Of course it is not just in politics that great leaders are found but also in the world of business too. In fact some of the worlds greatest leaders were people who started their own businesses and went on to build them up into huge companies employing tens of thousands of people all around the world. People such as Henry Ford and Richard Branson spring to mind.

Of all the qualities they possessed, leadership must surely have been one of their strongest. How else could they have gone from one man operations to multi-international businesses without having the qualities of leadership.

So what exactly does it take to be a great leader?

If you are a leader, or want to become a leader, you obviously have to be able to inspire people to follow you.

Notice I used the word inspire - I did not say order.

Military leaders give out orders, and if their orders and campaigns are successful they then become great military leaders and possibly even famous ones too.

But in business things are done differently. Yes you can give an order and it will be carried out, but it will never be done as well as by someone who has been inspired to do it.

What is it that inspires people?

Different things inspire different people, some will be inspired by the dream of being successful, others simply by extra money. As a leader you need to find out what inspires your individual employees and use it to your, and their, advantage.

Listening is an ability that all the best business leaders have – if they don´t have it they soon learn to have it. Because when you are a leader it is important to listen to what feedback your employees are telling you, especially when the feedback is related to what your customers like and want.

Those business leaders who have the ability to listen gain a much happier workforce too because they feel that their ideas actually count for something. And a happier workforce makes for a happier business which will prosper better because nobody wants to work for a company were you are talked to but never heard.

Being a great business leader means being able to make your employees feel part of a team. A lot of money can be spent on outbound courses trying to create a teamwork environment but often all it takes is a little bit of care and interest in your workforce as individuals.

It might well be that you are someone who runs a business, or even a country for that matter, who does not feel the need to inspire people to follow you, you just order them instead. It might be you can´t be bothered to listen to the other persons point of view. You could even be someone who is only interested in yourself and not concerned about creating a team like environment.

If you are this sort of business person you are then you might be called a great leader. But, unfortunately, it is more than likely you will only be given this title once you have died, because let´s face it, nobody wants to speak ill of the dead and the truth often gets overlooked.

But, on the other hand, if you want to be known as a great leader while you are still alive then you need to find a way of inspiring people to follow you by being interested enough in them to listen to what they have to say and include them as part of your team.

Then you will be considered a great leader in your lifetime and an even greater one in your death.

Nigel Thomas is the owner and founder of Samoht Publishing who publish Earn Extra Money with a Sandwich Delivery Business. You can view and purchase this e-book in all the popular formats at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/292697 or at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BNAQCMQ