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posted on March 9, 2023

To build on Toria’s blog from yesterday on mentorship, I wanted to touch base on the qualities that I feel make a good leader and ultimately a good person. Although I am a Navy Veteran and have seen and done many things that some people have not, I am still very young and have much to learn. As I sit here and wish I could say that I emulate all these qualities that I will explain in this blog, these are qualities that I need to work on and I am actively working on to become a better person.

1. Empathy- In my opinion, this attribute is the most important one of all. This is the ability of being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes to try and understand the way they may feel. This can happen by actively listening to someone’s problems, issues, or ideology whether you may disagree or agree with them. This means not being ignorant to what they are talking about.

2. Reliability- This is the ability of other people being able to rely on you. This means living up to your promises and doing exactly what you said you were going to do. For example, if you tell a friend that you will help them move out of their house then you better be there and not bail on them. This also means showing up to work on time or finishing work that you promised someone by a certain deadline. If no one can rely on you then how can you be a good leader?

3. Walking the Walk/ Getting in the trenches- This is what I call doing the grunt work. If you are in a leadership position then you shouldn’t put yourself above others. This means that you should work hand in hand with the people that you lead with the things that they do. For example, if you are a doctor, maybe it would be a good idea to do the work that your nurses do to get on their level and show them that you care about what they do. Using myself as an example, I cannot be the Lead Personal Trainer here at Union Fitness and not workout myself. I need to stay healthy and workout as hard as I can so that my clients can believe that they can do the same themselves.

4. Being caring- This goes hand in hand with empathy. No one wants to work for someone that does not care about their well-being. I think if people genuinely know that you care about them then that will entice them to work harder and be their best self around you!

With all these qualities being mentioned above, some people may not think that they are in a leadership role but I beg to differ. Each day that you make an interaction with someone is the opportunity to inspire someone else. Whether that is at work, at home, at the gym, or when you are out having fun with friends, someone could be looking up to you. So do your best to be the best person that you can be!

Zain