A Leader's Boon by Charles

A Leader's Boon by Charles - December 2021 Scholarship Essay

John Quincy Adams had once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." John Quincy Adams was the United States’ sixth president. He was most memorable for his avoidance of war with France. Leaders are people who incite actions from others, they create opportunities for themselves and others, and they have the ability to change the direction of a situation for the better. These are what leaders should be able to do, but what qualities and skills allow these to happen? To me a leader should be communicable, they should be charismatic, and, lastly, they should be confident. These are all traits leaders should strive for, however, confidence is the most important and beneficial trait that perfectly encapsulates a leader.
What is a leader without confidence? Leaders also have to be confident, if a leader isn’t confident they affect their entire following. Unconfident leaders usually withhold information, postpone important decisions and have trouble creating and inspiring teams. Without having confidence, there is not a leader, because you cannot give others what you don’t have yourself. There is always going to be problems if a leader doesn’t rise to an occasion due to their confidence, it puts a damper on how they lead.
Leadership isn’t for everyone; some people are naturally a leader, some are not. You can usually develop leadership through different skills such as confidence, charisma, and communication. All three of these traits can describe a leader, but which one describes leadership the best? Their credence. Their confidence. When you think of any great leader in history, they are always described as confident: Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill, and so forth. "He[or she] can inspire a group only if he[or she] himself[or herself] is filled with confidence and hope of success." This quote was by Floyd V. Filson, perfectly identifying the prime word(confidence) to describe leadership.