13 Qualities Every Leader Should Have

It's amazing. Once you start looking around, you can find all these lists of things every leader should have, do, etc. The latest I've found  is from Men's Health (http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/leader_qualities/index.php?cm_mmc=ETNTNL-_-2010_12_27-_-HTML-_-bonus).

So why continue to post these lists? Because I am only one voice and other perspectives are important. This list largely came from comparing past presidents. I won't list all of them here, only the ones that catch my attention:

A Seeking Mind: In today's fast paced world, you can't rely on experience for everything. A leader's skillset needs to expand as the world changes around him. Knowing how to program in C++ might not be as useful today, but understanding SQL script could be beneficial. What about the new Android OS? Outside of IT, Six Sigma was (and in some cases, is) king. What is it now? Something new is always on teh horizon, and just because a company use to always do things one way doesn't mean that it should always be done that way. A seeking mind knows this and learns!

A Love for the Future: A leader needs to look to the future while understanding the past. He/she needs to be able to love what changes the future will bring. If he/she is fearful of it, then the change will pass him/her by. A leader is suppossed to be out-front. If he/she isn't then it isn't leadership being exhibited. It is critisism and fear.

A Willing to Change Course: It takes a strong person to admit when they were heading in the wrong direction, let alone change course once the mistake is recognized. The old joke about a man asking for directions comes to mind. How often do people continue down the same path, even after he/she realizes his/her mistake? You don't stop to ask directions... You don't change course... You just keep going in the direction you were because that is where you are pointed. This will take you somewhere, but never where you need to be. A leader needs to be willing to change course, WHEN NECASSARY.

Gravitas: and yes a woman can have gravitas. Really, this is the courage to see things through. To get through Completion. After all, a leader needs to be able to hold the Correct Course (see previous paragraph) throughout the critisisms, speed bumps, and pot holes found during the course. If leaders quit every time things get tough, then you aren't a leader, you are part of the mob.

Look at the rest of the list, and let me know what you think. What else needs to be commented on? There is a lot of material here, and you don't have to be running for President in order to make use of it.