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Potential New Leaders

By jgiroux ⋅ August 28, 2008 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Spotting a New Leader by Fred Smith provides insight into some of the traits to look for when identifying future leaders, which he describes the following 10 signs of leadership potential.

1. Leadership in the past. “The best predictor of the future is the past.”

2. The capacity to create or catch vision. “When I talk to people about the future, I want their eyes to light up. I want them to ask the right questions about what I’m talking about…… A person who doesn’t feel the thrill of challenge is not a potential leader.”

3. A constructive spirit of discontent. “Some people would call this criticism, but there’s a big difference in being constructively discontent and being critical. If somebody says, ‘There’s got to be a better way to do this,’ I see if there’s leadership potential by asking, ‘Have you ever thought about what that better way might be?’ If he says no, he is being critical, not constructive. But if he says yes, a constructive spirit of discontent challenges him. That’s the unscratchable itch. It is always in the leader. People locked in the status quo are not leaders.”

4. Practical ideas. “Highly original people are often not good leaders because they are unable to judge their output; they need somebody else to say, ‘This will work’ or ‘This won’t.’”

5. A willingness to take responsibility. “Carrying responsibility doesn’t intimidate me, because the joy of accomplishment—the vicarious feeling of contributing to other people—is what leadership is all about.”

6. A completion factor. “Dale Carnegie used to say, ‘I know men in the ranks who will not stay in the ranks. Why? Because they have the ability to get things done.’ In the military, it is called ‘completed staff work.’ With potential leaders, when the work comes in, it’s complete. The half-cooked meal isn’t good enough.”

7. Mental toughness. “No one can lead without being criticized or without facing discouragement. A potential leader needs a mental toughness. I don’t want a mean leader; I want a tough-minded leader who sees things as they are and will pay the price… Leadership creates a certain separation from one’s peers. The separation comes from carrying responsibility that only you can carry.”

8. Peer respect. Peer respect doesn’t reveal ability, but it can show character and personality…. Maxey Jarmen used to say, ‘It isn’t important that people like you. It’s important that they respect you. They may like you but not follow you. If they respect you, they’ll follow you, even if perhaps they don’t like you.’”

9. Family respect. “I also look at the family of a potential leader: Do they respect him or her?”

10. A quality that makes people listen to them. “Potential leaders have a ‘holding court’ quality about them. When they speak, people listen. Other people may talk a great deal, but nobody listens to them. They’re making a speech; they’re not giving leadership. I take notice of people to whom others listen.”

One of the great values in leadership is the development of new leaders. A good leader is only as good as the leaders he produces because that’s the most effective way of multiplying influence.

Tags: Challenges, Constructive Spirit, Dale Carnegie, Discontent, Fred Smith, Good Leaders, Insight, Leadership, New Leaders, Signs, Staff Work, Status Quo, Willingness