Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Due on 2/21- Intro to Streetcar And Leadership Response


The next play we will read is "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams.

I will introduce our next play on Thursday!


 BE prepared on Thursday - Do some research on Williams? Who is he? Where does he come from? What does he do? Provide some background information in the form of notes. Be prepared to respond to questions about the playwright in class during my lecture. This assignment is in the form of notes and should be documented in your notebook. I highly suggest using an outline format to provide a brief summary of the author's bio.


2. Respond freely to the following question below and PUBLISH YOUR RESPONSE as a comment (under this post). Total 2 paragraph response.  Be sure to proofread your response before you publish your writing.

Based on our discussion of leadership as it relates to the play, your knowledge of history and your exposure to current events, think about the concept of leadership.

Discuss the personality traits of a successful/unsuccessful leader. How do these traits affect the public and their overall trust and security in civil law. What traits if any,do you believe constitute good leadership? Be CREATIVE in your response! THINK OUTSIDE of THE BOX!

This Article Might Help! 


http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/08/03/good.leader.traits.cb/index.html\

this is for a participation GRADE





44 comments:

  1. A successful leader is any person who displays honesty, passion, respect, confidence, compassion, and cares for their people. A leader should be extremely knowledgeable in what he or she is directing and should provide clarity for the people in any situation that occurs. They should stand their ground and defend it powerfully, as long as it is in favor of the majority of the population. When a successful leader makes a mistake and realizes it, they must immediately stop what they are doing and provide strategic plans as to over come the situation. A leader cares for his or her people with their dearest regards, and considers any suggestions the people have proposed. When a leader possesses all of these qualities, the society they are commanding will be extremely powerful. Every civilian will be proud to call this person his or her leader and put a great deal of trust into him or her. The security of the nation would never be at stake for every citizen would be willing to defend their country due to their nationalism.

    An unsuccessful leader is any person who lacks energy and enthusiasm, has poor judgment, is a risk taker, resists new ideals, and puts their personal interests in favor of the country’s interests. A leader should never think that they have all the answers nor see themselves as dominating the country and or world. An unsuccessful leader underestimates even the smallest obstacle and possesses no care for the people. They should never reflect ones own hubris towards the people ever. A leader must never commit acts of violence towards anyone nor be feared by the citizens. When a leader contains all of these undesirable qualities, the country tends to fall apart from the inside out. Not only does the economy fall into a depression but the people tend to as well. The security of the unsuccessful leader’s country is at great risk within the country itself in addition to the opposing countries. If the civilians do not agree with the leader’s ideals, they may attempt to over throw him or her. When attempting to over throwing an unsuccessful leader the people must act as one, otherwise the leader could be in favor thus leading the country into a dictatorship.

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  2. Webster’s dictionary defines success as a favorable or desired outcome; also: the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence. A successful leader has many roles and responsibilities. Honesty, respect, and passion are essential for a leader to be successful. When society has trust in their leader, things will run more smoothly and people will generally be less corrupt. Having a passion for what you do is key, because you are not only satisfied but you can also relate and connect to your duties. A good leader should also be very well educated in math, science, english, and history. A good leader must understand the origins of their country, state, company, or what ever it may be. A successful leader should also look out for his or her country, state, etc., even if they may be sacrificing everything to preserve it.

    An unsuccessful leader lacks in confidence or is over confident. They are very self-centered and do not accept any other opinions but their own. They set too many goals that are impossible to overcome. An unsuccessful leader thinks everything is easy to overcome, even when the smallest things can make them fall. They preserve their power over the people. An unsuccessful leader is very sneaky, they always want to be at the top even if they have to break trust and respect.

    I believe that a successful leader should be dedicated to their role in society. Even if their job may get a little tied up with family, they should always be focused on their duties. A good leader does not live in fear, sticks to their word and are open to alternative options. They must have a passion for what they do and respect others while others give them respect back.


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  3. Sean, Your response is magnificent. You truly highlight your ideas of what it means to be a successful leader. I like when you said " A good leader must understand the origins of their country, state, company, or what ever it may be. A successful leader should also look out for his or her country, state, etc., even if they may be sacrificing everything to preserve it."

    Great Job

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  4. Lauren,

    Your ideas are profound and insightful! You seem to have a true passion for the subject after reading "Antigone" and participating in the class discussions. You clearly note that "A leader should never think that they have all the answers nor see themselves as dominating the country and or world. An unsuccessful leader underestimates even the smallest obstacle and possesses no care for the people. They should never reflect ones own hubris towards the people ever." Brava!!!

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  5. In my opinion a successful leader is someone who can take charge and help people in a situation. A leader has to be strong and loyal to the group that he or she is leading. A successful leader must know what to do if a situation goes wrong. During the 9/11 attacks Mayor Rudy Giuliani showed his leadership roll by helping cleaning up after the attacks, meeting with families of the people who died, and going to over 100 funerals for the firefighters, police officers, and just ordinary people who died on that horrific day. The mayor did not hesitate at all when he found out about the attacks, there are pictures of him with ash all over his body going north towards the towers. There are key qualities that you will find in every leader; courage, strength, honesty, and respect I think are the qualities that every leader must have. A true leader is someone that will do anything to protect their society and understand what their society needs to be successful.

