What Does It Mean to Be a True Leader?

Being a leader means much more than having an honorable title in front of your name. President, CEO, chairman… all these titles are important, but do not define the person. For a man to be called a leader, he needs to have exceptional personality traits that inspire people to follow him. When someone’s individuality makes a great influence to a larger group of individuals who want to follow a common goal and take actions towards it, he can be called a leader.

A leader has to have authority over the group of people he is influencing. That doesn’t mean that people who cause fear in their followers with their intimidating personality and actions can be called leaders. A true leader provides direction and guidance by inspiring people to stand for a cause. He is compassionate, competent, and courageous! The characteristics of a leader are best seen in difficult situations, when he preserves the morality of the group and finds realistic solutions. He has the moral and mental strength to do things that the majority of people are afraid to do. The leader has confidence to motivate other individuals or entire groups of people to stand for his cause.

Many aspects of our society depend on our leaders. People need directions to follow, and our leaders provide the guidance we need. In a business environment, a higher authority is of substantial importance for the purpose of regulating and supervising the actions of others. The effective leader has the personality, knowledge, and strength to motivate others to achieve better results. When a government lacks a leader that possesses the needed characteristics, the entire country suffers. Without leadership that inspires and motivates, the society can easily shift to autocracy. If the government cannot keep its citizens under control with ideology and fair policies, it will fluctuate towards dictatorship. The concept of leadership is commonly misused for a bad purpose. That’s why the responsibility of the followers should not be neglected.

Leadership doesn’t come without controversy. Jim Morrison is considered to be one of the most successful leaders in the history. He had an incredibly strong and inspiring personality and always found the right words for every situation. The fans of The Doors saw Morrison as the savior who will set them free from authority. He didn’t do anything special to get people to follow him and wasn’t trying to give them the freedom they wanted and feared the most; he inspired them to find the courage to declare their own freedom. That’s what a true leader is all about – provoking actions for the sake of a cause or against well-established, traditional values. The society, business environments, parents, religious institutions, teachers… everyone wants to limit your freedom. When a leader like Morrison inspires you to take actions against them, he is naturally linked to controversy.

Leaders are not typical personalities that belong to the mass. They are exceptional, intriguing and thought-provoking. The first thing they inspire is a personal change that leads towards minor or revolutionary changes on a larger scale. Misuse of leadership skills left aside, every society and organization needs outstanding individuals who serve people’s best interests and have goals greater than achieving personal glory.