1. Transmit
Communication. In order to accomplish anything as a leader, you have to be willing to communicate with the people you lead. They're people too just like you.
You never know exactly what positive outcomes might come if you give everyone a chance to freely express what's on their minds. You may not like what you hear, but that's the idea. It's important to have others challenge you and your ideas even if you're in charge. Just because you're at the top in a group doesn't mean you're done improving.
2. Teamwork
Let's face it. We all can't do everything. There are some skills and characteristics we don't have even as a leader.
That's why it's extremely important that your board, advisors, generals, whatever, are capable of taking over your position if necessary. Not only that, they're in their respective positions in order to help you do your job. At the same time, part of being a leader is helping everyone else do theirs. That's teamwork.
3. Tranquility
Life is not perfect by all means. Not by a long shot. The unexpected will happen every now and then. Chances are that you'll be faced with very tough decisions.
When events like these occur you will be the one everyone looks to when faced with calamity. The best way to handle this kind of pressure is with tranquility and calmness. If you panic, everyone else panics which ultimately makes things a lot worse. There's no real way of preparing for situations like these because we always try to avoid them.
The only exception is experience.
4. Trust
This goes along with teamwork. I've probably covered trust a lot in these articles, and leadership is no exception. It's simple. If nobody can trust one another, the job can't be done.
There are some things that are out of our control but in control of a teammate. You have to trust them enough so you can perform the things you can control. In certain areas where its life or death, trust is everything.
A soldier has to trust his comrade to watch their back in the heat of combat. The soldiers have to trust their commander to make good strategic decisions. Same applies to other concepts in life.
5. Together
A group can easily be judged by the character of their leader. After all, leaders are typically chosen by the people being led. If not, well, that tells you a lot too, doesn't it? There are a vast number of reasons a leader is chosen, but it still holds true that a leader reflects the people.
However, history has proven to hold numerous exceptions. America's Election of 2016. Trump wasn't the majority vote, but by the rules of the electoral college, he became the leader of the free world. Despite his win, many Americans did not feel that Trump reflected them which of course is common in other organizations, but not this great of an extent.
Overall, a good leader meets the expectations of the people being led.
