The law of respect. People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves. The more leadership ability a person has, the more quickly he recognizes leadership – in others. When people respect you as a person, they admire you. When they respect you as a friend, they love you. When they respect you as a leader, they follow you.
I believe that leaders must always have answers to provide to their followers. It might be cryptic or it may be crystal clear, but projecting the appearance of not having the answer, not knowing what to do or how to lead, only projects weakness. No one will follow a person who exudes weakness. A leader must possess a few keystone elements to achieve success. Natural leadership ability, a healthy respect for others, the courage to lead or even stand alone at times, a successful track record as a leader, be capable of demonstrating loyalty, and be willing to aide others though mentoring or some other value adding enrichment process. I have found that I’ve achieved more success as a leader by honing those leadership attributes. Practice does make perfect.
“A leader does not deserve the name unless he is willing occasionally to stand alone.” – Henry Kissinger
“One measure of leadership is the caliber of people who choose to follow you.” – Dennis Peer
“The leader must know, must know he knows, and must be able to make it abundantly clear to those about him that he knows.” – Clarence Randall