Qualities of a Leader

I recently read a blog on Gartner.com from David McCoy entitled "RealSPEECH#2.” (Update: He must have taken it down, as it is no longer there. So, let me recap--he wrote that when a salesperson , a vendor, another client says someone is a leader, they really don't know what they are saying. Only Gartner knows the true leader since they base their conclusions on research.) Obviously, he is touting Gartner for their research and ability to truly define a “leader,” but it got me thinking—

How do we define leader and what qualifies a vendor to be an elearning leader?
So I googled qualities of a leader and found this:



Okay, a few more than I needed, so I tried quotes: “qualities of a leader,” and got this:



Wow. This is better, but a more popular topic than I realized. Obviously, people are searching for a leader and who can blame them during these economic times? Companies don’t want to invest in a product or service if there isn’t some sort of proof that the company they are buying into has succeeded or will succeed.

So I looked up some qualities of a leader on wikipedia and found words like Innovation, Self-awareness, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Adaptability, Effective communication, Competence, and Confident to name a few.

It made me realize how many of these words could and should apply to a vendor you are considering using. Does your vendor possess innovative ideas? The ability to adapt? Effective communication skills? Are they competent in their field? How would you know?

One way is to look at the reports Gartner puts out as David McCoy suggests (here’s ours), but other ways is to scan titles of their press releases or their awards.

And yes, every vendor will tell you they are a leader in elearning. But sometimes, that vendor is just telling it just like it is.

How do you decide on a vendor? And what is most important to you?