Leadership is something of an ethereal quality. In some cases, individuals that are put in charge of others are not good leaders while in other cases, the best leaders have no title or position. In fact, many subordinates often make better leaders than their superiors. The truth is, anyone can be a leader, regardless of their status. Also, leaders can have many different leadership styles, some of which make it appear that the leader is not actually the leader at all. There are some qualities and characteristics, however, that all leaders possess regardless of their title or position. One of those qualities is the ability to inspire their team and all those around them. Here are three keys to being an inspiring leader. Leadership means you go first Subordinates don’t care what you say – they care what you do. Whatever you want your subordinates to be doing, you have to do first. TThat being said, all leaders will, at some point, struggle to keep up with their team, and that’s okay. Respect is critical for all leaders, but it is particularly crucial when leading younger, faster or more energetic teams. Nothing will lose their respect more quickly, however, than demanding things of them that you are unwilling to do yourself. Inspiring leaders are dependent on their teams Leadership always presents something of a conundrum and rarely looks in reality like what we want it to. When we think of leaders, we often think of strong, tough individuals that rely on no one but themselves. In truth, the best leaders are team players that recognize they need their teams as much if not more than their teams need them. As difficult as it may be for leaders to acknowledge their dependence on their team, they can’t truly be effective without doing so. Inspiring leaders inspire trust One of the most critical elements for leaders is to build trust with their team. When teams know (or at least believe) their leader will have their back no matter what, it allows them to take risks they might not otherwise take. These risks will not always pay off, but team members will also never be able to grow, expand and reach their full potential without feeling secure enough to take some risks. This article was originally published at MichaelEParker.net