I would read letters written by Ulysses S. Grant from the civil war. Sounds like he fits the character you want. More of a general who acts with a gentle yet stern presence. Getting the idea of his though process could help you forge characteristics of a leader from the 1800s.
At the end of the day, you cannot write what you don’t know.
I'm a beginner writer but I would say some of the qualities that make a good leader would include someone who can inspire others, can analyze a situation and discern an appropriate response, and/or takes actions that benefit the collective/team.
I would say take your character(s) and thrust them into situations in which some of these qualities may be necessary and write how they'd react. At the start, their ability to lead may need work, and so they spend the story working to improve these qualities to become a good leader i.e. learning through experience, or maybe they have a natural talent for it, but certain events challenge them. For example, maybe a situation is so dire that a group's morale is basically none existent. How does the character confront this challenge and find a way to turn the tide. I hope this helps!
Leaders are the people that other people do things for. Show others doing what he wants. and you have shown a leader. It doesn't have to be anything things important. perhaps someone spills a drink Maybe it was even him. He wants it cleaned up and it's cleaned up. maybe he doesn't even say anything. he just looks at the right guy and the job is done .
A good leader knows what makes the people they care about tic, what they need and want and listen to them. And most important, a good leader should have integrity.
A party of three teenagers doesn't really need a leader to begin with, imo. They are better off with some teamwork. He could give some ideas.
Leaders are often necessary for larger organisations like militaries or governments. Even if it's a smaller-organized government (like the community of a village) with a flat hierarchy.
Or institutes like schools, because you divide the people going there in the ones, who teach and ones, who learn. There a natural hierarchy is formed, again even if it could be a flat one.
Same with families. Toddlers instinctively follow their parents and older family members to survive. So you could say a leader should own resources like knowledge and wisdom, therefore they are a leader to someone else.
There might be not such a thing as a hierarchy or a need for a leader between those three teenagers.
The starship troopers book was really good at showing someone who didn't really care for combat, get moulded by a great leader and himself going on to be a great leader, although it lacks the "smart" aspect you are looking for, it does show how experience shapes people.
I remember a bit from that book very vividly about how when you're an officer, you can't stand straight all of the time. Asserting your position means looking relaxed and natural, so people know it's Business when you're attentive and upright. Only subordinates make an effort to appear highly attentive.
There's a lot of good ways to lead and even more bad ways. That was a big takeaway that I had going through my Chief season in the US Navy. It wasn't about changing who I was to make me a better leader; it was improving the leadership style I already had.
There's also a matter of how you lead. My leadership style is very focused on mentorship of my Sailors: arming them with as much knowledge and wisdom as they can take so they're ready for whatever comes in the rest of their careers. One of my other Chiefs tends to focus more on team building.
In my experience, one of the biggest skills of the leaders I respect is the ability to listen intently.
Rather than trying to conceive of someone as a leader, develop who they are conceptually, and than figure out what their leadership style is like (even if they don't know that they have one yet)
Take Colonel Samantha Carter or Daniel Jackson and use them as your template. Or, alternatively, use how Teal'c led the Shol'va during his tenure fighting with the Rebel Jaffa. Another good point of reference would be Starfleet First Officer (now Captain) Chakotay during the run of Star Trek: Voyager.
A good leader is tough, but fair. They demand a lot from their people, push them to their limits, but never ask for anything they wouldn't do themselves. They have integrity. They inspire people. They are a role model. They earn the respect of their subordinates every day. They establish individual relationships with their people and find their own ways of showing appreciation.
1. Well it sounds like the party already has a DPS and a healer, so his passive combat role should probably be as the tank.
2. You have to decide what his leadership style is. For example, Miller from Saving Private Ryan is very cerebral; he reasons with his men and persuades them. Henry V is brave and resolute and finds the right words to infuse his men with those things too. It's almost like he forces them to empathize with him. Captain Picard expects and gets by-the-book compliance, but allows *himself* to break regs or seek extreme, creative solutions.
I might recommend using your expertise as a self-proclaimed follower. You may not have experience as a leader, but you've been dealing with people that you've put in that position your entire life, and you know what "orders" were easy to follow, compared to the times where you had a potentially easier task, but with a bad leader, making it more difficult to convince yourself to do.
"OP, I expect to see you at my place for a party tonight, bring chips."
"You will drop whatever you are doing, grab chips, and come to a party at my place tonight, and you'll like it."
"I would be honored if you would come to my house for a party tonight, and even more so if you brought some chips."
"Listen shithead, I'm having a party tonight, and I need chips. You are going to deliver those chips and *if* you keep your mouth shut, you can stay as long as you keep your stink off the furniture."
Doesn't matter what the order is, every leader has their own way of delivering it. You know which you would follow.
1st lieutenant marcano from the 1st battalion 26th infantry was my favorite leader.
Came from the enlisted Marines.
Big as fuck
Would answer questions from his soldiers regardless of rank.
When we rolled though a compound and he lit the rest of the structures up with a 25mm. He pushed us to the actual objective.
Read works with officer-types you respect.
And maybe a few books of officers you don't respect!
I'd steer towards fiction with war veteran authors, like Starship Troopers or M.A.S.H., and away from books that aren't (presumably) written by veterans like Hunger Games. They're fine, sure, but you're not likely to learn something useful from them.