    An unsuccessful leader in my eyes is the definition of a dictator. Yes, a dictator is in charge of a group of people and has to make decisions like a leader does, but the way a dictator only cares about themselves and how to gain more power is what makes them unsuccessful. Characteristics you would see in an unsuccessful leader are over confidence and stubbornness. You will never see an unsuccessful leader admit they are wrong so they will not fix their mistakes, they always think they are right. They never take advice from other people. Nothing can stand in the way of an unsuccessful leaders path, they think nothing can stop them. You can never trust an unsuccessful leader, they will do anything in their power to get to the top, even if that means destroying the people ahead of them.

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  6. Leadership has extremely potent variables that can either be successful or catastrophe to the public, depending on the leader. A true, successful leader considers and puts the public first while making any extreme decisions. Depending on what the public will benefit from and what will make the public trust the leader more, is what a successful leader should consider first and foremost. Democratic style in leadership will not only motivate a crowd, but create a sense of trust and family in any kind of environment. A successful leader should be truthful and up front with decisions or news to the public. If they act this way, the public will have no reason to have any doubt in the leader and will be understanding of them, resulting in no uncertainty or distrust. Listening and learning from the public also makes a leader successful in which the public will feel included in any decisions; this will only make a community stronger.

    If a leader is an autocrat or dictator, this will only disturb and diminish future faith of the community. Ruling for only themselves, laws and decisions have no consistency of the people. This will create distrust, faithlessness, and calamity among the environment. People might rebel or go on strike to stand up for what they believe in. This kind of leadership includes miscommunication among the leader and people, and communication is key in all communities. It’s not fair to harmless people to be living a life ruled by a person of poor judgment and selfishness.

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  7. My basic definition of a leader is someone who commands a group of people towards a single goal. A full-fledged tyrant, while by definition is a leader, is a horrible leader. Tyrants command their absolute power using brute force and fear. Instead of reasonable solutions to issues, problems, or people stepping out of line a common fail-safe os used, and that fail-safe is to punish and to do so in a public manner. These public forms of discipline are used to not only send a message, but also instill fear into the hearts of people.

    Every single living being on this planet has the unalienable God given right of free will. The difference between a true leader and tyrant is that the true leader would never deny his/her people their free will, so that at any point in time a person can decide to stop what they’re doing in favor of moving against the grain of their society to blaze their own path. The better leaders in this world are those who can bend the free will of their people towards a seemingly unattainable goal. I say seemingly because very few things in this world are impossible, and history has shown that with some motivation, time and a little elbow grease anything is possible. The great leaders throughout history found the common factors amongst people, united them, and gave the people reason to believe in what was being told to them.

    With all of that being said every leader in history always made some sort of law that denied a freedom to their people. While some of these laws and freedoms may be incredibly miniscule the fact of the matter is they denied people the ability to do something and had a punishment for those who disobeyed. The true leader using the simply the power of speech would get people to follow suit because they wanted to follow, and not because there would be penalty enforced upon them for straying from the pack.

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  8. A successful leader is the one who is able to lead his or her people under any circumstances. A successful leader is calm, knowledgeable, and knows what is he or she doing. A successful leader has great influences on his or her people. He or she has strong speech that people are willing to listen and follow. For an instance, President Lincoln was a great leader, he had done anything he possibly could to free the slaves. He also treated his people in a respectful manner; his decisions were always for his people, his nation. In my eyes, a successful leader can distinguish all kinds of risks and choose the least one. He or she can direct people in a respectful manner, and such a leader is willing and able to complete his or her goals for the public, not personally.

    An unsuccessful leader is opposite of a successful leader. An unsuccessful leader does not have great influences and people distrust him or her. Such a leader does not have knowledge and cannot make any wise and reasonable decisions. For an instance, Hitler was an unsuccessful leader because he pursued for personal interest. He made poor decisions by killing Jewish people and declared war with Poland which started World War Two. He also led his people by putting threats on them, made them obeyed forcedly.

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  10. Leadership. A characteristic that every human being has the potential to show. It is something that that each and every one of us hopes to possess. A successful leader is a person who demonstrates compassion and understanding in the face of those who look up to him. He is strong willed but he listens to what the people have to say and takes it into mind. A natural leader takes challenges head on and does not stop until they are dust in his wake. Trust is a key factor in being a good leader. If you lie to your people, you paint a target on your back. When the lie eventually comes out and collapses, the people who trusted you to lead them turn against you. Another factor that makes a good leader is courage. To get anywhere, being bold always helps. Look at George S. Patton. He was and still is one of the greatest generals to ever command the armed forces. His leadership skills are the stuff of legend for his campaign in North Africa during World War II. The way he spoke to his troops instilled a sense of confidence in them. With the help of the British, he ran the Germans out of North Africa and back into Italy. Only someone with the ability to lead could have accomplished such a feat.

    On the other hand, there are a lot of things which classify someone as an unsuccessful leader. One of the worst types of unsuccessful leader you could possibly be is a dictator. There is no such thing as a good dictator because you rule the country with no regard for the people or anyone else. A prime example of a terrible leader is Pol Pot. He was responsible for the genocide that killed millions of innocent people. He had no concern for his people and had them brutally murdered by the thousands. In some ways we can compare him to Creon. I know that Creon did not kill millions of people, but the two had some of the same types of views. They both thought that they were higher than the God’s and could decide matters that were not of this Earth. Pol Pot wanted to go back to the beginning of time and eliminate all traces of the modern world. You simply do not make a good leader when three quarters of your population are murdered for no reason. Having too much pride also tends to get in the way of leadership. You begin to think that what you say is right no matter what and everything else is wrong.

