The Qualities of Skillful Leadership by Jim Rohn

If you want to be a leader who attracts

quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself.

Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills,

and opportunities you offer as an owner, as

a manager, as a parent. I call leadership the

great challenge of life.

What’s important in leadership is refining

your skills. All great leaders keep working

on themselves until they become effective.

Here are some specifics:

1. Learn to be strong but not rude. It is an

extra step you must take to become a powerful, capable leader with a wide range of

reach. Some people mistake rudeness for

strength. It’s not even a good substitute.

2. Learn to be kind but not weak. We must

not mistake kindness for weakness.

Kindness isn’t weak. Kindness is a certain

type of strength. We must be kind enough

to tell somebody the truth. We must be kind

enough and considerate enough to lay it on

the line. We must be kind enough to tell it

like it is and not deal in delusion.

3. Learn to be bold but not a bully. It takes

boldness to win the day. To build your influence,

you’ve got to walk in front of your group.

You’ve got to be willing to take the first arrow, tackle

the first problem, and discover the first sign of trouble.

4. You’ve got to learn to be humble but not

timid. You can’t get to the high life by being

timid. Some people mistake timidity for

humility. Humility is almost a God-like word

A sense of awe. A sense of wonder. An

awareness of the human soul and spirit. An

understanding that there is something

unique about the human drama versus the

rest of life. Humility is a grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having

the feeling that we’re part of the stars.

Humility is a virtue; timidity is a disease.

Timidity is an affliction. It can be cured, but

it is a problem.

5. Be proud but not arrogant. It takes pride

to win the day. It takes pride to build your

ambition. It takes pride in community. It

takes pride in cause, in accomplishment.

But the key to becoming a good leader is

being proud without being arrogant. In fact,

I believe the worst kind of arrogance is

arrogance from ignorance. It’s when you

don’t know that you don’t know. Now that

kind of arrogance is intolerable. If someone

is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that.

But if someone is ignorant and arrogant,

that’s just too much to take.

6. Develop humor without folly. That’s

important for a leader. In leadership, we

learn that it’s okay to be witty but not silly.

It’s okay to be fun but not foolish.

Lastly, deal in realities. Deal in truth. Save

yourself the agony. Just accept life like it is.

Life is unique. Some people call it tragic,

but I’d like to think it’s unique. The whole

drama of life is unique. It’s fascinating. And

I’ve found that the skills that work well for

one leader may not work at all for another.

But the fundamental skills of leadership can

be adapted to work well for just about

everyone: at work, in the community, and

at home.

(Source: Jim Rohn, motivational speaker,

author, philosopher, and entrepreneur.

http://www.jimrohn.com)

Life of Rabindranath Tagore at a glance

Here are milestones from Nobel laureateRabindranath Tagore's life on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary celebrations:

1861, May 7: Rabindranath Tagore is born to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi at Jorasanko House.

1868: He is sent to Oriental Seminary, possibly India's first fully private school. Subsequently admitted to a regular school.

1869: Attempts his first verse after reading a Bengali translation of Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's "Paul et Virginie".

1871: Joins Bengal Academy, an Anglo-Indian school.

1873: His 'upanayan' (brahminical initiation) is performed. Writes play "Prithviraj Parajaya" (manuscript lost) and tours India.

1874: Anonymously publishes poem "Abhilasa" (Desire); joins Saint Xavier's School, Kolkata.

1876: Joins the short-lived Secret Society, modelled on Mazzini's Carbonari. His first literary criticism of a book of Bengali poems appears in journal Jnanankur.

1877: On Jan 1, Tagore writes and recites poem on Delhi Durbar arranged by Lord Lytton to proclaim Queen Victoria. Writes his first long story "Bhikharini" (Beggar Maid), first unfinished novel "Karuna" and long poem "Kabikahini".

1878: Studies English in Ahmedabad. Embarks on his first foreign tour - September 1878 to February.

1880: And goes to school at Brighton, England.

1879: Moves to London and joins University College.

1881: Composes his first set of devotional songs. His first musical play " Valmiki Pratibha" is staged at Jorasanko; sails for England April 20; starts writing novel "Bauthakuranir Hat" (The Young Queen's Market).

1882: Writes poem "Nirjharer Svapnabhanga" (The Awakening of the Fountain).

1883: Marries Mrinalini Devi.

1886: Tagore is caught in controversies over social and socio-religious subjects. Composes and sings the inaugural song for the second session of the Indian National Congress.

1888: On March 8, his father Debendranath executes the trust deed of Santiniketan trust. Tagore publishes "Samalochana" -- a collection of essays on literary criticism.

1890: Attacks the anti-India policy of Lord Cross; takes charge of the management of Tagore Estate; sails for England, also visits Italy and France.

1891: Writes first six short stories, the popular "Post Master", and the first of "Chitrangada". Starts Bengali magazine Sadhana along with his nephew. On Dec Dec 22, attends a festival associated with the consecration of the prayer hall at Santiniketan.

1895: Pens short stories beginning with " Kshudita Pashan" (Hungry Stones).

1897: Writes "Baikunther Khata" (The Manuscript of Baikuntha) -- a comedy; plays the role of Kedar in its stage presentation; writes dramatic poem "Sati".

1898: Becomes the editor of Bharati magazine, opposes British policies. Plans to set up a school at Santiniketan.

1899: His family moves to Santiniketan. Assists Sister Nivedita to organise relief for plague victims in Kolkata; delivers his first sermon in the temple at Santiniketan on its anniversary.

1900: Publishes "Katha" (plays and ballads), "Kahini" (story-poems) and the collection of short stories "Galpaguchchha".

1901: On Dec 22, Tagore sets up Santiniketan on the model of ancient forest schools (tapovana) of India and himself teaches there; scripts play "Chirakumar Sabha" (The Bachelors' Club).

1902: Faces severe financial problems in running the school at Santiniketan for which he even sells his personal property. His wife dies Nov 23.

1911: Composes " Jana Gana Mana", which is sung on the 26th session of the Indian National Congress. It goes on to be India's national anthem later.

1912: "Gitanjali-Song Offerings" is published. It wins the Nobel Prize for Literature a year later.

1913: Delivers lectures in Chicago on the "Ideals of Ancient Civilsation" and "The Problem of Evil"; Calcutta University decides to confer a D.Litt degree on him, news reaches Santinikaten about the Nobel prize. The Macmillan & Co, London, publishes a popular edition of "Gitanjali".

1914: Receives the Nobel prize diploma and medal on behalf of the Swedish Academy at a special reception in Kolkata.

1917-1925: Tours the world, takes to painting and attends lectures both in India and abroad.

1940: Condemns Russia's aggression in Finland; is taken seriously ill on Sep 26.

1941, Aug 7: Tagore dies.

(Source: "A Centenary Volume: Rabindranath Tagore 1861-1941"; by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyaya and Kshitis Roy, published by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.)