DAILY SLICES OF LIFE

On Being a Leader

 “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”

         This dynamic statement on the nature of leadership, originally assigned to President John Quincy Adams, a well-respected American statesman, lawyer and abolitionist, who served as the 6^th President of the United States from 1825 – 1829, was actually delivered by the very successful country singer and entrepreneur, Dolly Parton. It was contained in her commencement address at the University of Tennessee, in 2009. In stating this, she was in fact reminding her audience that the good leader is the one who sets the stage to encourage others to achieve more than they considered possible, by example and not by command. Starting from very humble beginnings, she has become one of the richest country singers, an outstanding business leader, and an exemplary philanthropist.

          In today’s world, far too many leaders labor under the gross fallacy that good leadership requires the demonstration of power and control rather than taking into account their responsibility to those they lead, and being able to get the best service from them. They issue decries and orders without getting the subordinates to really understand the reasons for them. They are quick to threaten them with loss of opportunity, without first trying to understand the underlying factors causing their lack of success. They tend to focus only on those ideas that support their own perspectives, and disregard any differing opinions. They will reject any kind of open discussions, believing that they know best. They are obsessed with getting the result that embellishes their own status, rather than seeking results that all can share. Gary Mottersheld, a very successful American industrialist and innovator, explained the outcome of this attitude in the following manner:

 “A bad leader can take a good staff and destroy it, causing the best employees to leave, and the remainder to lose all motivation.”

          Many people truly believe that good leaders are born with the capacity to be a leader, and very rarely can they ever be made by just teaching and learning. Some will go further by leading us to believe that leadership can only be passed on from father to child, and explain this by referring to the many instances of the child successfully taking over from the father. While there are in fact some inherited qualities and characteristics that that may inherently make it easier to be a leader, yet in general, good leaders essentially must learn to become so. But this will only be possible if there is a desire and urge to learn and a willingness to do so. For the hallmark of a good leader rests entirely on his ability to acquire and use a number of essential skills, without which it will be an exercise of incompetence. It is these skills that actually make a good leader, and unless he has thorough access to using them, he will never amount to anything, except by use of power and control, as so many are doing. John Maxwell, the world-renowned American leadership expert, very wisely observed:

 Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.”

          Shiv Khera, the internationally recognized Indian author and motivational speaker, in discussing the attributes of a good leader, noted:

“Good leaders actively guide, and bad leaders actively misguide. Hence leadership is all about persuasion, presentation and people skills.”

 In this very brief statement, he was able to identify the three most important qualities of a good leader. He must be able to achieve the very best from his subordinates by first persuading them to give their best, teaching them how to do so, and above all, helping them to find and make full use of their optimum skills. To be truly effective, he must tailor all his skills to trying to facilitate their interest in these categories in such a way as to obtain their attention and cooperation.

          Among the many traits and skills that successful leaders are able to exhibit in getting the best they can from their subordinates, the following stand out as being essential and most effective:

 Ego-strength: Confidence in one’s ability to lead is essential in obtaining the respect and attention of others. Unless he is able to project an aura strength, he is unlikely to earn the trust needed to carry out the work required. And even in those situations where he himself might feel insecure and uncertain, he must be careful to exhibit continued confidence, and never project an image of uncertainty.

Empathy: Of equal importance in obtaining the respect and trust needed is the fact that a good leader never stands aloof and separated from his staff. He must be willing at all times to listen, understand and try to put himself in the situation to secure the confidence of his subordinates. In doing so, he is not only able to secure their trust, but might uncover any concerns they may have.

Resilience: A good leader must be willing to listen to complaints and criticisms without personalizing them or rejecting them, but rather objectively examining them, before coming to any conclusions. Quite often such criticisms can lead to learning something better and useful.

Assertiveness: The ability to stand up for his principles against all challenges, to resist objections and threats is paramount for a good leader. Unless he willing to do so he runs the risk not only losing confidence, but the respect and trust of his subordinates.

Integrity: By far the most dangerous of leaders are ones who lack integrity. Among the worst of them are the ones who show favoritism, who encourage spying and trouble shooting or who encourage one group against another. This is a formula for disaster, and quickly lead to turmoil, conflict and failure.

          But, contrary to the general attitude that good leaders always stand out in any crowd, and can be easily recognized by the way they carry themselves, the fact is, that a large percentage of excellent leaders actually walk among us without ever having to broadcast the fact. They can be, and are just ordinary people and behave like the rest of the crowd, doing the same things that all of us do on a daily basis. In fact, many aren’t even aware of their own leadership and become genuinely surprised when compliments are handed to them.   But, that notwithstanding, the fact is that good leaders always stand out, not for anyway they might look, but always by the results they achieve and by the benevolent responses of the subordinates. This indeed is the foundation of a good leader, as Tony Dungy, a very successful football coach so wisely noted:

 “The secret to success is good leadership, and good leadership is all about making the lives of his team members, or workers, better “

         To effectively carry out his responsibility, a good leader must not only have a clear and coherent plan, but must be able to communicate his ideas and expectations in a clear and understandable manner. He must have also, a plan or strategy to help direct the group in the right direction, to bring focus and discipline among his subordinates, and above all, to establish a level of respect and trust among them. He can only achieve this if he is able to explain his vision in clear and precise terms that all can understand and assimilate. Above all, he must always be willing to invite discussions and criticisms using whatever means that work. And in so doing, gain the respect and trust he needs. His ultimate aim is to instill confidence, to inspire and to motivate them to give their best to the task ahead. John C. Maxwell, an internationally recognized American author and leadership speaker, whose books have been sold more than 20 million, offered the clearest and simplest description of an effective leader when he said:

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

 -This then is the true meaning of a good leader. It is not about power or glory or recognition. It’s about knowing himself, and knowing about those who work for him, and about the relationship he is must be able to develop between him and them.

 

 

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