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  12. Leadership is an vital element of human existence. It has served as a necessary factor in defining our civilization throughout history. Human beings need a leader to look up to and laws to abide by to prevent chaos. There are certain characteristics that defines a leader as a successful or unsuccessful one. An example of a great leader in the past was Mahatma Gandhi because he lead the Indians to their independence from British rule. One of the ways he did this was when he refused to eat for weeks. He did this to prove a point and to gain independence from England for his country and then to prevent a civil war between the Hindi and the Muslims. This worked for him because the people of India all loved him. He inspired everyone and proved to them that any person can make a difference. He was the one who said “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. When he said this he inspired millions and continues to inspire millions till this day. What this proves is a leader must be caring, he must put his people first before himself, and must always stick to his beliefs. Trust has to be earned from the public and confidence is a vital characteristic a leader needs to have. A leadership role is a commitment; he must think about his role as leader during every decision he makes. The most important aspect to being a leader is honesty and being trustworthy. When a large group of people put their trust in a leader there cannot be any disappointments. No matter what happens, thorough thin or thick a leader must prove he is always strong and fears nothing.
    Leaders can also turn out to be unsuccessful. What makes a leader a bad one includes being selfish, not catering to the needs of the people, telling lies to the public, making decisions based on emotions, not caring how their actions impact others, and not listening to other peoples opinions. Unfortunately he was a dictator. Adolf was not only selfish but he was power hungry and this is what influenced all of his terrible decisions. His decision to purify the Aryan race was when he proved to the world that he was one of the worst leaders in history. He killed millions of innocent people based on their religion. He lied to everyone about what was really going on in the ghettos and in concentration camps. He never stopped to ask any one else’s opinion, but instead ruled based on his values. What this proves is that the people need to have a say in any decisions a leader makes. To be a leader it is a privilege and it must not be taken for granted. Anyone can be a bad leader but only select few can be great ones. By observing the traits and characteristics of a true leader we not only set a standard for our leaders but for ourselves as well.

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  13. A leader must have the utmost respect for his or her people; just as his people would have respect for him. One must be firm but just, no in between. He or she must have the ability to consider his peoples’ opinions and act upon them. Citizens want their voices to be heard through the government, not repressed. To lead a group of people, whether it is large or small, one must be confident in their direction. Without confidence, how are individuals supposed to feel safe? A leader is supposed to be knowledgeable in his acts and have concrete reasons for them as well. Being in charge of a group of people is difficult. The drive to lead a country must be prominent in a leader. That leader must be up for the challenges of caring, protecting, and looking after his or her citizens.

    It is not commendable for a leader to act selfishly rather than selflessly. A person in charge is issued to be a spokesperson for his nation and not for himself. If a leader issues laws for egotistical reasons, his or her citizens may cause uproar against the government. Scare tactics should not be issued to citizens to cause obedience throughout the nation. This may result in an outbreak of defiance and a divide between the government and its people.

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  14. Being a leader comes with a great deal of responsibility and is often not as easy as it may seem to be. I believe that being an exceptional leader; certain traits must be displayed within their nature. For example he or she must be willing to sacrifice something for a greater good or outcome. Leaders should be knowledgeable, however, not ignorant. They should know how to make decisions that will positively impact society or an organization, creating an environment which will work together in unity. He or she will stand by their word and honor their commitment to being a leader. I think a successful leader is one who can overcome the struggle of how people perceive them to be from how he or she views his or herself to be. They must not be afraid to not only recognize their flaws, but to address them and to make the best of it. A great leader connects to the people, meeting their needs and makes sure their voice and opinions are heard and taken into consideration.
    An Unsuccessful leader is one who makes decision based on personal preferences and not the needs of the people. If they lack honesty and integrity, they are missing essential qualities to becoming a leader. I believe a leader who does not achieve or obtain something great is unsuccessful. Also a leader, who is indecisive, has poor judgment, uncommitted and not dedicated is a demonstration of poor leadership skills. An Unsuccessful leader is someone who misuses their power, and does not hold themselves up to their potential. This can cause hatred and distrust from the people. A famous well known unsuccessful leader was Hitler. This dictator was hated by many for his actions towards the Jews.

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  15. Through history there has been many leaders varying from great ones to horrible ones. In my opinion a leader is someone who is in charge of a population of people and speaks amongst them or even for them. Many leaders in history have been because of a family tradition and others because they stood up for themselves and captivated many others. A great leader is someone who fights for what he believes is right in a proper way without putting any citizen endangered not like unsuccessful ones. Many factors make up a leader and one of the strongest ones are confidence and a strong public speaker. Without these key factors you cannot be any type of leader because no one will believe in you.

