Im preparing for my Wharton interviews on Thursday and have compiled a list of questions from accepted.com, clearadmit.

com, and random blogs. While most of the questions are pretty straightforward, Im stumped by the question in the title. Tell me about a leader you admire. My answer (Oprah Winfrey) is cliche, and I would like to avoid cliche. However, I truly do admire Oprah Winfrey. She came from nothing and overcame sexual abuse, racism, and sexism to become one of the most influential people in the world. When Oprah speaks, people listen. She exposes the masses to otherwise ignored atrocities around the world (Darfur + George Clooney = attention), educates girls in Africa, and commits large sums of her own money to causes she believes in. Whats not to admire? Help me find a better answer, blogosphere! I admire Bill & Melinda Gates commitment to education reform and the eradication of curable diseases in the third world. However, Im not sure I admire his business practices (as evidenced on the Simpsons). I admire Queen Noor for breaking down barriers for women in the Middle East and for her commitment to educating the West about Middle Eastern culture. I admire John Coltrane for his pursuit of innovation. But he was a heroin junkie

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Finish Line Leadership Qualities for Successful Leadership

By Drew Stevens What and who is a leader? The Websters Dictionary defines leader as a person who by force of example, talents or qualities of leadership plays a directing role, wields commanding influence, or has a following in any sphere of activity or thought. It defines leadership as that ingredient of personality that causes men (and/or women) to follow. Enthusiasm, dedication and charisma are some of the more important characteristics of leadership. Leaders are seen as good and evil, and take on many personalities and roles, from managers or coaches to world leaders. It is believed that every leader posses a charisma that provides change and success. Thus leadership begins with vision, concern and mentorship. Contrasting the belief of vision and concern are ten important themes that help leadership. It is my belief that by not adhering to the ten traits, leaders not only fail but also bring chaos to their organization. To assist in creating a balanced organization, and good stewardship, I offer to the leaders the following thoughts based on LEADERSHIP. L = Listening Good listening is required in order to understand employee attitudes and motivators. Get to know your employees by asking a lot of open-ended questions. When you ask questions, you have a chance to listen, and when you listen, you begin to better understand employee motivations, body language and issues. Get them to speak of issues that confront them and enable them to find solutions. Offer challenges to corporate issues with solutions. And, provide credit to the employee with a solid reply. E = Enthusiasm Employees want to be motivated. This begins with positive energy and positive commitment. Your personal ills and corporate pressures are unimportant to your employees. They are concerned

about number one- themselves. In good times and bad you must always express a positive and energetic attitude. Finish line energy gets finish line results. A = Awareness Be aware of issues that are non-verbal. Leaders must have a keen sense that denotes when employees are happy, frustrated, tired or overwhelmed. You must sense the issue and eliminate it quickly so that you keep organizational harmony. D = Decisive Employees loathe procrastinators, even if they are a procrastinator! They want quick, decisive and meaningful replies. Leaders do not ponder; they make quick decisions to difficult problems and find immediate solutions. E = Equal The clich equal pay, for equal treatment is so true. Leaders do not treat employees based on title, age, race, religion et. al. Leaders understand that everyone and anywhere in the organization is equal. Leaders go by the principle that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. R = Reward Adults desire more than just money with work. They desire recognition and kudos for a job well done. However, in todays marketplace, employees although happy, are looking for more contentment from their current job. This sense of pride and self-worth is a large issue for most people. If people feel that they make a difference, they will care about organizational objectives, if not, apathy emerges. In sum, the job affects the person and the person affects the job. So what can be accomplished to gain a better sense of company pride and loyalty? Establish a reward system and watch the attitudes soar! S = Shallow Mission/Vision Leaders understand the reasons of having corporate and divisional mission and vision statements. These statements of purpose enable employees to understand, 1) Who the firm is, 2) Where they are going? and 3) How they will get there. True leaders establish missions as a roadmap to future success. H = Hypocrite Leaders make decisions and stick with them. Leaders understand that reversing decisions make them a hypocrite. Further leaders take action when they offer action. For example, if a leader decides employees need training, he or she also takes the training. If a leader decides pay cuts are necessary to preserve profits they too take a cut. Leading by example creates a happier employee core and loyalty; contradicting the efforts creates dispassion, disbelief and attrition. I = Isolate Leaders believe in teamwork and team play. Every employee counts toward the bottom line. Leaders do not isolate themselves from the team and do no isolate the team from each other. As the saying goes, There is no I in team P = Positive Communication In good times and in bad leaders create positive communication and feedback to employees. Positive and meaningful communication creates loyalty and mutual exchange of ideas and attitudes. When ideas are fresh and positive, profits and productivity soar! The Finish Line The leader of tomorrow is changing from the top down style of management to a collegial

approach where all become counterparts. Working together creates the compassion for work and productivity that both sides seek. Leaders who have created this style of management have names on the front door such as Cisco, UPS, Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart, et al. These leaders are change agents and strive to become not only recognized brand names but also recognized leaders. Employ the ten leadership traits, incorporate these in your organization and daily efforts and watch productivity grow.

