The Mindset of a Great Leader

It’s hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse. ­– Adlai E. Stevenson (Two-time US presidential aspirant)

Leadership does not begin with an office. It has been said a million times over that you can lead from the middle of the pack. Inclusively, even the pillars of leadership; vision, integrity, taking initiative, and the like, are not sufficient to put you on the right leadership pedestal. This is so because leadership also does not begin with a mechanical adherence to principles. I am certain that you have seen “leaders” that do all the right things but can at best be referred to as poor leaders. You see, he is not a leader that does not think he is a leader. So, in essence, leadership begins with an attitude of the mind.

To develop the mindset of leadership you must first have a healthy self-esteem. Your self-esteem is your estimation of yourself – the worth you place of yourself. In itself it remains in neutral but you make it positive or negative. A healthy self-esteem brings with it confidence in your ability, courage to face daunting situations, a listening ear to every person involved in the task and a proactive rather than reactive attitude toward criticisms. An unhealthy self-esteem shows itself in an attitude of despair, worry, fear, and the like. A leader with a healthy self-esteem will emanate all the positives, while the opposite will be the case for a leader with an unhealthy self-esteem.

In addition to the attitude tool-kit of a leader, there must be an openness and boldness to permit creativity and innovation in everyday activities. Many leaders cannot face change, especially when it is initiated by someone other than themselves. You must be able to entertain creative and innovative suggestions. This may mean that you admit your own suggestions are not as innovative as the new ones suggested.

Finally, a leader must have a mindset that understands that authority in itself is a burden. This means that you must first be able to submit to authority for you to understand how and why people should submit to your authority. If folks would submit to your authority you must have a mindset that tells you it isn’t an opportunity to exploit but a responsibility to serve because a great leader, at the end of the day, is simply a great servant.