Leader Essay

Marvel Morada
English 21
True Leader
There are some clear attributes that are found in a true leader. These characteristics can be acquired or may be a natural part of one’s personality. Qualities such as being responsible, assertive and competitive are critical in being a true leader. As a leader, a person will run into scenarios that require these assets, and without them, the followers may be affected and instead be driven downhill. First comes responsibility. A leader that is responsible will keep their organization coordinated like being punctual leading them to success. Take Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of a large social network and the co-founder of Facebook, as an example. To be able to run this large network and maintain it, Zuckerberg must create multiple groups to work on certain aspects of the site like ads, info and logging, web design etc. He also must make major decisions to keep his site running such as financial agreements and contracts. Someone that is not responsible would not be able to complete these tasks therefore would not qualify as a leader. Next is assertiveness. A true leader must be able to command and be affirmative so that his/her word is attended upon. Let’s take President Barack Obama into consideration; a President who is constantly giving speeches to a large population. When presenting these speeches, President Obama must be firm on what he is preaching and get it into the crowd’s minds. If he is not firm about what he is saying, the audience will not take him seriously and will not listen to what he has to say. Being assertive also takes into effect when assigning tasks or making orders. Without being confident and aggressive, the ideas that the leader orders or requests may be miscommunicated and will not be done correctly. The third characteristic of a leader is competitiveness. A leader must be up and ready for challenges. One example would be business. Nowadays, the business industry has a great amount of competition. Business such as food marketing, car sales, even companies such as water distributors. Everybody is competing with one another in having the most sales and being the most successful. A true leader would want to be the best and on top of all competitors. Showing the determination as a leader to compete with others will influence the followers to do the same. An employee would be more determined to do better if his/her leader is setting a good example. This leads to an overall success and better outcome. Being a true leader is not a simple task, so these qualities are necessary. Without these characteristics one does not qualify as a true leader.