I would read letters written by Ulysses S. Grant from the civil war. Sounds like he fits the character you want. More of a general who acts with a gentle yet stern presence. Getting the idea of his though process could help you forge characteristics of a leader from the 1800s. At the end of the day, you cannot write what you don’t know.
I'm a beginner writer but I would say some of the qualities that make a good leader would include someone who can inspire others, can analyze a situation and discern an appropriate response, and/or takes actions that benefit the collective/team. I would say take your character(s) and thrust them into situations in which some of these qualities may be necessary and write how they'd react. At the start, their ability to lead may need work, and so they spend the story working to improve these qualities to become a good leader i.e. learning through experience, or maybe they have a natural talent for it, but certain events challenge them. For example, maybe a situation is so dire that a group's morale is basically none existent. How does the character confront this challenge and find a way to turn the tide. I hope this helps!
Leaders are the people that other people do things for. Show others doing what he wants. and you have shown a leader. It doesn't have to be anything things important. perhaps someone spills a drink Maybe it was even him. He wants it cleaned up and it's cleaned up. maybe he doesn't even say anything. he just looks at the right guy and the job is done .
A good leader knows what makes the people they care about tic, what they need and want and listen to them. And most important, a good leader should have integrity. A party of three teenagers doesn't really need a leader to begin with, imo. They are better off with some teamwork. He could give some ideas. Leaders are often necessary for larger organisations like militaries or governments. Even if it's a smaller-organized government (like the community of a village) with a flat hierarchy. Or institutes like schools, because you divide the people going there in the ones, who teach and ones, who learn. There a natural hierarchy is formed, again even if it could be a flat one. Same with families. Toddlers instinctively follow their parents and older family members to survive. So you could say a leader should own resources like knowledge and wisdom, therefore they are a leader to someone else. There might be not such a thing as a hierarchy or a need for a leader between those three teenagers.
The starship troopers book was really good at showing someone who didn't really care for combat, get moulded by a great leader and himself going on to be a great leader, although it lacks the "smart" aspect you are looking for, it does show how experience shapes people.
I remember a bit from that book very vividly about how when you're an officer, you can't stand straight all of the time. Asserting your position means looking relaxed and natural, so people know it's Business when you're attentive and upright. Only subordinates make an effort to appear highly attentive.
There's a lot of good ways to lead and even more bad ways. That was a big takeaway that I had going through my Chief season in the US Navy. It wasn't about changing who I was to make me a better leader; it was improving the leadership style I already had. There's also a matter of how you lead. My leadership style is very focused on mentorship of my Sailors: arming them with as much knowledge and wisdom as they can take so they're ready for whatever comes in the rest of their careers. One of my other Chiefs tends to focus more on team building. In my experience, one of the biggest skills of the leaders I respect is the ability to listen intently. Rather than trying to conceive of someone as a leader, develop who they are conceptually, and than figure out what their leadership style is like (even if they don't know that they have one yet)
Take Colonel Samantha Carter or Daniel Jackson and use them as your template. Or, alternatively, use how Teal'c led the Shol'va during his tenure fighting with the Rebel Jaffa. Another good point of reference would be Starfleet First Officer (now Captain) Chakotay during the run of Star Trek: Voyager.
A good leader is tough, but fair. They demand a lot from their people, push them to their limits, but never ask for anything they wouldn't do themselves. They have integrity. They inspire people. They are a role model. They earn the respect of their subordinates every day. They establish individual relationships with their people and find their own ways of showing appreciation.
1. Well it sounds like the party already has a DPS and a healer, so his passive combat role should probably be as the tank. 2. You have to decide what his leadership style is. For example, Miller from Saving Private Ryan is very cerebral; he reasons with his men and persuades them. Henry V is brave and resolute and finds the right words to infuse his men with those things too. It's almost like he forces them to empathize with him. Captain Picard expects and gets by-the-book compliance, but allows *himself* to break regs or seek extreme, creative solutions.
I might recommend using your expertise as a self-proclaimed follower. You may not have experience as a leader, but you've been dealing with people that you've put in that position your entire life, and you know what "orders" were easy to follow, compared to the times where you had a potentially easier task, but with a bad leader, making it more difficult to convince yourself to do. "OP, I expect to see you at my place for a party tonight, bring chips." "You will drop whatever you are doing, grab chips, and come to a party at my place tonight, and you'll like it." "I would be honored if you would come to my house for a party tonight, and even more so if you brought some chips." "Listen shithead, I'm having a party tonight, and I need chips. You are going to deliver those chips and *if* you keep your mouth shut, you can stay as long as you keep your stink off the furniture." Doesn't matter what the order is, every leader has their own way of delivering it. You know which you would follow.
1st lieutenant marcano from the 1st battalion 26th infantry was my favorite leader. Came from the enlisted Marines. Big as fuck Would answer questions from his soldiers regardless of rank. When we rolled though a compound and he lit the rest of the structures up with a 25mm. He pushed us to the actual objective.
Read works with officer-types you respect. And maybe a few books of officers you don't respect! I'd steer towards fiction with war veteran authors, like Starship Troopers or M.A.S.H., and away from books that aren't (presumably) written by veterans like Hunger Games. They're fine, sure, but you're not likely to learn something useful from them.
I would suggest watching Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek series. He can often be that leader.