Reading leadership literature, you’d sometimes think that everyone has the potential to be an effective leader. I don’t believe that to be true. In fact, I see way fewer truly effective leaders than I see people stuck in positions of leadership who are sadly incompetent and seriously misguided about their own abilities. Part of the reason this happens is a lack of honest self-assessment by those who aspire to ( 追求 ) leadership in the first place. We’ve all met the type of individual who simply must take charge. Whether it’s a decision-making session, a basketball game, or a family outing, they can’t help grabbing the lead dog position and clinging on to it for dear life. They believe they’ve natural born leaders. Truth is, they’re nothing of the sort. True leaders don’t assume that if their divine ( 神圣的 ) right to take charge every time two or more people get together. Quite the opposite. A great leader will assess each situation on its merits, and will only take charge when their position, the situation, and/or the needs of the moment demand it. Many business executives confuse leadership with action. They believe that constant motion somehow generates leadership as a byproduct. Faced with any situation that can’t be solved by the sheer force of activity, they generate a dust cloud of impatience. Their one leadership tool is volume: if they think you aren’t working as hard as they think you should, their demands become increasingly louder and harsher. True leaders understand the value of action, of course, but it isn’t their only tool. In fact, it isn’t even their primary tool. Great leaders see more than everyone else answers, solutions, patterns, problems, opportunities. They know it’s vitally important to do, but they also know that thinking, understanding, reflection and interpretation are equally important. If you’re too concerned with outcomes to the extent that you manipulate and intimidate others to achieve those outcomes, then you aren’t leading at all, you’re dictating. A true leader is someone who develops his or her team so that they can and do hit their targets and achieve their goals.