The Qualities of Skillful Leadership -

Home
>
Leadership
>
The Qualities of Skillful Leadership

The Qualities of Skillful Leadership

If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself. Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills, and opportunities you offer as an owner, as a manager, as a parent. I call leadership the great challenge of life.

What's important in leadership is refining your skills. All great leaders keep working on themselves until they become effective. Here are some specifics:

1) Learn to be strong but not rude.
It is an extra step you must take to become a powerful, capable leader with a wide range of reach. Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It's not even a good substitute.

2) Learn to be kind but not weak.
We must not mistake kindness for weakness. Kindness isn't weak. Kindness is a certain type of strength. We must be kind enough to tell somebody the truth. We must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line. We must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion.

3) Learn to be bold but not a bully.
It takes boldness to win the day. To build your influence, you've got to walk in front of your group. You've got to be willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem, discover the first sign of trouble.

4) You've got to learn to be humble, but not timid.
You can't get to the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. Humility is almost a God-like word. A sense of awe. A sense of wonder. An awareness of the human soul and spirit. An understanding that there is something unique about the human drama versus the rest of life. Humility is a grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that we're part of the stars. So humility is a virtue; but timidity is a disease. Timidity is an affliction. It can be cured, but it is a problem.

5) Be proud but not arrogant.
It takes pride to win the day. It takes pride to build your ambition. It takes pride in community. It takes pride in cause, in accomplishment. But the key to becoming a good leader is being proud without being arrogant. In fact I believe the worst kind of arrogance is arrogance from ignorance. It's when you don't know that you don't know. Now that kind of arrogance is intolerable. If someone is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that's just too much to take.

6) Develop humor without folly.
That's important for a leader. In leadership, we learn that it's okay to be witty, but not silly. It's okay to be fun, but not foolish.

Lastly, deal in realities. Deal in truth. Save yourself the agony. Just accept life like it is. Life is unique. Some people call it tragic, but I'd like to think it's unique. The whole drama of life is unique. It's fascinating. And I've found that the skills that work well for one leader may not work at all for another. But the fundamental skills of leadership can be adapted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community, and at home.

To Your Success,

Jim Rohn

Reproduced with permission from Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine. Copyright 2005 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide. To subscribe to Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine, go to http://Jim-Rohn.InspiresYOU.com

In The News:

