The Qualities of a Good Leader

Throughout my many years of Sunday School, I was often taught the qualities of a good leader, and in nearly ALL cases, the answer was: follow Christ. What are his attributes? They just so happen to be the qualities of a great leader. And I think we would all agree that Jesus was indeed a great leader.

Compassion and Sympathy: Jesus always considered the needs of his followers. When they were hungry while attending his sermons, he would give them loaves and fishes. When a person died, he would weep. He healed many of the sick and afflicted. These actions understandably gained him followers.

Humility: He didn't wear fancy clothing, nor did he order people to bow down and worship them. Rather, he carried himself with humility as an example for us all. This also helped him to gain followers, as they saw that he cared more for them than himself.

Honesty and Integrity: He never lied. He always told the truth. And he always did what was right. People would follow him because the truth would resonate, and because Jesus would always keep his word.

Competence and Strength: Jesus seldom backed down. He did what needed to be done despite his unpopularity among the Jewish leaders. And he was never afraid to tell the people what sins they were committing and what needed to be worked on. This demonstrates the ability to push forward and accomplish his mission, which many of his followers appreciated.

Conviction and Faith: Jesus was always faithful to his religion, family, and values. This was also an example to us -- as followers see Jesus holding true to who he was, and what he believed, they too would do the same.

I could go on and on, but I'm trying to keep this short. For more, here's a good longer list and discussion. I think you get the gist, though. If you wish to be a leader, study Christ and his attributes, and emulate those. I have tried to do so, myself, and it has helped me to gain great results -- to gain respect among my peers, and others have joined with me to achieve great things in my day job.

But I'll admit. I'm not perfect. There are some attributes I don't do so well with, and they have served as weaknesses working against me. But I do my best. Nobody's perfect.

And that brings me to the other aspect of this discussion. Not only should we strive to BE such great leaders, but we should also strive to CHOOSE such great leaders to lead over us. As I've written before, D&C 98:10 states:

Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.

And likewise, Proverbs 29:2 states:

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

But lately, I've been hearing opposite words of wisdom floating around on social media:

Don't look at the person, but look at his policies.

And let's explore this briefly. The idea here is that no one is perfect, like I mentioned above. A person, feasibly, could have some of those leadership traits and still be a great leader even though they lack other important traits. Both the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament are filled with examples of good and bad leaders. When the good ruled, the people prospered. And when the bad ruled, bad things happened.

Check out this particular leader in the Book of Mormon. In Omni 1:2, he writes of himself and his achievements:

Wherefore, in my days, I would that ye should know that I fought much with the sword to preserve my people, the Nephites, from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. But behold, I of myself am a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done.

This sounds like a man who had not kept to his religion, but nevertheless sounds like he did a good job protecting his people. Though he lacked the conviction and faith, he still had other qualities that compensated for it. And I seem to remember the Old Testament has a couple of these examples as well -- I'll let you look these up.

And there's that idea again: an imperfect man can indeed still be a great leader. Jonah wasn't a perfect prophet, but he succeeded in his mission. I could go on here, but you get the picture.

However, in all these scriptural examples, there are other traits these leaders have that seem to compensate for their lack in other traits. Or in other words -- they're good at what they do.

But what if a leader has very little of these compensating traits? What if he lacked compassion and sympathy: sending visitors to violent countries, separating families, or sending armies against his own people? What if he lacked humility: always boasting of himself, requiring subordinates to praise him every minute, surrounding himself with gold and adornments, mocking others? What if he lacked honesty and integrity: always promoting falsehoods, and always doing what's good for himself rather than what is right? What if he lacked competence and strength: doing everything on a whim, contradicting himself, removing all who oppose him, and surrounding himself with inexperienced people? What if he lacked conviction and faith: unable to follow to teachings of his own church, and engaging in awful acts?

When there are no compensating traits, then I'll be honest: I don't want such a person in charge, because bad things will happen -- the people will mourn. And as for that above advice I've heard on social media: in my recent experience, I've learned that a bad leader tends to also have abhorrent policies, anyway.

So, I'll reiterate what I've said before, when it comes to choosing leaders, it really is the person we're electing, first and foremost, and only after that come the policies. D&C 98:10 not only is a suggestion, but it is also a warning to what will happen if we ignore that advice.

In conclusion, if we want to be good leaders, ourselves, look to the traits of Christ. And when we choose good leaders over us, look to the traits of Christ.