Ekaterina Netchitailova

A good leader is difficult to find nowadays. Being a leader, a true leader requires certain skills that not many can demonstrate.

First of all, a good leader should have strong moral and ethical principles. He shouldn’t be fake. A good leader is transparent. He does what he says and doesn’t pursue malicious endeavors.

Having management capacities doesn’t make one a good leader. He can be a leader, but not good.

Then, of course, having leadership qualities is important, very much so. A true leader is smart, capable and knows how to lead. He also understands the diversity of humans, doesn’t discriminate, and builds long-term relationship with people who work for him.

Then I worked in finances in Amsterdam I had an amazing boss. He recruited me to work as a financial analyst of banks without me having any diploma in finances. He hired me because he saw potential in me. A big potential as he managed to prove to the Dutch authorities that I was the best candidate for the job in the whole European Union.

No kidding!

What did I give in return? Obviously, my total commitment to him and his company. I worked there for five years and left the job only because I wanted to be in academia and do a PhD. I got a PhD bursary and left.

But for the five years that I was there, I worked extremely hard. In order to learn finances on the job, I would get up very early, do my running, and I was often in the office the first to arrive, at seven thirty in the morning. I was also the last one to leave in the evening.

I loved it, and was promoted two years later into a portfolio manager job.

But instead of prolonging the pain of reading a post on leadership, I will be kind and present a good leader from a movie.

It’s Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible. I didn’t see all movies of Mission Impossible due to personal circumstances (I couldn’t watch movies for many years), but restarted watching them yesterday, and now I am on the roll, so to speak. I am so happy to be able to enjoy watching movies again, and Mission Impossible is an easy, pleasant movie, that also has meaning. The main message of the franchise is that trust, teamwork, and ingenuity can overcome any obstacle, including being able to stop nuclear war. Ethan Hunt has high moral principles, is kind but also strict when necessary. He leads by example, and it works. Others follow him, because they trust him.

I watched Mission Impossible Four (Ghost Protocol) yesterday and was astonished to realize that the movie is also a prophecy.

I advise you to watch them too, as they are on Netflix only till 14^th of February, and the main character is played by incredible Tom Cruise, who demonstrated his own outstanding leadership qualities when he was the only one making a movie during the Covid Pandemic. He saved the movie industry.

That’s a true, good leader for me.