Leadership is influence and has an extraordinary power because it defines the difference between success and failure in everything that we do for ourselves or the organization we belong to.

Leadership makes us achieve our goals by leading, motivating and engaging the people we work with. The main skill of a leader is to understand the talent and the skills of the people s/he works with and to motivate them in order to display these qualities.

The humankind history has shown that successful individuals have become such by the help of other people they have followed and trusted in.

This reminds me of the saying written in Andrew Carnegie’s tombstone: “Here lies one who knew how to get around him men who were cleverer than himself”.

Successful people have motivated and lead other people not because of what they said but because of what they did. A leader is characterized by a strong and integrity character, knowledge, experience, intuition and many other great qualities. No one of us is born with such qualities but decides to become a leader. In order to lead others we have to first know how to lead ourselves. This starts by a preliminary evaluation: What are the qualities of a leader and how can I adopt such qualities?

According to John Maxwell, there are seven elements or qualities that a leader needs:

• Character – integrity, honesty and respect are some of the qualities that make the character of a leader
• Relationships – Who do you surround yourself with? It is very important to be friends with people who help and encourage our growth
• Knowledge – It is important to have the right knowledge, the expertise that will help us lead ourselves and others
• Intuition – Being a vital person, knowing when is the right moment to take action and achieve goals
• Experience – Challenges and past failures contribute in creating a leader
• Success – What did you achieve so far? Which are the risks and the challenges you have taken so far? What did you learn and how this changed your life?
• Skills – What is your skill set? How committed are you in improving your personal and professional skills?

After you make a self evaluation, define your goals and how you will achieve them? This is the starting point of the work you have to do on yourself. You cannot become a leader in one day but day after day by investing in yourself.