Leadership Demands More: 11 Major Attributes of Leadership

The actual value of your brains may be determined by the amount of income you can produce (by marketing your services).  Money is worth no more than brains. It is often worth much less. ––Napoleon Hill

My Experience

I have met few real leaders in my 30 plus years of working life and many jerks – big understatement – of both sexes.

They were either liars, did not know their jobs, shirked their responsibilities, ruled by fear and intimidation tactics, practised nepotism, were unable to plan, could not make decisions and were quick to pass the buck or a combination of some or all of these points. In a few words, they were very small people!

Real Leaders

However, those with whom I had pleasure to work showed me by their actions that leadership does demand more and they ably fulfilled Napoleon Hill's 11 major attributes of leadership in Chapter 7, Organized Planning: The Crystallization of Desire Into Action - Step 6.

And over the years – which I now realise – I implemented what I learned in my personal and professional lives. It made my journey through the trash well worth the trip! And it continues...

Types of leaders

You are either a leader by consent or by force. People will not willingly follow a bully for long. They want to be treated like human beings and partners in mutual cooperation. After all, everyone is striving for recognition and mutual profit and not necessarily in that order.

1. Unwavering Courage:  This is based on knowledge of yourself and your job. No one wants to follow a boss who lacks self-confidence and the courage of his convictions, and the intelligent follower will not stick around very long either.
2. Self-Control:  The leader who cannot control himself or herself cannot control others. Self-control sets the example and the more intelligent subordinate will take note and emulate this.
3. A Sense of Justice:  When a leader is not fair and just he cannot command and retain staff.
4. A Decision-Maker:  If you are hesitant in your decision-making, it shows that you are unsure of yourself. Therefore you are not a leader.
5. Solid Plans:  Successful leaders plan and work their plans. Guesswork without solid plans is like a ship without a rudder. You will eventually land on the rocks!  
6. Do More Than You're Paid For:  Leaders do more than they demand of their staff.
7. A Pleasant Personality:  A slovenly, careless person cannot be a successful leader. Leadership demands respect: if your staff do not respect you, you cannot lead or motivate them.
8. Sympathy and Understanding:  A successful leader must understand his or her staff and their particular issues. In other words, he or she must be a people person and that does not mean "chummy".
9. Mastery of Detail:  Leaders must master the details of their job: it must be at their fingertips and on the tips of their tongues.
10. Willingness to Assume Full Responsibility: "The buck stops here" must be the attitude when faced with a staff's shortcomings. A leader who tries to shift the blame will not remain so for long – BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is a perfect case in point. And when a subordinate is incompetent, the leader must consider that he or she has failed.
11. Cooperation:  The successful leader must understand and apply the principle of cooperative effort and be able to persuade his team to do the same. Leadership calls for power and power calls for cooperation. 

It is no disgrace to be a follower. On the other hand, it is no credit to remain a follower.  Most great leaders began as followers... because they were intelligent followers.  An intelligent follower has many advantages, among them the opportunity to acquire knowledge from his leader. ––Napoleon Hill