Willy Unsoeld

William F. Unsoeld

"Characteristics of a True Leader"

In our lives each of us has a certain desire to excel and succeed at one time. Some of us even have desires to accomplish such goals at all times. First, all of us are born with the light of Christ, which is what gives each of us the desire to seek out God and his perfect state. When this happens something inside of us drives to be better and to achieve perfection. At that time we are better than we can be on our own. Some people have that God given talent to be able to do that on a constant basis. When we have that gift it is necessary that we use it to better the lives of ourselves and others. Many people may have that gift, but only few actually know how to use it and cause it to grow. William Unsoeld was obviously that caliber of a man. He had that ability to say the right thing, to help in the right time and way, and to execute his strategy. It is because of these characteristics that he was known as such a great shepherd. It takes lot of character to build that kind of reputation and be so humble about it.

What made Willy so important to everyone, as was stated in the article, was not that he was known by so many people, but it was that fact that he made an impact on the lives of all those with whom he came in contact. In the article it talked about all of the people at his funeral who shared stories of love and leadership. Imagine how many more could say the same thing about Willy that didn't make it to the funeral or even those he touched who didn't even remember what his name was or how they knew him. Willy was the kind of person that every leader should aspire to be like. When people develop the characteristics that Willy had, they become true leaders. Willy probably never aspired to be a great leader; he was able to develop those characteristics because of his passion and knowledge of what he did and also his love for other people. One of the most important characteristics of leadership is that a leader must have the ability to see a persons potential and know how to help that person to develop it. Only some people can look at someone and see their potential.

It said in the article that he knew how to, "nurture every person in the party; he would press them, one at a time and in unison, to move, to go, together." He was a good leader because he new where and when to push and drive them to excel. Each of us has that desire to know how to read another person and have the gift of discernment. This gift can bless us to have light in our lives and give us knowledge. With this knowledge we can see what other people need to accomplish their full potential and do things that they never thought they could do. There will always be times when we are able to do something that we never thought we could do.