    Successful leaders are honest, noble and display intelligence above others. Unsuccessful leaders are the ones that make decisions based on their personal bias. Horrible leaders are the ones that take over the freedom of citizens and see everyone as slaves thinking he is the only one that has feelings, as Hitler did with Jewish people. A great example of a great leader was Martin Luther King Jr., as he is known as one of the best ones. He stood up for equal rights and this made the public feel safe and trusted him since they all knew he was right. Leadership can also have its bad sides to it since you have to be almost “perfect” in order for people to look up to you. Anybody can actually be a leader, starting from your house to school. If you stand up for what you believe is right and people admire you, it will mean that you are their leader. Leadership is success to anything because you are not follower you are the leader

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  17. According to “Google” a leader is “The person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country”. I believe that this is a good straight to the point definition, but extremely general. There are many other types of “leaders” other than of organizations and groups. To me I think that older siblings are leaders, weather they want to be or not. Little siblings follow their older brothers or sisters all the time. They look up to them as role models. In my opinion a leader is anyone who has followers. Lady Gaga is a great example. Lady Gaga calls her fans her “little monsters” . They follow her tours and her music and look up to her. Lady Gaga isn’t commanding them to do anything nor giving them any rules to follow to be fans of hers, and in my eyes, this makes her a leader.

    Many characteristics make up a good leader. A good leader must be honest, fair, passionate, and also charismatic. If a leader wants their people that follow them to respect them the must be honest and fair. A leader cant go around saying one thing and doing another. They cannot be too radical because that can cause them to be unfair. A leader must be passionate about what they are leading. If a leader is not passionate about what they are involved in, they are not going to really care much about the people that are following them, which is obviously not a good trait for a leader or commander. Lastly, a leader must have charisma. If a leader has charisma it makes people listen and want to listen. John F. Kennedy was very charismatic and he was one of the greatest presidents in American history. Another example is Adolph Hitler. Although he did very terrible things, he was very charismatic. Hitler knew how to talk to people and get them do to what he wanted them to do.

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  18. Leadership is a quality that not everyone can acquire. Some people do not have the innate ability to take lead of something, for many reasons. But what truly makes a leader great? There are plenty of debates about what a great leader must achieve and do before acquiring the title of being great. Some leaders try to rule by implanting fear into everyone. While fear is a great way to rule it only last for a short time. Since you lose the trust in the people, the hatred grows and the plotting begins which then leads to revolutions. One thing a great leader must have is trust. The nation, city, country must believe in their ruler and have their trust. Without the people the ruler would not have power basically. Every leader wants the people to trust them therefore if you have a persons trust you have them doing anything for you.
    Another good quality to being a leader is fair. If a ruler is not fair that destroys his appearance with his people and therefore loses the trust. A leader must communicate well with his people and being willing to listen to the opinions of others. A ruler should not be hubris since a ruler does not know the knowledge of the world. Someone knows more than any leader and therefore must take in account the voice of the people. A leader makes mistakes just like every other human being but being able to correct/ learn from those mistake make a great leader. Learning from the past endeavors of the world. these are just a few qualities that make a leader great.

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  19. Every leader is unique in their own way, but what makes a leader successful is what truly makes an impact on the public and their trust. What makes a leader successful is their behaviors and attitudes that deliver an effective message to the public about problems and solutions. A successful leader needs be honest and passionate no matter what the situation is, they must devote their life to their goals. Image is everything, and a successful leader must present themselves with credibility and respect. When a leader is giving a speech, they must be confident and believe in themselves before others will; he or she needs to speak with clarity and integrity to gain the trust and support of the public.

    An unsuccessful leader is one that is not open to other’s opinions including ideas and criticism. Unsuccessful leaders will try to hide their mistakes, a good leader will admit when he has made a mistake and make it his goal to fix it. Unsuccessful leaders tend to tell people how to do things rather than what a good leader would do which would be to tell people what needs to be done and letting them figure out how to do it. The public will not trust a leader that does not make them feel comfortable and confident in the leader’s decision. For example, a bad leader might attempt to use bullying and intimidation tactics to force people to follow their orders.

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  20. Overtime views on leadership and what is to be considered leadership have changed. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and may view a good leader in a contradicting way to others opinions. A leader in my eyes must be honest, and besides being completely honest with others they must've completely honest with themselves. This includes being honest with who they are and how they will benefit the group they are leading. If there is possibly any type of danger a leader and his group may be facing the leader must also be honest, as well as very straight forward about the issue. A leader who leaves his group in the dark about certain situations may eventually become known as a bad leader, or somewhere around those terms with his people.
    Other than honesty a leader must be passionate, focused, and confident. I personally wouldn't want a leader who doesn't obtain any desire to lead a group of people, as well as better them. When a person is given a task and they aren't enjoying what they are doing most of the time, they end up not giving it their all. If a leader isn't passionate about what they are doing they will most likely mess it up. Confidence is key to good leadership, it shows a lot about how a person presents themselves, as well as their group. As a leader that person represents all. A leader has a lot of responsibility set for them; especially when they have a group of people who have high expectations from their leadership. A good leader must have an abundance of characteristics in order to lead their group in the right path.

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  21. A great leader is by definition someone who guides and commands a population a company etc.. throughout history there has been some egoistic and heartless leaders such as Adolph Hitler joseph stalin etc.. these leaders ruled their country and their people with fear and without taking well consideration for their own people.In my opinion being egoistic and prideful are the worse flaws that a leader can have because when someone is egoistic he or she doesn't know how to view the other side and he or she cannot admit his or her mistakes.A great leader has to be able to take in consideration and try to understands where someone who has a different perspective comes from ,a great leader should not be too proud to recognize his or her own mistakes,a great leader should always prioritize the well being of his people even if that means sacrifices.An example of a great leader i think is our President just like professor Brady said our president always tries to see both sides and he believes that everybody deserves equals rights.

