What Makes Someone a Great Leader?
In an effort to start a regular conversation with readers, Texas posed a question in our monthly e-newsletter McCombs Monthly. We received lots of thoughtful answers, many of which are printed here. Keep an eye open for future questions…we want to hear from you!
“Accepting responsibility and delegating praise.” — Michael Love, BBA’69
“Effective leadership begins with trust and respect. The team does not necessarily
have to ‘like’ the leader. But if the team has respect for the leader’s judgment
and trusts that the leader is 100 percent committed to the long-term best
interest of the organization as a whole, they will either follow or leave.”
—Mickey G.McDaniel, BBA’75
“Great leaders help people reach their goals, are not afraid to hire people
that might be better than them and take pride in the accomplishments of
those they help along the way. Great leaders set an example for ethics, hard
work and loyalty, while not ignoring the needs of their own families. All of
the above were easy for me to answer. I just described my own father, Douglas
Pierce, president and CEO of three major insurance companies for 28 years.”
— Brad Pierce, BBA’82
“A great leader is someone with character, integrity and the will to put the
interest of duty before self.”
— Wilbur L.Coats, BBA’57
When I think of great leaders, I think of presidents, military leaders, industry
leaders, religious leaders and leaders of social change. But I also think about
college students, teachers, community leaders, teammates, workmates and
caregivers. Great leaders are everywhere.
— David Goodnight,MBA,’76
“A great leader is compassionate and equipped with the spiritual and natural
abilities to overcome all obstacles. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary
work.We can all be great leaders in life.We must work diligently with honesty,
ethics and integrity and think of others’ needs.”
— Margarita Pizano-Flores, BBA’80
“A great leader uses negative motivation only if positive motivation isn’t
working. A great leader creates a pleasant atmosphere.”
— James Patterson Foster, BBA’63
“A great leader possesses the ability to think beyond her own needs and goals
and act for the good of the whole. She sees the big picture and values the
input of others regardless of whether or not it is in agreement with her own
opinions. Such a leader does not see herself as better than or smarter than
everyone else and is capable of admitting to and working past mistakes.”
— Tammy“Taz”Diaz-Clarady, BBA’92
“Character, intelligence, vision and decisiveness.” — Bill Merrill, MBA’93
“The best leaders have always been great communicators. You want to work with them and act on their "orders," which the audience hears as voluntary suggestions to help make the world a better place.”
–James Patrick Curtiss, BBA ‘90
“I write a blog on leadership. I have lots of ideas about what makes a great leader and it’s not just “one” thing. It’s a nexus of skills, inner qualities, and experience.”
– Alex B. Ramsey, MBA ‘93
“The quality of the people who follow.” — Matthew J. Moesker, BBA ’98
Visit the McCombs TODAY blog to join the discussion on leadership and leave your own opinion.
