What Makes a Good Leader?

This week we read a lengthy case study on Randy Haykin.  I feel like out of everything I read this week, this resonated with me the most.  I especially enjoyed and pondered his thoughts on leadership.  He shares with the reader his strengths and weaknesses.  I felt like I had parallel strengths and weaknesses.  We are very similar.  Strengths of his are the ability to recognize potential in people and businesses and relationship building and seeing the end goal.  His weaknesses were forgetting to thank people in real time (which is almost impossible to do), learning to relax (this is me) and often being a little judgmental.  This is me to a tee.  Mr. Haykin said, "To me, a leader is someone who sets the creative direction for a concept and can then harness the human resources to turn that concept into a reality: a product, a market or a company.  A leader is someone who creates something from nothing."This is a statement I would like to remember as I enter the career field. How will I utilize creativity, human resources, and productivity to produce something magnificent from very little? Another aspect of leadership is seeing the future before it happens.  No one has a crystal ball that can predict whether a business will live or die but a good leader can do a decent job at assessing the situation and righting any wrongs.  Haykin does not forget to include that a leader can only truly be successful if he finds balance in his life.  Work/life balance is difficult to achieve but success at home is just as important if not more than success in business.