The following is an overview of the traits that makeup great leaders. I suggest that as you read them, take a long hard look at yourself and determine if you display these traits in your day to day interactions with the people you surround yourself with.
Integrity: Do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason, regardless whose watching.
Generosity: Be generous with your time and with your money because you always get back more than you give.
Friendliness: Simply put, be approachable. The three C’s of Leadership are Consideration, Caring and Courtesy.
Gratitude: Be grateful for the opportunity that life has given you and absolutely committed to taking full advantage of the opportunity.
Attitude: Attitude is Altitude. Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to it. It is your positive attitude at the beginning of a difficult task that determines its successful outcome.
Perseverance: Keep on Keeping on. The problem is not about how many times you get knocked down, the problem is staying down.
Passion: Love what you do, Do what you love and deliver more than you promise. Be passionate about the industry you are in and the people you serve.
Motivation: Motive and Action. Motive is the reason, purpose or cause and Action is thereafter taken on that reason, purpose and cause.
Dedication: We all must be dedicated to the people we serve by exceeding our customer’s expectations, every time, every day. Dedicated to our own personal and professional development as well as the people you lead.
Excellence: Going far beyond the call of duty, doing more than others expect…. This is what excellence is all about. And it comes from striving, maintaining the highest standards, looking after the smallest detail, and going the extra mile. Excellence means doing your very best, in everything, in every way.
(I must admit that the above definition came from a picture in my office, but I just had to use it because it is a great definition.)
Optimism: See the light at the end of the tunnel as the goal, the objective, what you are struggling for, striving for and moving towards and not the light on a freight train fixing to run over you and you turn and run away.