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/23/france-socialist-partycid=1272384903ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNFCYFTojNJfrxRwtn_pg0bQU__eLQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=XLLPxX989bEJimgurl=static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/11/22/royal460x276.jpg width=80 height=48 alt= border=1brfont size=-2guardian.co.uk/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/22/AR2008112202188.htmlcid=1272384903ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNEzx8Y5e_MApFnO1thZk0cjABnL6QbLeadership/b Fight Frays Socialist Party in France/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWashington Post,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b the main opposition to President Nicolas Sarkozy, fell into full disarray Saturday over a backbiting bleadership/b struggle that betrayed deep divisions b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/11/22/europe/OUKWD-UK-FRANCE-SOCIALIST.phpcid=1272384903ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNHclcJqxYeZTh7Sgq_pNDZy43bIGgFrench Socialists in disarray after bleadership/b vote/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrInternational Herald Tribune/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iOmi7zPH1g6u8RHXa26u_h2g4v1gD94JUJRO0cid=1272384903ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNFNxgqhDF-HKDeqo9aaA_Mz2GDFNwAubry wins French Socialist Party bleadership/b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/11/22/Aubry_wins_French_Socialist_leadership/UPI-89161227357315/cid=1272384903ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNFWhN1oAZJHweT9MBZo1Gqm0CV1rQAubry wins French Socialist bleadership/b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrUnited Press International/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/french-socialists-at-war-after-leadership-vote-1031215.htmlcid=1272384903ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNFJJYfaJuv-ZPY-4ye2MtwGrghrVgnobrIndependent/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/23/europe/france.phpcid=1272384903ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNFXt3VkjmwuNogS-_Io-H48OgnHhgnobrInternational Herald Tribune/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272384903hl=ennobrall 676 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/ideas/bal-id.profile23nov23,0,2143235.storycid=1273514191ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNE-GCC0-B96pFL6hdXJv99DX13fYwbLeadership/b at the summit/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBaltimore Sun,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1With Don Schmincke, a Maryland-based business consultant, Warner has written a book, quot;High Altitude bLeadership/b: What the World#39;s Most Forbidding Peaks Teach b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/story/904722.htmlcid=1273495070ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNFq_0oMosJhF_r5cjTE4gzI-M_RIgKey bleadership/b posts up for vote in Kansas Legislature on Dec. 1/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fKansas City Star,nbsp;MOnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-11, Kansas lawmakers will vote on key bleadership/b posts, deciding who writes the legislative agenda, appoints committees and manages the flow of bills. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-11-20-voa67.cfmcid=1272969032ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNHk_XqfodHRlNzuzDp7_F2ehwhUtQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=9f-196KjJyQJimgurl=www.voanews.com/english/images/AP_congress_auto_20Nov08.jpg width=80 height=70 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Voice of America/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/11/20/ST2008112003657.htmlcid=1272969032ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNH87fJfdwCn9QXCeqJgz5k12jtoNgCongressional bLeadership/b Rejects Proposed Auto Bailout Deal/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWashington Post,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobrNov 20, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Lori Montgomery and Kendra Marr Lawmakers failed to reach agreement today on a proposal to provide $25 billion in emergency aid to the ailing auto b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/34953429.htmlcid=1272969032ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNHVNoVsrTxGyacaSVt0C2umgOe2YASHERMAN FREDERICK: Obama#39;s woe: Pelosi, Reid, Frank #39;n#39; Dodd/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrLas Vegas Review - Journal/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ff%3D/b/a/2008/11/20/nov05election-dems_turn_defen.DTLcid=1272969032ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNH-5VVOu96Kw8G_PqFPlW1TO_1RuQDems turn defensive on auto bailout/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrSan Francisco Chronicle/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm%3FdocID%3Dnews-000002990056cid=1272969032ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNECimEmSpgPUgi58-mXz2PHgtG_zwCQ Transcripts: Speaker Nancy Pelosi Holds a News Conference/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCQPolitics.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1861039,00.htmlcid=1272969032ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNGRy8AOVsO-2NqMChrdTusOby12RgnobrTIME/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.forbes.com/businessinthebeltway/2008/11/20/detroit-automakers-senate-biz-cx_bw_1119detroit3.htmlcid=1272969032ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNGW2RP3d3sPvfKQn-8H52fBJ4MkbgnobrForbes/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272969032hl=ennobrall 2,842 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.welt.de/english-news/article2764703/Hillary-Clinton-headed-to-State-Department.htmlcid=1269925915ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNEEqCECWpKrr7cBqfxv3z8ZuefqoAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=xdtgBx_mmawJimgurl=www.welt.de/multimedia/archive/00706/eng_hillary_GB_BM_B_706481g.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2WELT ONLINE/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.usnews.com/blogs/erbe/2008/11/21/hillary-clinton-to-state-or-to-senate-leadership.htmlcid=1269925915ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNE-29JspAI6Di7QXO4eRb8uVNAuUgHillary Clinton to State or to Senate bLeadership/b?/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fU.S. News World Report,nbsp;DCnbsp;-/font nobrNov 21, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1At best she could negotiate some highly influential bleadership/b post for herself, which the party and Democrats in the Senate more than owe her following her b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DwffD2NA8BfUcid=1269925915ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNFEVspC3FD8kfaSojOivm-EU8ZCOwVideo: New US Administration to clean up the mess/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrRussiaToday/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/wffD2NA8BfU/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/wffD2NA8BfUtype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/us/politics/21obama.html%3Femcid=1269925915ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNHICJsgg0xtRS3Ue2ab8BnbO5kTtwAn Option for Clinton: Enhanced Senate Role/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNew York Times/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15841.htmlcid=1269925915ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNEQAAZI6xu8OzaVmp8og0slfq8akQSenate bleadership/b role for Hillary?/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrPolitico/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/89362/clinton-appears-close-to-cabinet-nod/Default.aspxcid=1269925915ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNFfcdF-rPLE5ABvYErygSrnUSG-ZAnobrNY1/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://mediamatters.org/items/200811220003%3Ff%3Dh_latestcid=1269925915ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNHY-jA6M2IvyUIzcgvERXQIK_rbYQnobrMedia Matters for America/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1269925915hl=ennobrall 3,226 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews%2Barticleid_2825310.htmlcid=1273652795ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNGQc1PgLpnQujGVZslw3MY-ziWNYgLegislature#39;s Dynamics Evolving With bLeadership/b Changes/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fistockAnalyst.com (press release),nbsp;ORnbsp;-/font nobr2 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The dynamics in the Utah Legislature are evolving, especially through the recent changes in bleadership/b. Some thoughts on the impact: Webb: bLeadership/b races b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ff%3D/c/a/2008/11/22/BUFO149L3U.DTLcid=0ei=NqgpSYChJKbU6gPI0IDvCgusg=AFQjCNGAvfTHvNu21uH7NVRV4hIw-7WNkwbLeadership/b, one day at a time/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSan Francisco Chronicle,nbsp; USAnbsp;-/font nobr15 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Marilyn Carlson Nelson, chairwoman and former chief executive of Carlson Cos., will speak on bleadership/b in a Dec. 2 program at San Francisco#39;s Commonwealth b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

leadership - Google News