    A bad leader would be Hitler he ruled his people with fear ,he never tries to hear what others had to say or even consider that human beings has and were born with natural rights,he tries to exterminate an entire just because the jewish weren't the typical white german with blond hair and blue eyes he did not take on consideration the well being of his people.

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  22. Leadership is a very good quality to have. Not many people have the traits to be a leader. Leaders are often put in tough situations where they are pressured to make the right choice. If you make the wrong choice nobody trusts you anymore but if you make the right choice, you will be praised and everyone will follow your lead.
    Courage is the most important trait to have as a leader. If you don’t believe in yourself, you can’t expect other people to believe in you. You also have to be persuasive. If you all the sudden become a leader, you have to give people a reason to follow your lead. You need to earn their trust. The third trait a leader must have is honesty. You cannot lie to any of your followers because than they will try to rebel against you. This was proven in “Antigone.” Being a leader can be a great thing but you need to give people a reason to trust and follow you.

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  23. It’s fairly easy to think of a few adjectives that describe a leader. A leader is confident, passionate, and most are very persuasive. But why is it that some people who take on leadership roles are able to succeed, and others cannot? The leaders that are seen in movies and on the news are the successful ones, but we never hear about the unsuccessful leaders. People who fail at assuming their leadership roles do so because they lack desirable traits, and they also possess traits that are undesirable.

    Even though some leaders are more successful than others, both are still leaders. They both take control and make major decisions for a select group of people. They also share some important qualities such as confidence and good work ethic. An unsuccessful leader would scold somebody for making a mistake, whereas a successful leader would criticize a mistake in a constructive manner. Both successful and unsuccessful leaders can be confident, but it’s hard to be successful if your confidence turns into pride and arrogance. Someone like Creon from “Antigone” would be considered unsuccessful because he used his leadership traits in a counterproductive manner. He was very confident, but his ego was too big; to the point where he wouldn't accept other people’s points of view. Had he been a successful leader, Creon would have had the courage to admit that he was wrong before things got too out of hand.

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  24. A successful leader is someone that the people can relate to. They have to seem like they are honest, hardworking and trustworthy. A good leader is someone that has all these qualities and is able to be looked up to. They have to be intelligent as well because the people will have to put their lives into their leaders hands. In times of hardship a good leader will act swiftly and make sure his/her people know what the situation is. I think that is very important. No secrets should be held from the people a leader is running. Confidence is key. Nobody wants to be unsure of his or her leaders potential. A confident leader will hold no doubts in the minds of the people.

    An unsuccessful leader would be the exact opposite. They would seem unsure about plans and decision making. A bad leader will make mistakes and try to cover them up with lies. They would not worry about the lives of the people, they would only worry about their own problems. I think this eventually leads to failure. This type of leadership leaves the people falling apart. Although, today I feel like many leaders try to hide things that make themselves look bad and try to do things under the radar. All leaders really care about is their appearance, they don’t have to necessarily be a good leader. As long as they are portrayed as one to the people, they are happy.

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  25. In my opinion to be a successful leader you must passion for what you do and be highly motivated to become great. A successful leader is honest and his intentions are with his followers. They will have followers because of a good leader also is a skilled speaker and shows great charisma when speaking of his cause. On top of being convincing they also require specific experience and knowledge in order to fulfill his duties as leader. There also comes times where a leader is challenged and to be a great leader they must be smart enough to handle adversity and not break down, but instead maintain composure and overcome the issues at hand. Overall a successful leaders need to be a strong ambitious individual.
    Now when speaking of an unsuccessful leader its pretty simple. When a leader is a failure its because the lack some or many of the traits necessary to be great. Maybe they lack assertiveness when they are faced with adversity and it directly leads to their failure. Possibly lack the necessary experience and knowledge that causes them to lose peoples confidence and support. Also may lack honesty as leaders and make choices that benefit themselves instead of the people he is responsible for. A bad leader doesn't put his supporters in front, but instead lies and does not satisfy anyone as leader. We hear about poor leaders around the world, and they a well known however praised my very few.

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  26. Throughout times there have been many kinds of leaders. There have been strict ones and caring ones but you really never really will ever find the perfect leader. The people are always unsatisfied with something but they always expect certain qualities they expect a leader to have. One of the most important qualities is a leader to be understanding. This trait can mean that he knows the people and understands them which would give him a good vibe to the people. A good leader also needs to be very intelligent in every situation he has to encounter especially war times. If the leader makes smart choices it will be a positive affect to the kingdom or state. Confidence is also another trait a leader must have because if he is confident in what he is doing and stating then he knows what has to be done to become successful. Last good trait is to be strong because sometimes a leader needs to make harsh decisions even if the people don't like it at times. If the leader was weak he wouldn't make smart choices or be intelligent at all these traits.
    A bad leader is someone that isn't trying to benefit his people or country. Its someone that is greedy and is only looking to benefit himself by becoming a wealthy person. A person that is greedy would only make smart choices to profit from also they are usually very angry and harsh when it comes down to someone not doing the right thing. A bad leader doesn't take advice from people and usually tries to inflict fear so he thinks everyone would respect him but in the end people would just be afraid of him. A bad leader is kind of the opposite of a good leader in his goals but they can be smart and strong but their best interest is to look out for themselves and not the people.
    An amazing leader was George Washington he was a very intelligent leader during the time of the American Revolution. He had different strategies in defeating the British cause he knew they wouldn't win in head on collision with them. An example is that George Washington introduced a bit of gorilla war fare around that time and it helped them win battles against the British later on he became to be President and was known to be a well respected and caring person that cared for the people.

