Down the Rabbit Hole

Leaders Are...

30 Day Blogging Challenge
PROMPT November 19th
What characteristics do you admire in a leader? Is there or was there a time in your life when you took on a leadership role? Research different leadership styles and describe which style you would most like to follow. Which style are you? When you are in a leadership position, do you exemplify the qualities you admire in a good leader?

I would love to say I researched leadership styles to fully address this prompt but I'm still wondering how I'm going to fit everything I had to get done into today so my time is too limited I'm afraid. I have twelve minutes before my meeting from hell with the man-babies start so I'm going to do my best with what is already in my head (the quality of what is already in my head is understandably debatable I realize lol)We could use a real leader today...hence the man-babies

The qualities I admire in a leader are thoughtfulness, intelligence, fairness and the willingness to do whatever it takes. I do not admire leaders who deliver directives and then sit back and supervise. I think a leader should empower others first and foremost. They should be appreciative and open to ideas, they should be ambitious and engaged. I have had leaders who were deplorably bad. I have watched them disparage and discourage their employees. I had one boss who was borderline abusive. Luckily, these experiences were few and far between.

I am a type A personality and so, I tend to gravitate toward the opportunity to lead projects or group assignments. I really try to be the kind of leader I respect, one who listens to their team and gives weight to their suggestions. I think good leader recognizes the different skill sets available in any situation and tries to find the way to best utilize those resources to help their team achieve the goal. Sometimes I have to check my natural bossy-ness, sometimes I have to pull back and let someone else take the reins when they have a better angle. That is difficult for me but it is something I work on to be effective in my job. I know when I get it right because we are the most productive. I think knowing how to motivate people, how to engage them and make them feel investing in something is very important.

I hope I am the kind of leader my Dad was when he first started out. I remember watching him with his employees and knowing how much they all respected him. They would have followed him into whatever venture he chose for the company because they trusted him and had faith in his abilities.