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Leadership Traits You Must Have

Leadership Traits You Must Have

By Jesse Walker

The other day, Cedrick Harris handed me a book called Stepping Stones to Success. It's a collection of interviews with experts in business, leadership traits, life and relationships. These experts include Deepak Chopra, Dr. Dennis Waitley and, of course, Cedrick Harris. I recommend this book as a "must read" as it is rare to get so many valuable viewpoints in a single volume. The fact that I could not even make it through the first chapter without succumbing to the urge to immediately share what I had just learned with everyone speaks volumes.

To be successful in any industry typically requires great leadership. Frank Price, the founder of Unleash Your Mind, shares this story in the book as an example of what leadership traits "true leadership" REALLY means and I want to share it with you.

In December 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton left for Antarctica in a boat aptly named The Endurance. They intended to ride dogsleds across the entire frozen continent of Antarctica. One day before they were scheduled to reach land, their ship was trapped in sea ice. TEN MONTHS they were stuck in that ice. Imagine that... most of us are hard pressed to wait ten hours nowadays. When the ice finally melted, instead of freeing them it began to shift and slowly crush the ship's hull. With no ship, they were forced to camp on the ice for another FIVE MONTHS moving with the large slab of ice they lived upon. The floe of ice seperated in April 1916. They grabbed the lifeboats they had salveged from the wrecked Endurance and paddled towards where the hoped they would find land. After seven hellish days in freezing seas they reached Elephant Island. Sadly, there was no way anyone searching for them would ever find them there and they knew it. Waiting to die in the undogiving Elephant Island cold wasn't going to happen for these 28 men. Their leader, Shackelton opted for a daring (crazy?) journey for help in a lifeboat. Shackleton and five men braved eight hundred miles of deadly, freezing waters; they fought forty five foot waves, ridiculous winds and barley survived a hurricane before reaching THE WRONG SIDE of South Georgia Island from the whaling station. The hurricane damaged the boat so badly that they were forced to land there. Remember, to make this crossing he was forced to leave 22 men behind on his word that he would survive and return for them. Can you imagine how that speech must have sounded?. "Hey guys... just relax... I got this. I'll be back in fifteen or sixteen weeks provided I survive this impossibel journey." Obviously, being the leader he was suggests he said something inspirational and that his crew had absolute FAITH in the abilities and character of their Captain.

As they landed on the wrong side of the island, he decided to leave two men at the landing site while he and the rest hiked for 36 hours across six-thousand-foot frozen mountains. May 20, 1916 is the day that he and a few of his men finally reached help. Immediately, he went to rescue the men from the other side of the island. Over four months later, and only after numerous tries, he finally reached the 22 inhabitants of Elephant Island who never lost faith in their leader. They had been trapped in the ice nearly TWO YEARS before and amazingly EVERY SINGLE PERSON SURVIVED! Every last one.

What leadership traits do you see when you read this story? Obviously, there are many as Shackleton was a true leader. Determination, perseverance, never asking for his men to do anything he wouldn't do himself, finality, motivation in the face of hopelessness are a few. The most important trait I noticed in the story was love. His love for the men he led was so deep that it was UNACCEPTABLE that any of them should fail... which in this situation meant death.

What is YOUR level of commitment when you lead your team? Are you resolved to help every team member survive if they are just a s resolved to live? Does all of your persistance and determination go to other pursuits? If you want people to follow you, they need to respect you, trust you and be able to count on you. Whether you are trying to survive the cruel elements of the Antarctic, play professional basketball or creating a network marketing juggernaut, be that leader. A true leader loves his team and everyone is stronger for it.

Lead with inspiration!