What is the key characteristic of leadership?

OB1Shinobi wrote:

Trisskar wrote:

Competent Action

Thank you! Thats where i was coming from also. Strange it wasnt the first thing on the list imo. Maybe its just so obvious that no one thinks its necessary to even mention it?

I find people like to focus on all the mushy happy things "A good leader is: honest, loyal, inspiring...." bleh bleh bleh.... And yea. Sure. These are all great qualities.

But if you do not initiate action and display a level of Competence in said action.....then you don't have any of the others listed above. And if you do "Act" with "Competence" Then you are naturally displaying everything else because that is not a "Leadership" thing but simply a "Good Person" thing.

I just recently got back from a long Soul Journey. We went to Escalante Utah where we Hiked through some very rough terrain. Very...very rough....It was harsh and tasking. Our "Leader" started out as my Uncle. He was the one that organized and planned the trip....but....he proved to be a bit....ummm....lacking....in common direction.

Now don't get me wrong....I am no Boy/Eagle scout like he was. My only claim to some level of skill is my weekly ruck marches in the park and common sense.

But I ACTED with COMPETENCE in said Common Sense.....

And ended up becoming a natural leader of the group. I naturally found the right trails to take - and took them of my own accord, I found the right places to set up camp - and did so because I wanted to. I used common sense in our marching pace and clean practice - because I refused to go any slower or faster than I knew was safe. The others followed me as a result - i never asked them to.

Not because I was good. Loyal. Honest. Inspiring.....

But because I was Competent and Acted on it.

Just my thoughts though.

OB1Shinobi wrote:

jzen wrote: Leadership is inspiring action through character in common virtue

I understand "character" but im not sure what you mean by "character in common virtue". Could you elaborate?

Sure It's a common set of core values or ideals that a group of people adhere to. It can be anything under the banner of common mission or goal. I hope that makes sense

jzen wrote:

OB1Shinobi wrote:

jzen wrote: Leadership is inspiring action through character in common virtue

I understand "character" but im not sure what you mean by "character in common virtue". Could you elaborate?

Sure It's a common set of core values or ideals that a group of people adhere to. It can be anything under the banner of common mission or goal. I hope that makes sense

Lol, to further clarify, Leadership occurs in groups of people. Groups are linked by some common thread or cause. Leadership within each group occurs when one displays character (or the most esteemed ideals of the group...their common virtues) and inspires others towards those same common actions or virtues of the group.

Kyrin Wyldstar wrote:

JamesSand wrote:
I believe my point was that the welfare of your mates is the highest priority.

LOL that was a lot of words to just say this. However I still disagree. What your talking about is balancing the mission against the resources to complete that mission and that's not what I'm talking about. Ive never said anything about management of resources. What I said was how far are you willing to go when the mission DOES outweigh the mates. And yes there are times when this happens.

Human lives are always more valuable than a "mission." The only time, in my opinion, that a "mission" should be judged more valuable than any human life is when the mission is one that will save more lives than are lost in carrying out the mission. There is such a thing as a Pyrrhic victory you know.

As far as how far I'm willing to go in those cases where the "mission" actually does outweigh the potential costs? Well...there are very few things I'd be willing to die for, but there are some.