7 leadership traits, you may shake your head in agreement or roll your eyes in bewilderment, you decide.

  I'm writing this blog without an idea what it will be about, I kind of want to write about the gross lack of leadership that has enveloped our country and indeed the world, I know leaders, I have worked for two good leaders and many more poor ones. Some of the traits leaders display are:
  1) They don't call people names, even their enemies are safe from it, real leaders figure out a way to make their differences work in a mutual way for both sides. They know there is no faster way to alienate or chase supporters away than using ethnic slurs and derogatory words directed towards individuals that are not as secure in their positions as they are. I was a supervisor in a plant working with another man who was the manager of 1/2 of the plant. This man was everything I am not, he stole over $100,000.00 worth of equipment, that was the amount he was caught with. He had a Christmas party, I did not attend, he got on a racist rant toward one other man, thinking he was a comedian. He was not funny, he was supposed to be a leader of people, he ended up being a litigant in court, and he lost. I was under investigation as well, when one incident happens most companies I have worked for assume the one case is the tip of the iceberg. I was exonerated, I don't call names and I have never used a racial slur. I tell my grand kids the same story and tell them if they want a problem, use a racial slur.

Respect is earned, it's not handed out like brochures at a rodeo.

  2) Leaders are listeners, the strongest leaders I have worked for listen with the intent of hearing what is being said. They gather all of the information they are able to until they have enough to discuss possible outcomes with the people assisting them. They typically do not "cut" people off in the middle of a sentence, and they repeat what is said, as to be perfectly clear in their understanding. A natural leader wants to hear opposing opinions, that makes decision-making easier with a bunch of options on the table. Leaders listen intently and give good solid answers seeking buy-in, they know co-operation is necessary when it comes time to enact the decisions being made. I have attended meetings, a lot of meetings as many people do, the last place I worked did not know how to have a meeting, leaders do. A management consultant was interviewing me, (a requirement of the company was to talk to this guy once a month, another sign of no leadership ability). He asked me what I thought of the companies supervisor meetings, my answer was as follows: Imagine being at a professional basketball game, the plant manager is the referee with the ball, and all of us supervisors are the players. The manager lobs the ball into the air, now when it comes time for the two centers to jump up to tip the ball, they stand there and watch it hit the ground and along with the other players watch it roll off the court. Nobody makes a move toward the ball. This manager would ask for volunteers for a project, the slinking down in the chairs was very noticeable, the strategic chairs that promise not to be noticed during the meetings were the first ones filled. Enthusiasm in that plant was at a bare minimum, created by people placed in a leadership role that was not leaders, and it stuck out like a sore thumb. I need to make a point here about myself, I do possess some leadership abilities, however, I am not a #1 leader, I can lead only when I am the number 2 guy.

This is what is suppose to happen, it didn't at the outfit I worked at.

  3) Leaders know their limits, I know I am not a number 1 leader, I am when there is a leadership void, but as soon as a real leader shows up I yield. They know that leaders know if they are weak or strong leaders, that's a problem when someone who is not is appointed to lead. They know when to delegate, and they don't delegate everything like non-leaders do, in fact, people who can not lead delegate freely, they see it as a position of strength. Delegation, when done correctly, does show strength, when done incorrectly it portrays laziness. They know what they know and never pretend to know something they have no idea about, that's when they delegate, then they learn.  If you would like to read more on leadership click this link.
  4) Leaders are not protective of their jobs, they know positions change rapidly, they always have someone in the wings they are preparing for their job. I was never in that position because it was always recognized as a #2 leader, valuable until they make me #1 in charge it then allows me to rise to the highest level of my own incompetence, I'm OK as a 2. Leaders include all parties involved in management with the budget, but not to the extreme, we are not all CPA's. A job I had as a maintenance supervisor was like that, my direct boss told me to go over the budget twice a day, that's 2 times a day. This plant had no less than 6 ladies working on it all day long, I had to drop accounting in College, the instructor told me it appeared I would never catch on. My boss told me to go over a ladies work, this lady very respectable in her field, she was (and still is I'm sure) and I was to check her work. I refused, it would have been more of a insult to her, and me as well, I could check mechanical work but never would I be able to check her work. I had three levels of management above me, and due to the plant manager not being a leader, he hired people with less leadership ability then he had. I don't know why they do that, most people think it's to make their job safe, but if they recognized natural leadership abilities in people wouldn't that enable them to see lack of leadership in themselves? They never do, they just hire incompetent people, then wonder when they struggle, no one can survive someone in a leadership role that protects his job, it's just a matter of time until the unit falls apart.
  5) Real leaders have an agenda, and they share that agenda with the people responsible for putting it in place, they do not hide information forcing the #2 to guess at the final result. I worked for a man who started out as a "pipefitter", and became a supervisor, he could only function in chaos. He would also withhold information on jobs we were working on, I could never figure out why he did that, we explained it by saying oh well "he's just a pipefitter." What he would do and it drove us crazy is when we were running a pipeline (I was a millwright) he would initially tell us "OK, run this pipe to that point there." it would be maybe 40 feet away taking us an hour or so. We would then have to go get him so he could tell us to run another 20 or 40 feet until we had to fetch him again. We would do that for weeks on end, he did it until his last day of work, I still can not figure why or how he learned to do that. He did have an agenda, but he did not include anyone else in one it, we had no idea what was in the batters box. It led to frustration and confusion, in the end everything worked out and the jobs were completed. leaders have a clear-cut agenda and they share it with the crew.

Plugging along getting the job done. 

  6) Leaders may not think outside the box themselves, many do, and most do recognize when someone in their employ does, leaders think independently. Never commenting on how strange or weird someone is, they use references such as "what an interesting person", or "he has unique thoughts". Never do they say "that guy's nuttier than a fruitcake", leaders welcome free thinkers and are quick to accept new ways and thoughts. Leaders welcome new fresh ideas, commonly making the observation that new, original thoughts are the rarest bird in the universe, leaders look for new ideas.
  7) Finally, leaders never dress down their subordinates in public, and when they do have to talk to someone they always leave the person under their employ a way out, a way out to keep their dignity intact. Leaders are not out to destroy people, they are out to help them achieve their goals because a real leader knows their strength is in the people working for them.
  Leadership is hard enough without making your employees your enemies, they are not your friends, leaders know that as well, but they do deserve respect. Leaders also know, whether learned in college or the world of hard knocks that respect is earned, it's not handed out like brochures at a rodeo, we all have to earn respect.
  At this point in time, I do not see anyone in our government displaying leadership qualities, from the president all the way through Congress, there are no leaders. While people in the disaster zones are all helping each other survive, once in a while someone ask's "where is FEMA?" Leaders emerge in a void, however in a locked up system like our government is, that void has been there for decades and will remain far off into the future. Unless the dangerous lack of leadership we are experiencing now ends up killing all of us. Yes, this comment is aimed at exactly who you think it is, I am not political, but this lack of leadership is to the point of endangering our very existence, making self-reliance more important than ever. A link to leadership styles.
  I read a quote once, I don't know who wrote it, I googled it and was unable to even find the quote, maybe a reader knows, if you do please tell me in the comments. The quote: "Where are the Champions of the people, the ones that have tried and failed, then tried again and won, where are they now that we need them?"
  Indeed, where are they? Thanks for reading and sharing, your comments are very much welcome.
jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com