A few days ago on Project Hope, we ran a competition for people to submit examples of great leaders and to explain the attributes these leaders had to make them great. There were many great submissions to the contest and I read all of them as a judge. They made me think a lot about leadership and reflect on what makes a leader a great leader.
I thought therefore that I would share a few things that I learnt from reading these great posts.
Visionary Leadership
Many leaders become great because they have a compelling vision. Perhaps one of the greatest visionary leaders was Martin Luther King who @wiseagent wrote about. King is obviously famous for his "I have a dream" speech where his vision drove the civil rights movement forward in the US and still resonates with some of the struggles we continue to have today. King didn't come with a 10 point plan - he came with a dream. And dreams inspire people.
It is clear though from history, that what may be an inspirational dream of some, is not shared by all. Hitler had a dream too and obviously not everyone aspires to his vision. In modern times, Trump also has a vision of "make America great again" that inspires so many (I am not comparing him to Hitler) and with this simple dream, Trump has persuaded so many people to vote for him. Again, not everyone would agree with his vision.
So a greater leader needs a vision that is compelling to the masses.
Moral Leadership
We hold many leaders in high moral regard. For example, @giocondina wrote about Mahatma Gandhi who undoubtedly took the higher moral ground with his pacifist approach. @adechina wrote about Nelson Mandela which was also @mariela53 choice of leader. Similarly, @janettyanez wrote about Mother Teresa and @oredebby wrote about Pastor Sam.
"I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people."
Mahatma Gandhi
Perhaps in the depths of history, the great leaders were warriors such as Genghis Khan or Ragnar Lodbrok. However, in modern times we see these leaders as brutal. Today's great leaders have much higher morals and as such, most would not see Kim Jong Il or Robert Mugabe as great leaders that set a moral standard for us to follow.
Optimistic Leadership
Great leaders also tend to bring an energetic and relentless optimism that keeps their followers going even through hard times. From the world of business, @josevas217 chose to write about Henry Ford who looked after his workers through the hard times which led them to follow him through hardship to success.
Some people wrote about leaders within our own community and @fucho80 chose to write about @crypto.piotr and similarly @ramsesuchiha wrote about @lanzjoseg
Great leaders such as those in our own Project Hope community help others to succeed even when it's hard. We are often thrown obstacles in our lives, such as coronavirus or the blockchain split resulting in Hive, and great leaders take on the challenge and find a path for their communities to follow through.
“The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”
John Maxwell
Legacy
When we look back through the history of great leaders the one characteristic that I believe is the most important for defining a great leader is their legacy. Great leaders like Mandela, King and Gandhi leave a legacy behind them that is as powerful decades later as it was at the time. To define greatness, we need to see results. If a leader cannot deliver, then however great their speeches were, they will be forgotten as time passes.
"Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes."
Peter F. Drucker
Thanks to all who took part in the competition and gave so much insight into leadership qualities. Thanks also to Project Hope for making the contest possible and @crypto.piotr and @juanmolina for helping judge the entries.
Solid takeaways. Thanks for sharing this summary @Awah. Though I could not curate the entries, consuming this piece is quite informing. I had mentioned to give out 1 HIVE each to those who missed out of the rewards. Please, who were they?
Hi @uyobong
Thanks for your comment. I learnt a lot from reading the entries and there were some great leaders mentioned and discussed. The runners up who missed out on the reward from project hope were.....
@jossduarte
@prechyrukky
@hairyfairy
@giocondina
@face2face
@mariela53
@oredebby
@janettyanez
For a fact, a leader must have the quality of being ready to serve. A saying goes thus >
"If you're too big to serve, then you are too small to lead".
A leader must see others first before him or herself, that is when we know a true leader. Thanks for the more insight @awah.
It was a priveledge participating too. It made me understand more about leadership.
Hi @oredebby
Thanks for your comment and participation. Thanks 👍
The much we can all learn from these readings is invaluable.
I agree, that is the power of having such a diverse community. There is so much to learn from each other.
Thanks for your comment @jossduarte
Dear @awah
Another interesting piece. It seem that topic of leadership is very important to you :)
I've read those posts too and my impression is that we all missed one important feature of good leader. What would that be? Seeing how does he react during crisis situation? If your leader can be calm, level-headed and work towards finding solution from challenging crisises.
That's how we get to know real leaders. Simply because it's easy to lead during good times. And it's a very different story during difficult and challenging times.
Solid read. Upvoted already :)
Enjoy your day, Piotr
hi @crypto.piotr
Thanks for your comment, I have only just got around to responding.
This is a good point. Leading through a crisis or through distress is an important characteristic. I have seen this whilst mountaineering and when a calamity fell on our group, one person shone as a natural leader to bring the group to safety.
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