Drew Stevens is all about results! He speaks and consults internationally on sales, productivity and profitability and is the author of Magnetic Leadership. Contact him at 877-391-6821 or 636-938-4486 or drew@gettingtothefinishline.com Feedback Copyright 1999-2003 ExpertMagazine.com

Three Keys to Being a Successful Leader

By Jae, June 28, 2009 A huge part of a mans attractiveness comes from his ability to lead. Will Smith is one of the most respected and loved actors in the entertainment business, and a true leader in his field. The reason why he is so successful is because he has the most important traits that that all great leaders have. In this article, Ill talk about three of these most important traits. Lets get to it. 1. Being a Great Decision Maker The first and most important trait of a great leader is a high level of decision making skill. Destiny is not a matter of chance. Its a matter of choice. Or in other words, our reality is simply a result of the decisions we have made. Just DECIDE, what its going to be, who youre going to be, and how youre going to do it, just DECIDE, and then from that point, the universe is going to get out of your way, its like water Will Smith Are you someone that is good at making decisions throughout your day? Or do you keep delaying things that need to be settled, worked out, or acted upon? I see so many guys who settle for just flowing with the crowd without taking the time to decide what they want, wondering why they are unhappy most of the time. And when it comes down to making decisions, they are busier thinking up excuses why they cant do something, instead of trying to figure out how they can do it. The man who isnt constantly making important decisions in his life has no vision, and with no vision there arent strong goals, and without goals, there is no progress only mediocrity at best. When it comes to making an important decision, you should have no hesitation to get out a piece of paper and a pen, sit down with a cup of coffee, and spend however long it takes to work it out. It should be second nature. When a man can lead himself in his personal goals, he can be an attractive leader in social situations and in business. When friends dont know what to do or where to go, a leading man steps up and is the first to suggest something. At work, when everyone is waiting for orders from the boss, he thinks about the companys most important objectives and takes the necessary steps to get everyone moving. He shapes his reality by deciding what, why, and how things are going to happen. But what if you make the wrong choice or decision? Too many people are on the fence for way too long because they are afraid of making a bad decision. But the biggest mistake is always trying so hard not to make any.

Its important to do as much of your homework before making an important decision, but its even more important to just launch and get things moving. Too many people get stuck trying to make sure everything is perfect before they take the first step. And people who never take the first step, never takes the second; getting no where near what they want. Recently, I learned that a perfectly straight line does not exist in nature. Even if you put a straight line under a microscope, there are jagged edges that go in different directions. Its only when you zoom out that it looks straight. Just like in nature, a straight line towards our desired destination does not exist either. For example, when a pilot is flying a plane towards a destination, they never go in a straight line. They are constantly zigzagging onto and off the best course. The most successful leaders make the best choices they can with the information available to them, they LAUNCH AND GET GOING, and appropriately adjust their course as they go. Is there any situation in your life right now that needs a decision? What have been holding off? Today, try making all the necessary decisions you can before the day ends. Dont leave anything to chance or delay any longer. Not only will you realize how many decisions you may be procrastinating on, but youll realize how much power is contained in a moment of choice. 2. Taking Full Responsibility The second greatest trait a successful leader has is being able to take full responsibility for his choices. A great leader always thinks about what the situation needs, not just his own selfish needs. Many times our choices not only affect ourselves, but the people around us. When thats the case we cant wait for everyone to agree before we act. The best way to create results in this situation is to take full responsibility for whatever happens especially if it involves lots of risk. Its hard to find great leaders today because nobody ever wants to be the one to blame if something goes wrong. The way we were raised by our parents and in school conditioned us to fear making mistakes and being rejected. During stormy times, you have to be willing to steer the ship when nobody else wants to, or else you all might die. So many necessary things that need to get done in our homes, businesses, and the world we live in arent getting done because people arent willing to step up to the plate. Its in our nature to want to feel safe and secure, but the only real security exists our ability to take action. One of the reasons why were the greatest species on earth is that we have no limit to what we can achieve. No matter what happens to us, we can do something to improve the situation. Its mostly the fear of failure that stops us in our track, but all of the most successful people I know have an unending list of failures under their belt. They wouldnt be where they are, living their dream, if it wasnt for all the mistakes and failures that happened along the way. A great leader isnt afraid to fail or make mistakes. And they dont take what other people think of them too seriously either. They never act like a victim like most people do, blaming others or some outside condition when they are met with resistance. They have confidence in the fact that if anything goes wrong no matter what it is they can quickly take action to improve the situation. This belief is what enables them to take full responsibility for what needs to get done. They lead themselves into action, take the load on their shoulders, and people inevitably follow. 3. Relentless Action Following Decisions A lot of men are good at making decisions, and some even take full responsibility for their choices, but most quit at the first few signs of resistance. The leading man consistently takes actions towards his goals until he achieves them. He works and works, changing his approach when its not working, and works and works at it some more. He does whatever it takes to win. if we get on a treadmill together, either youre getting off first, or Im going to DIE trying Will Smith Countless studies have found that the most successful people are quick to make decisions and slow if ever to change them, where unsuccessful people are always slow to make decisions and quick to change them. This sounds so simple but just look around and youll see so many people making a decision to do something and than quickly change their minds. And not because they found a better route, but because they gave up when it started to get a little uncomfortable or hard. When successful leaders make choices, they do not RELENT. Theyll do whatever it takes to reach their goals, to live up to their decision.

Its important to maintain integrity with yourself, and take massive action towards your decisions. For example, if you make a decision to go to the gym three times a week, its so important to honor your decision. The more you keep your word to yourself, the more power you will gain. To the point where if you say youre going to do something, not only do you have complete confidence that youll do it, but others will trust you as well. This is monumentally important to becoming a great leader. The most successful and attractive men out there, are those who can make the hard decisions, take full responsibility for their choices, and take relentless action towards their goals. They are respected in their line of work, are much more desirable by women, and loved by the people around them. Every man has the choice to be a leading man. If you recognize that you need to work on one of these areas, quickly resolve to begin working on it today. And dont stop running. Stay relentless,