Being a leadership class, we should at some point discuss what it means to be a leader. It is only natural to not get around to that topic until halfway through the semester, right? Well, no matter when we had the discussion, it was still a good one. We generated adjectives used to describe what makes a good leader. And while many of the ones we came up with were from our trip to Gettysburg, they still apply to leaders outside of the military and the 19th century. I used the list we generated to start my response for an application I recently filled out to become a leader on an organization I'm involved with. Below is the response I typed to the question "What is your definition of a leader? What qualities are necessary for a good leader to possess?"
A good leader is a person who communicates their dedication effectively. This means that a leader has to clearly make their point so that the listeners understand the goal and can successfully accomplish the goal at hand. Listening to what others have to say is very important to being a good communicator. How can you make a point or know the whole story in a situation if you do not hear what others have to say. By listening, a leader can judge how effectively they have communicated the mission to the rest of the organization. Dedication is another factor. A leader has to be dedicated to their goal, to their board members to themselves. If a leader is not dedicated to their own ideas, why should anyone else believe them? If a leader does not support the board, why would the board go and support the leader? If a leader is not passionate about an event, program or the organization as a whole, how can they effectively communicate the passion and dedication that it takes to run an organization like Hillel? For these reasons, a leader is a person who communicates their dedication effectively.
A good leader is a person who communicates their dedication effectively. This means that a leader has to clearly make their point so that the listeners understand the goal and can successfully accomplish the goal at hand. Listening to what others have to say is very important to being a good communicator. How can you make a point or know the whole story in a situation if you do not hear what others have to say. By listening, a leader can judge how effectively they have communicated the mission to the rest of the organization. Dedication is another factor. A leader has to be dedicated to their goal, to their board members to themselves. If a leader is not dedicated to their own ideas, why should anyone else believe them? If a leader does not support the board, why would the board go and support the leader? If a leader is not passionate about an event, program or the organization as a whole, how can they effectively communicate the passion and dedication that it takes to run an organization like Hillel? For these reasons, a leader is a person who communicates their dedication effectively.
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