This will take moral courage, and it may mean some rough times for you, but the long term benefits will surprise you and reward you. You will also be building the foundation for your future as a good leader. The second key attribute of leaders is loyalty. The quality of loyalty is an interesting one because it is quickly becoming outdated in the values of our modern society, which places the rights of the individual over the rights and needs of the community. Good leaders are those who realize there are missions, principles, values or causes bigger than ourselves to which we owe our loyalty.
Real leaders are loyal to both their superiors and to their subordinates.
People who will not champion the just cause of a subordinate because they fear offending their colleagues or superiors are not really leaders. Conversely, people who openly criticize superiors and are always blaming others in authority are also not true leaders because they do not understand or live the concepts of personal responsibility, teamwork and loyalty. Self-serving leaders will never win the trust of their people and are highly unlikely to make the sacrifices for the betterment of those they lead and the organization they serve. The final attribute of real leaders that I wish to speak about is integrity. But we live in a world where honesty and integrity sometimes just seem like words and we are all disappointed when public leaders fail to measure up in this area.