The qualities of a good leader
Whenever and wherever human beings are gathered together in large numbers, they need leadership. Even children need their school prefects and schools captains! Armies need Generals. Civilians need governments, captains of industry and intellectual leaders of thought as well. Men whether of the East or the West, require to be led and each group ‘throws up’ its own leaders in each succeeding generation. Whether in the school-room, or on the battlefield or in governmental deliberations, people who are natural leaders and who are chosen to lead, always have the same qualities of character and of outlook.
In the first place, it is the personal qualities that count for most, in other words, the personality. A leader, in any sphere, must be someone who can be looked up to and respected. His personal judgment must be trusted and he must be able to evoke love and warmth from those he leads. So the, the first quality of a leader is that he must have the ability to win over men’s hearts.
Secondly, he must have intellectual control over his followers and a mind that is capable of assimilation what is true and what is right and then of exerting this over others. It is useless, no matter what personal qualities or what intellectual prowess a man may have, if he lacks the initiative and the will to lead and to rally men around him. He must also, in his search for truth have great powers of concentration.
Again, a leader must possess this mysterious thing we call “character” is meant strength of will, clarity of mind, tenacity and determination. In other words “character” is knowing what you want to do and being ruthlessly determined to do it.
Men and women will not follow a gloomy person ! Therefore a kind sense of humor and a sense of optimism are two other essential qualities of a good leader. He must also, not only be a good judge of thins and of events, but of people too, so that he can select good subordinates. He must also show and practice such virtues as self-control, temperance and moderation, so that not only his body, but also his mind are always at their best, healthy and sharpened like finely tempered steel.
Whether a religious faith is a necessary quality of a leader is arguable. Many of our famous leaders today, are of different religious faiths and some have no faith at all. But in any event, they are all driven and motivated by some inward force and some ideology. Nehru and Tito are examples of this. So too, are Prophet Mohammed, Gauthama Buddha and Jesus Christ taken from history. These three were, if the numbers of their followers are anything to judge by, very good leaders indeed, and all of them had their own inward convictions and beliefs.
If can be said that great leaders are born with all or some of the qualities that go to make for leadership, but this is not necessarily the case. Leadership can be trained and trained and many men who may have a spark of the qualities needed, can develop and show great powers of leadership in certain situations. A war illustrates this point best of all, and there are sadly too many examples of ‘leaders’ whose outstanding qualities have only been brought out by the events surrounding them.
There is, to the good leader and the bad leader, of which Hitler, is a striking example of bad leader because it is possible to have all the qualities of leadership without the most important one of all. This is a moral sense of right and wrong and the right kind of “love” which is emphasized in many of the world’s great religions. This is true not only of international figures like Adolf Hitler, but also in smaller figures. The “gangs” of youths, typical of both East and West, whose members are led to violence and lawlessness are invariably led and inspired by leaders without a moral sense of right and wrong.
The final test of a good leader is, of course, the question :- “Do men follow him ?” The answer will be “Yes” if, combined with strength of character, the ability to evoke love, a clear brain and a fair minded outlook, he also has a knowledge and respect for truth, honesty and fair play. Such a man surely possesses the spark of leadership and men will look p to him and follow him.