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  27. In order to be a successful leader, I think the most important characteristic one needs to possess is the ability to have an open mind and to be able to assess situations responsibly, and to be able to see the issue at hand from every aspect and angle. I also think that in order to be a good leader, the best interest of your people should be number one. For example, being the president of the United States requires an extreme amount of reponsibility, one being the right to declare war. Declaring war is not a subject to be taken lightly whatsoever. One needs to take into account that lives of soldiers, and innocent people could be at risk, your country could enter an extreme deficit which could have horrible effects later down the road, and so many other aspects. If a president does not sit down and weigh out every pro and con that one could possibly think of before making the executive decision to declare a war, the negative effects that could occur are numerous. To be specific, i think an example of poor leadership skills was when President Bush decided to invade Iraq based on a hunch that they possessed weapons of mass destruction, before finding any exact proof. Look where that led our county. We still have troops there and we invaded in 2003, all because of a false alligation.

    Being a good leader and making responsible choices and asserting onesself properly will, in my opinion, absolutly gain the trust and obediance of the public. Of course, no president has the respect and trust from all of the people in the country, but it takes a special individual to be able to run and govern a country of over 300 million residents. If went about in a respectable and responsible fashion, i think that more people will be willing to listen and also have an open mind as well about decisions made reguarding civil laws and such.

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  28. John Quigley


    The role of leadership has been the cornerstone of prosperity for many cultures and generations but has also had its negative impacts as well. So what makes a good leader? Some characteristics that I believe are most important are honesty, charisma, altruism, and passion. An example of a positive leader would be Barack Obama because of his charisma, policies, and passion for creating American jobs. Without these key qualities you may not be a bad leader, but you certainly won’t be a positive influencing one.

    Most of us view Adolf Hitler as one of the most evil men in the world, but aside from his atrocities he was still an excellent leader. His passion from his speeches and egoistic outlook on the world enabled him to influence millions of people and practically brainwash them into believing that they were a super race. He promised prosperity, jobs, food, and economic growth (before world war 2) which all happened. That is until the defeat of the Third Reich.

    The point I am getting at is if you live in a society where citizens feel protected under proper leadership, you can then effect and influence the rational thought of an entire population. Another example to this is North Korea. Dictator Kim Jong Ill is so persuasive to his people that he actually had them believing that he was god. He is an unsuccessful leader because North Korean society has no proper medical treatments, no food, no jobs, and no economic growth. Also society fears the government so much that the citizens are brainwashed into supporting communism and obtaining hatred for the west (America). These examples of unsuccessful leadership usually lead to war, famine, and death. Therefore leaders who portray proper characteristics might not always have the best intentions, which is why powerful leaders can influence society positively and negatively in so many ways.

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  29. Leadership is a skill possessed by few it is not something that can it be taught and it comes from within. Within a successful leader comes honesty loyalty poise and humility. Successful leaders used honesty to increase loyalty. Their people sought out the truth from their leader and received and in turn they provided their loyalty. The poise of the leader allowed his/her people to remain claim in times of adversity, without it there would be masses of disarray. Successful leaders did not always see eye to eye with civil law. The means by which the leader was fighting for justified their actions towards civil law. Martin Luther King Jr successful leader fought to change the civil law enact which happened to be Jim Crow Laws. The opposition to that is President Obama who has supports the civil law of today’s society, his means to lead is to create a better America for the future.
    Unsuccessful leaders had the support of very few for various reasons. They often used fear as a way to control people. They demanded loyalty from their people but in return cared nothing about their people. Their well becoming came second to nothing. Most Unsuccessful leaders had the power to control civil law. They used to their advantage often created situations where their people heavily opposed and started revolutions.

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  30. Being a leader in the world is one of the most difficult positions to maintain. A person must need certain characteristics in order to maintain peace and unity in the country or group one is leading. One of the most important traits a leader must have is the ability to make difficult decisions at stressful times. This person must deal with conflicts such as other people trying to control the people you are or internal conflicts leaders of countries must deal with such as war, poverty, famine, and disease. Unless the leader is able to make tough decisions on what must happen while keeping in mind the happyness, safety, and consideration of his or her people in the act. A leader must be also be strong and lead by example and not just word. As seen in the play "Antigone", Creon shows this type of leadership when he puts Antigone in a tomb where she waits until her fate of being stoned to death. Although he sticks to his word and was going to stone Antigone, the way he rules is unjust and unfair. Creon leads by an iron fist. He would rather be feared than loved so people will follow his word.
    A ruler who is loved can lead a group of people or country can lead better than one that is feared. A loved ruler has shown that he is able to be trusted and puts his people before himself or herself. They make decisions that are the best for the country eeven though it may not look like it from the start. These types of rulers have been seen through history to stay as the leader for most of their lives. They stay in their position because they do not abuse their powers and show that they are the ones who actually care about their people and their countries. They are the ones who push their country into a new Golden Age which helps them financially, socially, politically, and even economically in some cases.

