21 Skills Great Leaders Must Have To Be Successful

Do you want to be a great leader?  Of course you do or you would not be reading this site!  Let me give you some practical information which will help you be the best leader you can possibly be.
I am an NFL Draft nerd.  I read all the mock drafts and am up-t0-date on all the teams’ needs.  My love affair with this talent evaluation process culminates each year with the Draft itself.  Below are some comments from ESPN’s 2016 NFL Draft first round coverage.
I chose ESPN’s coverage over the NFL Network because I felt they had smarter people doing the analysis – former GM Bill Polian, Mel Kiper, Jon Gruden, Todd McShay and the incomparable Louis Riddick (who should be a GM somewhere).  As I listened to their comments, I gleaned the following 21 Skills Great Leaders Must Have.  See which ones best apply to your personal growth and development.
ESPN Pre-Draft Coverage April 25th

• Great Leaders Process Information Quickly And Have A Strong Work Ethic – “Quarterbacks fail because they can’t process, they don’t have the work ethic and they’re not strong-minded enough.  It’s not the physical part of it.  It’s the mental part of it.” – Bill Polian

NFL Draft 1st Round April 28th

1. Great Leaders Produce Great Results – “I would not have given up all these picks to take an underclassman quarterback with a 14-23 record.” – Jon Gruden on the Rams selecting Jared Goff
2. Great Leaders Are Low Maintenance – “(Larry) Tunsil has too much baggage for me.  When your picking number 3 overall, you get the most productive big man you can.” – Gruden on San Diego selecting Bosa
3. Great Leaders Recognize and Develop Long-Term Potential – “Any position is about projecting future performance.” – Louis Riddick
4. Great Leaders Show Great Effort – “I didn’t like his down-to-down effort and urgency.” – Gruden on Jalen Ramsey
5. Great Leaders Have Great Reliability – “The #1 criteria I want in my left tackle is reliability.” – Gruden
6. Great Leaders Reduce Unnecessary Risk – “The draft is an exercise in risk management.” – Riddick
7. Great Leaders Must Be Willing To Make Unpopular Decisions – “I’m very glad to see Tennessee take a good football player and ignore all the other noise about taking a good athlete.” – Riddick on Michigan State offensive tackle Jack Conklin
8. Great Leaders Have More Than Just Great Talent – “Leonard Gordon is a talent.  He’s yet a pass rusher.  Can they (Chicago Bears) coach him up and make him that?” – Mel Kiper Jr.
9. Great Leaders Have Great Maturity – “When you can’t take care of things off the field, people aren’t going to take you.” – Gruden
10. Great Leaders Are Great Planners – “Your needs today are not your needs tomorrow.” – Riddick
11. Great Leaders Have Great Consistency – “The effort (of Taylor Decker) was inconsistent in finishing the running plays.” – Gruden
12. Great Leaders Have Great Character – “Character counts when you look at the positions in the middle of your football field.” – Riddick
13. Great Leaders Have Great Courage – “Teddy (Bridgewater) had people open downfield and wouldn’t pull the trigger.  They (Vikings) need more chunk plays.” – Riddick
14. Great Leaders Are Great Evaluators Of Talent – “John Elway hash’t made many mistakes in evaluation.” – Kiper
15. Great Leaders Are Masters Of Their Craft – “Scheme familiarity is what it is all about.” – Riddick
16. Great Leaders Have Great Intelligence – “It’s a shocker to me to trade back into the first round to get a guard from Stanford.” – Kiper on the 49ers
17. Great Leaders Are Not Passive – “You got to get lineman from somewhere.  They’re not going to fall out of the sky.” – Gruden
18. Great Leaders Have Great People Skills – “We’re investing in you here  You to have to change some your decision making processes going forward…This business is a relationship business.” – Riddick on the Arizona Cardinals drafting Robert Nkemdiche
19. Great Leaders Have Great Self-Awareness – “You’re (Nkemdiche) a grown man now.  You’re a professional football player now.  It’s time to start acting like it.” – Gruden

What is one thing you learned from this list which will make you a great leader?

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