There is no one definition of a leader. Leaders come in all shapes and sizes and can be found just about everywhere. You are probably a leader yourself! Every individual tasked with heading an organization, or part of it, is a leader. Any person who has other people reporting to him is a leader. He may be a bad leader, but nonetheless, he is a leader or is he?

To me, a leader is so much more than someone who simply has followers. Leadership should really have nothing to do with seniority or rank of someone in the hierarchy of an organization. It has nothing to do with titles and probably little to do with personal attributes. I dont think you need to be a person with extraordinary charisma to be a leader. And charismatic people aren't automatically leaders either.

So, what is leadership? According to me, and in no particular order, here is the basic anatomy of a true leader.

Good leaders are passionate about delivering results. While most mediocre leaders generally put too much emphasis on processes, good leaders care about making the company into something worth fighting for. They're willing to invest themselves. They're also motivated enough to not care about the status quo, constantly challenge themselves, and are willing to face adversity.

Passion should not be confused with style and substance. Passionate leaders do not have be loud they must be deep. Although most movies typically have us conjuring images of leaders as alpha males reveling in the art of yelling and melodramatic speech-making, it's quite different in the real world.

On the contrary, some of the great leaders in the past have been notorious introverts. Clement Atlee, Britains postwar Prime Minister, established the Welfare State despite communicating in short, cryptic, clipped sentences. Sir Owen Green, another introvert, established BTR, as a great company with a clear mission. Both had few words but great passion.

Passion alone isnt enough. Good leadership requires determination to persevere despite losses and setbacks. According to Winston Churchill,Never give in! Never give in! Never, never, never, never -- in nothing great or small, large or petty. Never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.

Grit and determination are the basic building blocks of any good leader. The true test of lies in their ability to weather the storm to lead their team through adversity, while still keeping themselves and everyone elsemotivated and focused on the end game.

Honest, Integrity and Trust

Its a well-known fact that people dont follow someone they dont trust. As a leader, it is important that you demonstrate qualities of transparency and openness. You must be willing to communicate what you think or feel, even though it may not be the popular opinion or feel downright uncomfortable.

These traits are essential for any leader to come across as someone who is legitimate and credible, and for him to develop loyalty with followers. Your followers need to have the belief that you have their back. This gives them the confidence to follow you wherever you lead them.

Vision and visionary two words that are often mistaken to mean the same thing. Chief executives are not usually visionaries.

To me, vision is being able to chart your way forward to be able to see where you are going and what lies ahead. Its the art of skillful navigation.

A vision is atool that good leaders wield to motivate people into action. When communicated with passion and clarity, their vision enables employees to act with a sense of purpose, helping ensure that everyone works toward fulfilling a common goal.

Imitation may be the best form of flattery, but this is certainly not true when it comes to good leadership. In the words of Oprah Winfrey, I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as Ive become. If I had, Id have done it a lot earlier.

Authenticity is closely tied to vision. Authentic leaders possess insight. I firmly believe that authentic leaders are the most genuine of leaders, committed to building enduring organizations.

Good leaders need to be courageous in order to be able to take risks with no assurance of success. The fact is, any business venture is a risky proposition. And if it werent for the courageous leaders willing to take a chance, the world of entrepreneurship would not be what it is today. Of course, you need to be a good decision maker who takes these risks judiciouslyand is adept at thwarting them as the company grows.

So, what kind of a leader are you? Someone who is happy keeping people engaged, or someone who is willing to make a difference despite all odds?

Sameer Bhatia is the CEO of ProProfs.

Original post:
The Anatomy of a Good Leader - Huffington Post