Being a leader

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of, or are presented with the question: What is a leader?

A leader is someone who leads. Duh. Kidding... But yes obviously. To some, leading is being in front of their team, guiding them to their destinations/goals whilst tackling everything in the way such that the burden is lessened for those behind them. To some, leading is supporting their team from the side lines, always around to guide and to educate when in need.

There's definitely many different forms of leading, especially depending on the context. The context I will be talking about in this article is leading/management within a business.

To me a leader has to at least have these qualities in regards to the workplace:

• Communicative
• Capable of giving harsh feedback when needed
• Equally if not more hard working than their team
• Knowing nearly everything about the area of expertise / have the ability to acquire information to something that was prior unknown to themselves
• Dependable
• Consistent
• Encouraging and supportive

There's definitely many more qualities, but these to me are the ones that stick out the most and what I like to see most in a leader.
To me a leader is the individual who paves the way for their team, the one who supports them from the front and from the back of the domain. A leader will demonstrate to their team what should be done, and be consistent in doing so themselves to encourage others to follow. A leader to me is one that holds a lot of knowledge about the area of expertise and is able to guide their team through any potential knowledge barriers. A leader should be working as hard as the rest of their team whether it be in one way shape of form or another.
To me a leader who doesn't care, or doesn't care enough rubs off onto others quite easily. Enthusiasm spreads, and so does a little bit of optimism!