15 Great Leaders Through History

 

I don't know if these are the 15 greatest, but I was thinking about some of the traits that make good leaders and stumbled upon this list published by LIFE.  I've decided to share some of what they had to say here.  Here are the first five, I'll post the rest as the week goes on:

1. Mohandas Gandhi: In 1950 Albert Einstein said, "Taken on the whole, I would believe that Gandhi's views were the most enlightened of all the political men of our time.  We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence for fighting for our cause, but by non-participation of anything you believe is evil."
2. Vince Lombardi: "The leader can never close the gap between himself and the group.  If he does, he is no longer what he must be.  He must walk a tightrope between the consent he must win and the control he must exert."
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt: "This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly.  Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today.  This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper ... In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory."
4. Steve Jobs: "...merely listing his achievements is sufficient explanation of why he's Fortune's CEO of the Decade (though the superlatives continue).  In the past 10 years alone he has radically and lucratively reordered three markets—music, movies, and mobile telephones—and his impact on his original industry, computing, has only grown." November 2009, Fortune Magazine.
5. Nelson Mandela: "A leader is like a shepherd.  He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing all along they are being directed from behind."

This week, I'd like to share five traits that I believe make good project leaders, here are the first two:

1. A collaborative management style: Engaging the team and stakeholders in problem-solving and decision-making is critical for work management success.
2. Adaptability: Project teams and individual projects are always different.  Successful project managers are able to adapt and overcome the challenges new projects present.  A fluid project management approach is a very effective method for managing project-based work.

Over the next couple of days, we'll go through all 15 of LIFE's list of the greatest leaders.  Stay tuned.