Writing about leadership in the times we currently live in could be very challenging, as most points about leadership are already well known. In this article I have made an attempt to write about some of the less known points about leadership.
Firstly, what is leadership? Hardest are those questions, whose answers seem to be obvious. Most people may visualize a suit-clad man, talking about something real big. At this point the question arises, ‘is leadership about wearing fancy outfits and talking big?’ Probably not! While pondering this question, I came out with three points which would explain leadership in a fair spirit.
One; Ability to decide based on your conviction rather than someone else’s opinion is one such quality. I felt like highlighting this point after reading a quote by Nelson Mandela, “Everything seems impossible until someone known to you, gets it done" The truth is that someone, who got it done didn’t share the belief which the majority imposed on him / her. What separated that person from the rest is the ability to think and act independently.
Two; Leadership is not bigger than a person. To the best of my knowledge, I don’t remember of any object or machine, known for its leadership. It has always been about people, regardless of what category of leadership you wish to consider. And it is very simple to stand out from rest by being different. Then the question is, ‘how to be different?’ Think of those mistakes which are often made and try to avoid repeating them. In a commercial world, kindness seems to be one of the biggest scarcities. Your ability to show kind gestures will automatically put you in a different league.
Three; A leader is nothing, if he/she fails to inspire his/her followers. Leading an exemplary life is easy said, than done. Being genuine, in your words as well as actions will never go unnoticed. Practice what you preach and preach what you practice. Only by this way, you will be able to carry others aboard on the same plane, you currently are flying in.
An additional point could be, avoid imitating people. I would conclude this post with a quote by the great philosopher, Jiddu Krishnamurti, “If you are very clear, if you are inwardly a light unto yourself, you will never follow anyone”
8 comments:
Good post :)........ I specially liked the first point. It is sometimes quite difficult to follow your own conviction when there are lots of others who force on you their judgement. So being confident of your conviction is very important... since if you are not, it is very easy to get confused with all pro's and con's. :)......But overall seriously a quite nice and very intuitive post.....
@Sutapa:
Thanks for reading & posting comments as well.
An excellent article . One of the best from you!
Leader ship is not bigger than person. That para sums up this article. All leaders are just normal person but what really makes them stand out is the influence they have on the team. Sometimes , surprisingly the leader himself doesmt know the influence he has on his men maybe because of his humble and calm nature. Some men like Gandhi and Steve waugh/dhoti had such a calming influence that u never got the feeling that they were leaders! Such were their nature.
Highly! Thanks for your kind comments :) Flattered.
Yes, a leader may not be able to assess his reach if her grows that big. And the thing is with great leaders they carry their head on their shoulders and that's what makes them what they are!
Who the hell are you, you dimwit article lifter...?
Guys beware this guy is a big time stalker and knows to pilfer articles..
Dear Anonymous,
I think there is some confusion here. I do write on common topics and quote people (famous & oridnary) in my articles. If you have come across exactly same article, please bring it to my notice. Similarity could be purely coincidential.
And what makes you think I 'stalk' and 'steal' articles? My busy schedule would allow me to do neither of them. If I've outraged you in some ways, my humble appologies.
Excellent post. You are right about all the three points. Enjoyed reading it.
Thanks a ton Judith. You have very generous in your appreciation. Comments like these motivate me to keep writing!
- Vijay
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