Leadership: Five traits of an effective leader Published Feb. 6, 2008 By Lt. Col. John Hultquist 375th Dental Squadron Dental Support Flight commander SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- "People ask the difference between a leader and a boss...The leader works in the open and the boss in covert. The leader leads and the boss drives." - Theodore Roosevelt What makes a good leader, and what qualities do you look for in a good leader? These are questions that many have tried to answer for years. As seen by the thousands of hits on Google and numerous books that have been written, everyone has their own opinions, lists of principles, traits and quotes. There are five leadership traits that people look for in a leader. Websters dictionary defines a trait as a distinguishing quality or an inherited characteristic. I have drawn these from a book titled "The Leadership Challenge" by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. This book is the culmination of over 25 years of research in the field of leadership not only involving government and military, but also community, church and business leaders. Honesty. Followers want honest leaders. With the advent of scandals in the recent past, people assume leaders are dishonest. You have to go out of your way to display honesty. An opportunity to display honesty is in handling mistakes and admitting when you have made a mistake. You will increase your leadership influence by demonstrating honesty with your organization, outside your organization, and with yourself. An effective leader displays honesty and is not just perceived as an honest individual. Forward-Looking. Effective leaders have a vision for tomorrow and don't spend as much time on today. Being a leader means figuring out where to go from where you are now. People won't understand what your vision is unless you communicate it with them. It is essential to communicate goals and vision without making promises that may not be able to be kept. Competency. People want a competent leader. Expertise in your field may not necessarily mean competency. A leader must demonstrate competency. Most followers will assume a leader is competent by virtue of their position. One must be careful not to draw too much attention to themselves at the risk of appearing arrogant. Another pitfall is to minimize other's accomplishments and take due credit. To demonstrate competency, draw attention to team achievements. Inspiration. To inspire is to show people the big picture and help them see beyond a narrow focus. Communication is the best way to inspire. Another way is to tell stories from past experiences to vividly illustrate what you are trying to communicate. Relating to people through passion and emotion communicates deeper than words and expresses your vision without just stating facts. Intelligence. Intelligence requires continual learning. Developing intelligence can be a difficult and lengthy process. Education is just beginning when one graduates from college. College is merely a foundation for education throughout the rest of our lives. Behavior and attitude express our intelligence. One way to demonstrate your intelligence is to guide people toward understanding. The focus should be on helping others learn, not demonstrating how intelligent you are. We can also learn from those we lead by asking them intelligent thoughtful questions. This will do more to enhance our intelligence credibility. But having these traits is not enough. People will follow those leaders that demonstrate these traits. As stated previously, just because you are not dishonest does not mean people will assume you are honest. Your leadership influence is dependent on your willingness and ability to exhibit these traits. It will motivate people to follow your lead.