Qualities of a Leader

There are so many examples of leaders throughout our stages of life. For a child a leader would be a teacher and for an adult it could be a boss but for everyone a great example of a leader would be the President of the United States. With having 45 presidents we have quite a few examples of good and bad leaders. We could spend all day discussing the shortcomings of every single one but in the spirit of a positive 2019 let's discuss the great qualities that so many of our presidents have had. Honesty is at the top of the list for most people and whom do we think of when it comes to truthfulness? Of course, it's "Honest Abe" our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. It's imperative to have the country believe in a president and consider them and honest and truth telling person. Honesty is something that will follow you until the end of your days and even a small infraction could result in being labeled a dishonest person. We all must be honest and show our children the importance of telling the truth because that quality will speak volumes for their character.

Another quality of a great president is loyalty. So many of our presidents showed loyalty by fighting for our country or debating with foreign governments and standing up to dangerous rulers and dictators. A great example of loyalty and commitment is Franklin D. Roosevelt. He stayed at his post as president regardless of being paralyzed by polio in 1921.

 It's also important to stay cool under pressure with resilience and to my mind, no one better displayed that than Barack Obama. All of our presidents face troubling times whether its from their own people or threats around the world but it is so important to show a steady hand and a sure heart as did Obama. He remained a calm and collected man while in the White House.

Lastly,  when I think of confidence, I think of Ronald Reagan who stands out the most as having this quality.  President Reagan displayed the greatest confidence and he believed in himself. Believing in yourself in the face of scoffing, disbelief and adversity is a trait that we could all learn to obtain. 

All of these qualities are great and very important for adults to learn as well as children. Honesty, loyalty, resilience and confidence are just a few among a vast selection of great qualities from so many respectful  presidents. 

Happy President’s Day!