Leaders lead people. That may sound obvious yet it is often overlooked. For a leader to be effective he must have followers. Leaders earn their followers by exerting influence. James C. Georges, of Par Training Corporation, notes, “Hitler was a leader and so was Jim Jones, Jesus of Nazareth, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy And Ronald Regan were all leaders.” From this beginning it is plain to see that leaders are not necessarily ethical, moral or righteous but they do necessarily have followers. Leaders are not all rich, white or smart but they do all have followers. Leaders in fact are hard to pigeonhole, they have many diverse character traits. However, they usually are capable of expressing through words (like Hitler) or deeds (like Gandhi) their vision. They are frequently gifted at developing others understanding the importance of grooming their replacement. These are merely two traits common to successful leaders in or out of the business- world.
Why do people follow? What gives a man like Terry Bradshaw, a four-time Super Bowl champion, the ability to motivate a group to grown men
to overachieve and obtain greatness? People like Bradshaw are gifted communicators. They seem to posses an innate ability to get into the heads of their listeners or readers. In the case of a Super Bowl Quarterback his ability to lead is demonstrated in the huddle and he exerts his influence and demands the best of his teammates. Some people exert their influence by virtue of their position or title. Leaders who rely on this means of leadership rarely reach the level of success obtained by people who earn their leadership by virtue of their behavior. Bradshaw was a winner throughout his college days; even though few of his college teammates went on to enjoy professional success. Bradshaw has continued his success in the broadcasting booth. He has been able to parlay his down-home appeal into acting roles and a leadership position on FOX sports. He continues to exert his leadership ability each Sunday on the television.
All leaders seem to posses the ability and desire to develop others to continue their work. Leaders understand the importance of developing others to take over the reins once they are gone. Jesus led his disciples a
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