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Leadership Traits You Must Have

The other day, Cedrick Harris handed me a book called Stepping Stones to Success. It’s a collection of interviews with experts in business, leadership traits, life and relationships. These experts include Deepak Chopra, Dr. Dennis Waitley and, of course, Cedrick Harris. If you haven’t gotten the chance to read this, you’ll definitely want to pick it up; lots of “million dollar nuggets” in there. As a testament to its power, I wasn’t able to make it through the first chapter without feeling the need to share what I had just learned.

To be successful in any industry typically requires great leadership. Frank Price, the founder of Unleash Your Mind, shares this story in the book as an example of what leadership traits “true leadership” REALLY means and I want to share it with you.

In December 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton left for Antarctica in a boat aptly named The Endurance. His goal? Achieving the first ever dogsled crossing of the frozen Antarctic wasteland. One day before they were scheduled to reach land, their ship was trapped in sea ice. TEN MONTHS they were stuck in that ice. Imagine that... most of us are hard pressed to wait ten hours nowadays. When the ice finally melted, instead of freeing them it began to shift and slowly crush the ship's hull. With no ship, they were forced to camp on the ice for another FIVE MONTHS moving with the large slab of ice they lived upon. The floe of ice seperated in April 1916. They grabbed the lifeboats they had salveged from the wrecked Endurance and paddled towards where the hoped they would find land. After seven hellish days in freezing seas they reached Elephant Island. Sadly, there was no way anyone searching for them would ever find them there and they knew it. Since sitting still and freezing to death was clearly not an option for this bunch (there were 28 of them by the way; including Shackleton). Shackleton made the decision to do an open boat journey for help. Shackleton and five men braved eight hundred miles of deadly, freezing waters; they fought forty five foot waves, ridiculous winds and barley survived a hurricane before reaching THE WRONG SIDE of South Georgia Island from the whaling station. The hurricane damaged the boat so badly that they were forced to land there. Remember, to make this crossing he was forced to leave 22 men behind on his word that he would survive and return for them. Imagine that pep talk. “Stay here… I’ll likely be back in a few months provided I’m not swallowed by the icy deep.” I’m sure what he said was far more inspiring as they had to BELIEVE that he would succeed and return for them.

Now, on the opposite site of the island, he takes a 36 hour hike across frozen mountains more than 6,000 feet high. Two men remained with the damaged boat. May 20, 1916 is the day that he and a few of his men finally reached help. Immediately, he went to rescue the men from the other side of the island. Over four months later, and only after numerous tries, he finally reached the 22 inhabitants of Elephant Island who never lost faith in their leader. It was nearly TWO YEARS since the boat was trapped and yet every man survived. Every single one.

What leadership traits do you see when you read this story? Obviously, there are many as Shackleton was a true leader. Determination, resolve, never asking for his men to do anything he wouldn't do himself, decisiveness, motivation in the face of hopelessness are a few. The most important trait I noticed in the story was love. His love for the men he led was so deep that it was UNACCEPTABLE that any of them should fail… which in this situation meant death.

How committed of a leader are you with regards to YOUR team? For every person on your team that is determined to live are you just as determined to help them survive? Will you assist them with the same persistence and determination that exhibit when prospecting for new team members? People will follow you and willingly do whatever it is you ask as long as they respect you as a leader, they know that they can trust you and that you will not abandon them. Whether you are trying to survive the cruel elements of the Antarctic, play professional basketball or creating a network marketing juggernaut, be that leader. A leader who loves their team will have a team that can achieve great things.

Be that inspirational leader!

Article Source: http://www.ezinearticles.mk

Jesse Walker is an Expert in Attraction Marketing and Team Buiding. His study and practice of effective Leadership Traits has transformed his internet marketing business and assisted with helping countless others to create tremendous success in theirs. To discover the #1 attraction marketing system and put your business on steroids by generating 50+ leads a day, CLICK HERE!!

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