What does it mean to a leader? Are you considering or being considered to be one? What are the skills or training that you should have in order to improve on your positive leadership abilities? Let's discover what the true mark of an effective leader is by looking at what attributes an he or she would have.

Trustworthiness

First and foremost, a leader has to be honest in all his dealings. I have worked with those in positions of leadership and I can say without a doubt that all leaders who wish to go further in their career or position have to be able to gain and secure the confidence of those whom they lead. And being trustworthy towards their followers will be one such attribute that they will be looking for.

Knowledge

A leader will have to have good working knowledge that reflects experience within a topic. Leaders have to ability to gather and interpret huge amounts of data and workload and are still able to create visions and goals for their team to work towards to in a cohesive manner. One of the many ways that leaders demonstrate their intelligence is to gently and softly encourage their team member towards understanding or discovery for himself or herself of the subject matter in hand.

Competent

People like to know that their leader know where they are going and what to do when crisis hit. Real competence is visible in tough times and leaders who are willing to make the hard decisions or who have the courage to stay with the vision will shine in the darkest times.

Socially Mature

Leaders are also mature emotionally and socially, and are able to cope with varied situations that often demand their ability to stay calm under pressure. They also have a deeper understanding of people in general and of the world they are in.

Influential

Leaders look to engage their people in a cause. They use their influence to glavanise the group to works towards a purpose or goal, no matter how big or small that goal is. They inspire others to reach for greater heights, to persevere even when the going gets somewhat tough.

There is no one way to become a truly effective leader but if you were to focus on the above, you are well on your way to setting up yourself in the right direction. You might also want to read further on this topic by going to http://hubpages.com/hub/Effective-Leadership where you will find some methods to help you in enchancing your leadership skills.

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. Dwight Eisenhower