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  31. A successful leader is someone who cares about others, someone who will accept his mistakes and try to make them right without any hesitation. He will not intimidate the people with his power but make them feel confident and safe to share their ideas and point of view. A successful leader set examples and become a role model for others. They are expert in decision making and have a positive attitude which motivates other people to do more for him and respect him. He enjoys being a leader not because he has the power but for the meaningful influence he can have on a society. He is fully committed to his work and accomplishes all the goals he has. A great leader is honest and he tries to communicate with the people more.
    Just because you are a leader doesn’t always mean you are a great successful leader. An unsuccessful leader is someone who doesn’t care about what impact their decision would have on the society or what the society thinks about him. He is only happy with his power and doesn’t want to listen to other people opinion or ideas. He thinks that he is smart and knows everything rather than learning and having new experiences. Overconfidence and pride are not positive traits in a leader. Leaders who are not fully committed to accomplish their goals will fail.

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  32. Although he committed horrible atrocities, Adolf Hitler was a successful leader. He brought Germany out of a depression and instilled national pride. He was an incredible orator, bringing crowds from tears to ecstasy. As a military leader, Hitler conquered much of Europe. He was even able to take over entire countries without any military force, I.E. Austria and Czechoslovakia.

    Hitler’s crimes against humanity were obvious to the German people. Yet there was little resistance. Many people enthusiastically joined the cause. They knew that Jews and other minorities were being murdered. Yet Hitler was able to convince an entire nation that doing this was for the good of the people and they believed him. Hitler was a horrible person. Yet he was able to get an entire country to commit horrible atrocities. Being a great leader isn’t about doing good things. Its about being able to lead

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  33. Machiavelli arises an intriguing statement when he says, “It’s better to be feared than loved”. While in his time this may have been the case, a quality leader today must be loved. As a leader one possesses many responsibilities, and receives much of the blame for a company’s or a country’s fault. Opposing the aforementioned statement by Prince Machiavelli, a successful leader today must be loved by his people. This love will be obtained from the many qualities that make him or her a successful leader. Looking back at recent history, Hitler is a prime example of why being feared as opposed to being loved can be one’s downfall. Although Hitler gained an extensive amount of power quickly, his reign quickly spiraled down as his fearful tactics depleted. Creon, from “Antigone” by Sophocles, is another example of how leading through fear can lead to your downfall.

    To be a completely successful leader in today’s world is nearly impossible. As a leader you will not be able to please everyone with every decision you make. Gun control, being a huge center of controversy today, contains two strongly opinionated arguments. No matter what the government decides to do, or not to do, there will be group of enraged people. A successful and loved leader must encompass many positive qualities; one of the more important qualities being empathy. A good leader must be able to put him or herself in his people’s shoes, because if he cannot do that he will not be able to make an educated decision based on what the people need. Being a leader is far from an easy job, and being able to please everyone is clearly impossible. What a good leader is successful at is making the most people satisfied while also doing what’s beneficial for their country or company.

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  34. Perfection is impossible. This applies to all aspects of life, including leadership. In order to be a perfect leader, you would have to please every soul under your authority. Given the uniqueness of human beings, and our forever contrasting opinions and mindsets, somebody will always feel slighted.
    What traits make a successful leader? Well this question becomes a whole lot easier when you are able to define success. Surely, the people will view success as how many people can the leader keep satisfied. In this case, traits that come to mind are adaptable, passionate, compassionate, and most importantly, confident. Confidence is crucial. The reason we have leaders to begin with is to prevent anarchy, to promote organization, and to work together towards higher goals. Thus, when we flock to a leader, we flock to someone who is confident and believes in what they are doing. Someone who is staggering in their opinions, and is fearful of opposing views is certainly not a leader. Another vital trait for a successful leader is awareness. Some of the most successful leaders the world has seen rose to power because they were able to recognize what the people were in need of at the time, and they took advantage of it. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini; these names trigger negative thoughts in people’s minds, but despite their eventual disuses of power, they were certainly successful leaders. Hitler realized that his country was in a terrible depression. The German people followed him because he was the only one capable of turning the economy around. Mussolini saw the Italian people struggling due to the ongoing battle between the Black and Red Socialists. He ended this struggle. It was at the cost of democracy, but his people still followed.
    An unsuccessful leader is one who is out of touch with the people under his rule. Adolf Hitler is a great example because his era as German dictator demonstrated how to be a leader and how not to be a leader nearly simultaneously. As mentioned previously, he won his people over with his charismatic speeches and his ability to bring them out of depression. But eventually he lost his people and the entire world by becoming greedy. Once in power, he decided to use his authority for selfish reasons, thus the Holocaust occurred. His hatred for Jewish people trumped his other motives and was eventually his downfall. Traits of an unsuccessful leader would be greedy, egocentric, and dishonest. A leader may have great power, but when all is said and done, their power lies in the hand of the people. Once the people distrust their leader, it’s only a matter of time until they flock to someone else.

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  35. In order for someone to become a successful leader they need to be a strong minded, intelligent, and outgoing individual who's desire is to strength the society. The leader will build a name for himself around the community he is ruling in order to show others he is in control on what goes on within the community and how to handle external conflicts that impacts his society. He or she will lead with dignity and give the proper rights to the citizens, and lay out these rules for them to follow. If this rule is broken, the necessary actions should be done to show others the consequences they will face if they follow the same actions. On a personal level i believe the leader should also have equal respect for everyone under him, not to abuse his power, and to be their to strength the society he is looking over. Perfect is impossible to achieve, but going the extra mile to try and achieve perfection is just as good.
    To be an unsuccessful leader would be to be cold hearted, and doing everything to make his power known. This leader would be feared by everyone and will pretty much run a society that has no equal rights. The citizens would all hate him, but be to afraid to do anything to stop him because of all the power he has, and the things he threatens he will do to those who don't follow his rule. Leaders such as hitler during World War two did exactly this. Hitler ruled with fear and did everything to abuse his power. He wanted the world to know he will go at any lengths to achieve supreme domination, and will whip out anyone I'm his path. Most leaders that follow these types of paths will eventually be over thrown by a revolution in the society, its always just a matter of time for someone to step in and show that moral values are the most important values, and personal freedom must be the most important thing in any society.

