In order to answer this question,I took some time to reflect on people who I believe to be great leaders. Some of the historical significance and others who have led me in my personal life. All of these individuals, while drastically different; coming from different backgrounds, having different adversities, and all with different resources shared one commonality that I believe truly embodies what a leader is. And that trait is the ability to turn the people on their teams into leaders themselves. Their goal was never to maintain a place of power, to prove their value. Rather, these leaders all believed that their most important duty was to guide individuals in the direction to be confident and prepared to lead. Leaders lead with humility and compassion without enabling detrimental behaviors. They “teach a man to fish”. Never out of obligation, but rather out of a place of seeing people’s potential and valuing them as they are. They believe that an individual's idiosyncrasies make them an asset rather than a burden and work to cultivate their quirks into strengths that can be easily communicated. Leaders are people who listen to their team first and take time to introspect on what they can do to improve themselves in turn improving the team. They are disruptive thinkers who act strategically and accept that there's always room for innovation and evolution. Leaders are people who people feel inspired and empowered to follow.
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