader who displays confidence, rather than a leader who is doubtful and pessimistic. Therefore firstly, the leader must believe in him or herself, otherwise leading the followers will be an uphill challenge. For example, in the movie U-571, a young Naval officer, Lt. Andrew Tyler finds himself in a dilemma while on a secret mission to take over a German U-boat. Faced with a vital decision, Lt. Tyler (Matthew McConaughey) is being stared down by his crew. His distress takes over and he states “I don’t know what to do.” Although he may say it coolly, it unnerves some of the crew, including his CPO (Harvey Keitel) who pulls him aside and dresses him down about leadership: “You're the skipper now. And the skipper always knows what to do - whether he does or not.” Real life reflects the same. The burden of an authoritative position is figuring out the path to productivity without all parties scattering under the pressure. You are the one to keep the pieces in place despite the situation. Therefore, confidence is the cornerstone of leadership. Thirdly, in order for leaders to be truly successful, they have to be resilient as being a leader, they will be met with challenges and hardships along the way. Nelson Mandela once said, “ The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but rising every time we fall.” Nelson Mandela is a classic example of a great leader who exhibited resilience even in the most trying to situations, he was imprisoned for 27 years, isolated from any friends or family, yet he never lost sight of his cause and instead, with the help of other prisoners, formed a community in prison known as “Robben Island University”. This community not only gave the prisoners an opportunity to exercise and develop their mental muscle, it became their community and created the social support network so important in maintaining their emotional resilience. Other than being socially involved in his darkest times, Nelson Mandela was also very resilient in his personal mission, emotional management and physical wellbeing. Therefore, leaders need to have vigour and vivacity so as to always try again and never give up. As the saying goes, “Behind every scar there is an untold story of survival.”
In conclusion, leadership is made up of several different roles, responsibilities and functions. A leader’s ability to negotiate, communicate, influence and persuade others is indispensable. Effective leaders can competently organise the cooperation and assistance of other people to accomplish goals and objectives. Thus, I believe that the three essential qualities of a good leader is to lead by setting an example, showing sincerity, leading by never giving up and losing faith, always having resilience to never let anyone down, and to have the confidence to lead.