The Four Characteristics of a Great Leader
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I had the privilege of attending the recent 21st Century Leadership Speaking Event with General Colin Powell. It was a last minute attendance. I received a phone call about an hour before the event from a colleague who had an extra ticket. The event was very well attended by many of Vancouver’s elite including Permiere Gordon Campbell. Gen. Powell spoke on a variety of topics including his views on the War in Iraq, the upcoming Presidential election, and the current state of the World economy.
Besides Gen. Powell’s comfortable demeanor and powerful presence, I was really impressed with the simplicity of his wisdom. As a leadership junkie, I am always looking for tidbits of knowledge from proven leaders. As Gen. Powell spoke I twittered the nuggets so that I wouldn’t forget them later, not to mention it drives my sms twitter fans nuts cause I end up posting twenty or more posts in the span of about an hour.
Here is what I learned from Colin Powell:
The principals of leadership have remained the same. Followers accomplish the goals set by the leader. This is in line with the definition of leadership that I learned:
Leadership is the art of influencing human behaviour so as to accomplish a mission in the manner so desired by the leader.
Great Leaders…
- communicate their passion, they make they passion infectious.
- invest in their followers by giving the tools they need to be successful.
- recognize their followers and praise them when praise is due.
- are strong enough to recognize when a follower is not working out and are able to remove them.
The quote I will take away with me…
“You’ll know that you are good leader when your followers will follow you just out of curiosity”
Gen. Powell later clarified that curiosity can be replaced with trust.
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