•You will hear five business people discussing how to become a true leader.•For

M: Passing out orders is as easy as passing out business cards.’ But a prudent leader also knows how to lead himself or herself not merely to provide a genuine example to others, but to become a  working element of the  overall machinery of your business.  "It’s important that leaders have the ability to focus and motivate themselves as they motivate others," says an author and consultant who  teaches executive education at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
F:  One  potential  land  mine  of a  prosperous operation is to repeat anything that proves successful. It’s hard to argue against that, but an inadvertent leader will put far too much stock in sticking with what always works. By contrast, thoughtful leadership acknowledges success but also recognizes there are always ways to de things better.
M: I must admit this is a personal sore point with me. I’ve seen too many company slogans and catch phrases whose import is no deeper than the paper they’re written on.  Want to be "committed to superior service"? More power to you, but a genuine leader will see that as words and little else. Instead, put some meat on those  benes—establish how to quantify excellence, design a cogent plan to achieve, it and set a reasonable but real timetable for its completion.
F: Many business leaders yak about their complete game, but how many actually finish what they say they’re going to start? A thoughtless leader who never genuinely finishes anything loses the confidence of clients and customers. That lack of follow-through isn’t going to be lost on his or her employees, either.  Instead, set goals and establish pragmatic, accountable measures to actually finish what you start. "The ability to complete things is critical, ’ Segil says. "Nothing’s useful unless you actually complete it."
M: Thoughtless leaders must have forearms like Popeye’s, what with all the back-slapping they do. That’s fine, but good performance requires a more substantive response. Leaders with an eye to the future hand out praise but augment it with real rewards: promotions, raises, bonuses and other tangible tokens of appreciation. That motivates  your  people,  not only  to  apply themselves with enthusiasm,  but  to stick around your company longer than they might otherwise.