Perhaps you have heard of the cliché, which talked about leaders as “made” or developed, and not born as they are already one, or that they are born to lead.  If you want to be a leader and that you think you are not capable of becoming one, well, eventually you have what you desire if you got the willpower to do it.  You can indeed be an effective leader.  Anyone can, only if he or she works hard to cultivate and to foster the qualities of being a great leader.  Good leaders are by-products of a continuous process of education, self-study, training, experience and positive motivation.

Leadership is the ability to inspire workers and subordinates into a higher level of teamwork.  To be an effective leader, there are particular things that you should know, do and be.  These things do not come just easily nor you are born with them.  Instead, you must acquire such essential factors through continual study and work.  Good leaders do not rest and stop learning.  They work hard and study even more to enhance their leadership abilities.   

Before going further, can you define leadership?  What is leadership, by the way?  Leadership is the process in which a person leads or influences others, like those around him or her, subordinates or colleagues, to accomplish and reach certain objectives.  Good leadership directs an organization, making it more coherent, cohesive and productive.  Such benevolent leaders carry the entire process by putting in their admirable leadership qualities such as values, beliefs, knowledge, ethics, skills, and character. 

Your position being a supervisor, or a manager, or a leader gives you the power to accomplish particular goals and tasks within the organization.  However, this authority does not ever make you the leader.  Rather, it simply indicates that you are the boss.  Therefore, being a leader and being a boss are totally different from each other.  Leadership motivates and makes followers to achieve high potentials and objectives, instead of just bossing the people around.  But then, you can be a leader and a boss at the same time if you exhibit the fundamental attributes of leadership.

In the years 1989 and 1990, there was that so-called Bass’ Theory of Leadership that disposed of the three ways for people to become potential leaders.  The first theory indicates that there are few personality traits that may lead people to become natural leaders and such is called, the Trait Theory.  The second one is called the Great Events Theory.  It refers to an important event or crisis that drives a person to rise above his or her norm, bringing out exceptional leadership skills withheld in what you though of as an ordinary person.  And the third theory deals on people having the freedom to choose whether or not to become a leader.  It tackles on the reality of the issue, wherein people can muster leadership skills and this is labeled as the Transformational Leadership Theory.  This theory is in fact, the most accepted theory of today.

The foundation of good leadership is an honorable character, one that offers selfless service to a particular organization or an institution.  It is when your employees perceived your leadership abilities to be the main core that affects the entire organization’s well-being and objectives.  A respected leader dwells on what he is, referring to character and beliefs; what he knows regarding his tasks, job, and the human nature; what he does such as motivating and implementing; and what he can provide, like direction.

So what does it take for a person to abide by a leader?  A person, or the people in general, want to be guided and lead by someone they utterly respect, someone with an evident sense of direction.  And a clear sense of direction is attained by bearing a distinct view of the future.