LISTEN TO ARTICLE 

SCOTT DOW -

"Why do people follow the leader? The answer might surprise you. But before I tell you what it is, I have another question.

Are leader leaders born or made?

If you think leaders have to be outgoing, popular, charismatic and confident, assertive, and smart, you might think that leaders are born.

But they're not...

Recent studies show that leadership is 30% genetic and 70% learned.

So back to my initial question - Why do people follow the leader?

The Gallup organization polled 10,000 followers and asked them what they needed from a leader. And there were four things: trust, compassion, stability and hope.

And guess what? Any leader can learn how to develop those feelings in others.

• Trust comes with honesty
• Compassion comes from empathy
• Stability comes with consistency, and
• Hope comes with optimism 

And all these traits can be developed. You can influence people with trust, compassion, stability and hope. You don't have to be liked, you don't have to be popular, and you don't have to be charismatic.

You've got to be honest, empathetic, consistent and optimistic. And when you are, people are going to follow your lead."

Outro

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