The Essence of Leadership

We have all heard the question ‘What makes a good leader?’ many times in our lives. There are always a few common answers such as dedicated, loyal, intelligent and driven, among others. All of these are good and certainly valuable to a leader, but I believe there is one dominant trait that all leaders need to have if they want to succeed in leading others. Trust.

Colin Powell knows a thing or two about Leadership. He was the first African-American to be Secretary of State and was the youngest ever Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with the US Government.

I encourage you to take a moment to watch this quick video about Mr. Powell’s experiences with trust and leadership. Then take a moment to think about your life and how there may be someone designated as a ‘leader’ because of their position or role, but if you don’t trust them, would you really ever go that extra mile for him/her? Think about the leaders in your life that you do trust – having trust in those leaders makes you more willing to work a little harder, give a little more, and follow them around the next corner even when the going gets tough.

Darren Enns