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  36. *Revised Post

    There are many types of leaders in this world and they can be seen in all aspects of life. Leaders are responsible for change, either good or bad, in industry, the military, and politics. Most leaders possess traits that include passion, foresight, charisma and motivation. When an individual has the right combination of these traits others will embrace them. Circumstances and timing need to be right in order for people to accept a leader’s ideas and make them into reality.

    After World War II, America needed a strong leader to get the economy going and offer stability to the country. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, helped bring this country back to its former glory. America embraced this leader for his charismatic and collaborative abilities. Eisenhower held many positions of authority before being elected for President in 1953. He was a five star Army General and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. His involvement in the war enabled him to understand what needed to be done as a leader. He listened to the people and led this country to prosperity following the Second World War. His popularity with the people won him two terms in office. America prospered under his leadership.

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  37. A good leader is all about a persons perspective. What I constitute as a good leader may not be the same for someone in another country. For example Hitler today is known as someone who was a sick and twisted man. After watching a documentary on 'Hitler's Children' there are still women who claim to this day that was the best time of their lives. In North Korea Kim Jong il had his people brainwashed to believe this is where they belong and while most of them are starving and going blind because of malnutrition they thank him every day and kiss the ground he walks on.

    There are leaders everywhere. There are people who can hold up or lead a country. Or it can be someone who just can run a company very well. There needs to be a balance. You can't be over aggressive and treat your followers like subordinates but you can't be passive either. There are dictators who instill fear to achieve a large group of followers. These people don't have the respect of their people. They don't feel grateful or privileged to follow you.

    A good leader is someone who has their people's trust, they don't waiver or tremble. They are devoted and committed. They definitely don't have exuberant egos either. People like MLK Jr., Gandhi, or even JFK. These people strive and believe in the good for all people. What they do improves the world around us.

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  38. I believe that a leader is a man who influences a path for the rest. He choices the correct and honorable words to help those around him to a better life. Lieutenant colonel Tim Collin led 800 men to the battle of Iraq , however he shared a few words with the men before the battle. They say tears ran down the soldier’s eyes. The intangible connection that these men had for this leader showed Tim Collins leadership skills. Ones honest and sincere words should never be taken advantage. A leader who bold and honest is an empowerment that attracts trust from people.
    Another Important attribute that a leader should be is a role model. There is certain reason why media is constantly searching for horrible news on a celebrities . A great story consists of someone in high power falling from his or her achievements. However role models consist of many different things .For example, collective , fearless , honest , and focus. A leader should appear always doing the honorable thing. Those leaders who jeopardize their imagine by breaking the law, is hard for the people to take them seriously . Like the great spider man movie says” great power comes with great responsibility”.

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  39. Leaders have to be able to inspire the people they rule or atleast instill a fear in them to gain support. both have been proven effective ways of leadership throughout history. One example of a leader that inspires his people would be Alexander The Great. he was a very charsimatic figure to have on the frontlines, sharing the same dangers of the vanguard. Alexander was able to conquer most of the known world back then. one example of leaders instilling fear unto his own people would be Marcus Licinius Crassus. Crassus was a roman general during the transtion time of the roman republic to the roman empire. crassus was the man who quelled the third slave rebellion led by spartacus and is considered to be the richest man in all of history. "Crassus was sent into battle against Spartacus by the Senate. At first he had trouble both in anticipating Spartacus' moves and in inspiring his army and strengthening their morale. When a segment of his army fled from battle, abandoning their weapons, Crassus revived the ancient practice of decimation :executing one out of every ten men, with the victims selected by drawing lots"(wiki 2/20/2013)
    Great leaders are usually bold, creative and lonely. great leader must be able to detach themselves from thier unchecked emotions. In order to make the best decisions for the greater good. whether it be to sacrafice several thousand lives to save millions. There is a great wieght on the shoulders of leaders, and it is this reason why hey must carry the burden of tough descions alone and must remain detached. Leaders come in all forms and can show up anywhere, one of the great leaders in the past 10 years is Ray Lewis. He inspired his Football team to achieve greatness and defy the odds. A great leader is defined by the amount of obstacles they over come to claim thier truimph. "Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them" -john c maxwell

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  40. When people think of the term “leader”, many people may think a leader is classified as ”good”. But is a good leader a successful one? Not always. A leader is someone who has a positive attitude and is there to benefit some sort of occurrence. A successful leader has the passion to help the world; to be honest, caring, and has the ability to gain trust from other individuals. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. was a successful leader. He did whatever it had to take to get his point across. He was caring and compassionate to not only help himself, but everyone else as well.

    Someone who only cares about themselves and is unworthy of leadership is an unsuccessful leader. They lack good judgment and they don’t learn from their mistakes. Hitler is a good example of this because he was selfish and did not care about what anyone else wanted. He did not use his power for good and that is not successful.

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