Leadership - Intriguing discussion with a young adult

In a recent session I had with a coachee – let’s say a young adult, who wanted to become a good leader. It was an interesting topic because I did not know how to make someone a good leader! So we discussed what does a good leader looks like. I asked him to give me examples of a good leader and why did he think they were a good leader. Some of the replies made me wonder what young adults today think about leadership? How do you identify a leader? Are all leaders’ good examples to follow? Which are the leaders you want to learn from? A leader of a criminal gang can be a great leader to his gang, but is that a leadership to learn from as they are criminals? Can one be a great leader, but one who is not liked? Does a good leader need to be liked?

Researching on what is a good leader, will bring us many attributes of what a good leader demonstrates. But at the end of the day, a value of the leader is in the eyes of the people who follow them – whether he or she is a criminal, in corporate, sports, politics or even religion. Hitler must have been a great leader as he led his army and the nation and many gladly followed him through what were one of the worst atrocities on humankind!

So, what are then the common threads that make a good leader? Is it the confidence he or she exudes? The initiative? Is it fear? Is it what aligns to what we value?

To my young adult coachee, I have to set the right direction, who thankfully has picked up some of the great leaders in this country and society and has started to identify what made them leaders in their field.

I would love to hear from you, on your thoughts about what is common about leadership – on either side of the spectrum at one end someone like a Hitler and the other end someone as simple as the Mahatma.