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Leadership Traits:
Justice, Judgement, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness (previously addressed), Tact, Integrity, Endurance, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, and Enthusiasm.
Tact is about dealing with people politely, calmly, firmly, and essentially treating others as you would like to be treated.
This is another trait that is easier to understand when it is absent. A tactless individual does not consider how his/her words are perceived or how they may negatively affect another person.
Leadership often requires correcting others actions as part of mentoring.
If someone is often tardy to work, what would you say to them? This depends, perhaps, on how well you know this person. Generally though, corrective actions need to be applied with professionalism, which maintains respect for and value of the individual.
Does the person know when to be at work? Is there a legitimate reason for frequent tardiness? What can the person do to fix the problem? With this approach, the sense of value is maintained.
Sarcasm may be a good release of tensions with friends, but should never be used when trying to fix a problem with people who work with or for you. This tactless maneuver will only create a sense of cynicism and possibly instill contempt.
If we correct someone in public, and they are not in a position to argue, they may be humiliated and set up a personal defense which works against group goals.
I have always thought that Drill Instructors possess a strange humor which lends itself to tactlessness. If anyone has seen the boot camp scenes from either "The Boys in Company C" or "Full Metal Jacket", the portrayal of the tactless drill instructors tells it all.
Those men and women may not feel tact is a luxury they can afford to apply in their training of future combatants and career military.
In cooler positions, tactfulness is appreciated and encouraged.
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