A leader needs to have worked on their own personality and have in-depth knowledge of their area of interest. They must be able to learn from their mistakes and weaknesses while staying committed to continual self-improvement. True leaders are honest, patient, empathetic and relate their own experiences to motivate and inspire others through sharing rather than teaching. They appear as a guide who is only one step ahead, maintaining enthusiasm and helping others visualize goals through problem solving tailored to individual needs.

1. What doesitmean tobe a leader?
What skillsare neededtomotivate andinspire others?
I wouldlike tostartwiththe definitionof the word‘leader’,the wayIperceive it myself.Tome,the
word‘leader’referstoa personwho hasalwaysbeen feelingthe needtotake initiative andguide
others.Sometimeswe hearthe phrase:“He/She isaborn leader.”
In orderfor somebodytobe a leader,irrespectiveof whichareatheymaybe leadingin,theyneedto
have workedwiththeirownpersonalityfirstandforemost.Thencomesthe subjectof interesttheyare
teaching,whichtheyneedtoknowaswell aspossible. Iamnot goingtouse the word‘perfectly’,since
there isno such thingas perfection.(Everybody’sdefinitionof perfectionisalwaysdifferent.) We can
onlykeepworkinginourareaof interest,to‘touch’perfection.Like humanbeingthatwe are,we will
alwaysbe makingmistakes.Itisinour nature to make them, sothisis acceptable.The ‘key’istolearn
fromthem.A goodleaderisable to gobeyondtheirweaknesses,puttheirEgoaside,andreacha level
where theycankeep‘observing’theirownselvesobjectively –withoutjudgingthemselves- inorderto
recognize theirweaknesses,andtherefore actonthem.Theyhave learnthow to forgive themselves,
howto improve theirownselves asfar as theirpersonal growthisconcerned,‘how torespectBOTH
theirownselvesandothers,howtobe‘compassionate’,‘empathic’,andhave the abilitytorestraintheir
anger,by havingrecognizedthe sharingof the same unpleasantcharacteristicsof otherpeople within
THEIR own selves,andbyhavingstudiedthe humannature indepth.
A ‘true’leaderhasalso ‘commited’themselvestowhattheydo.Theyhave takenintheirlives‘guided’
actionby previous ‘healthy’leaders,andare therefore able toguide othersina‘healthy’way
themselves.Theyare ‘honest’topeople,butfirstandforemosttotheirownselves. Theyalsomake sure

2. that theycan ‘relate’tothe personor personstheyhave infrontof them.Theydescribe theirown
experiences,theytalkabouttheirownweaknessesandwhattheydidtoovercome them.Theypresent
themselvesastheyreallywere,orstill are.“Whatyou see iswhatyou get”is the phrase that I think
describesitinthe bestway.
Other‘skills’thatare neededtomotivate andinspireothers,wouldbe ‘patience’withthe personsthey
guide,anda ‘goodear’ since people feelthe needtobe ‘heard’and‘understood’byothers.Theyfeel
the needalsoto expressthemselves,sothe leaderstheyneedare personswhohave notbecome
leadersforthe sake of the position,butratherpersonswhoare genuinelyinterestedinthe welfareof
people. So,‘honesty’,‘patience’,‘empathy’,‘general knowledge inhumanpsychology’,‘continuous
reflectiononone’sself andEgo’,‘commitment’,‘respect’,‘balance’inaleader’slife and‘experience’are
necessaryskillsthatatrue leaderwouldbe goodtohave.Alsobeing‘aware’thatlearningneverstops,
and theycan learnevenmore fromtheirown people theylead.Ashumanbeingsthatwe are,we have
the tendencytofeel inspiredbysuchpeople,people whohave alreadybeenthroughthese steps,and
whonevergive up.‘Students’alsofeel motivatedwhentheysee thattheirleader‘believesinthem’ and
spendsmuchtime withthem,“sharing”experiencesandknowledge withthem.‘Sharing’isthe word
that I put intoquotes,toshowhowimportantitisfor leadersto‘share’,insteadof ‘teach’.The word
‘teach’doesnotnecessarilymeanthattheyshare, andithas a tendencymore towarda leader’s
unconscious –mostof the time- expressionof Ego,whereas‘sharing’shows‘trust’towardthe student,it
shows‘openness’,itshowsthatthe leaderhassearched,recognizedandacceptedtheirown
weaknesses.Therefore the studentsfeel theyhave infrontof themaleaderwhomtheycantrust, since
admittingourownweaknessesandselfishbehaviours,isthe mostdifficulttraitthatwe can achieve.
Andwhenthe leaderspendsmuchtime withthem, atsome pointtheyfeel thattheyare worth
somethingtooafterall! Asfar as hearingwhatisvalidandwhat isnot,the students’Egomaybe hurtin
the beginning,buttheywilleventuallyappreciate theirleaderforbeinghonestwiththem. One more

3. skill thatcomeseffective inleadingpeople,isthata goodleadermakessure toappear ONLYone step
aheadof theirstudents,sothatthe students wouldnotbe feelingdiscouragedinfrontof a ‘Genius’as
theywould perceivethem.
‘Enthusiasm’wouldbe one more characteristicthatwouldmotivate others,combinedwith‘vision’. By
enthusiasmIdonot meanthat a leadershouldbe describingthe goodeffectsinanexcessiveunrealistic
way,but rathershowpeople towhat‘realistic’extenttheywouldbe able toreach,andhow that
achievementontheirpartwouldbe recognizedandappreciated.Dotheycrave for somethingbetter
than that?Then itwouldbe up to themandtheireffortsandTHEIR own skills –orfurtherworkontheir
skills- toreachone more level upthe ladderof success. Asfaras ‘vision’isconcerned,itisbeingused
alreadybymany leadersintheireffortstohelptheirfollowers‘visualize’the level onwhichtheywishto
findthemselves.Howdoesitlooklike intheirminds?How doesit feel like?Are there anysounds,orany
smells?Howare theyimaginingtheirownselveswithinthatvision?
A goodleaderalsohelpspeople‘think’.He orshe helpsthem‘analyse’THEIRownsituation,andtheir
responsibilityinthe specificsituation.Theyhelpthemstartstudyingtheirownselves,sothatthey
wouldbe able to‘feel’subconsciouslythe reasonswhytheyare actinga certainway.Thisisa very
importantpointtopay attentionto,whereas inthe contrarymethodof ‘teaching’,people do
comprehendthe newinformationconsciously,buttheirteacherfails inhelpingthemabsorbitintheir
subconsciousmind. Like we use tosay:“It entersfromthe one ear, andit exitsfromthe other.’
A goodleaderalsorespectsthe lowerlevel onwhichsomebodymaybe.Theyrealizetheyneedtofind
the most appropriate way –accordingto somebody’sneeds-topresentthe new information,soanother
necessary skill of theirs,wouldbe ‘problemsolving’.