First of all
how can we define a leader? Can we say that it is a person who is selected by
people to lead a certain group, or can we say it is merely a special somebody
who is naturally born a leader. Similar to the assertion by Robert Gabriel
Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe, who said that he was selected by God the day he
was born; to lead his country someday. He is and has been ruling Zimbabwe for more
than 30 years now. The key question is, is a leader born or is made?
A leader can be anyone from any race, society,
sex or culture. But there are many types of leaders and all fall either into the good or bad categories
In psychological terms, a leader is someone
who has social or political influence in which; he/she can enlist the support
of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Daniel Goleman an American
psychologist, science journalist and author once stated that “effective leaders
are distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence, which includes self-awareness,
self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skill”. This is very true but
not all leaders in the world have these qualities and it is quite rare to find
one leader with all of them. Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand
and manage your own emotions and those of the people around you.
Some say
being a leader is one of the most difficult roles. On the other hand it can be
one of the easiest tasks depending on your capabilities. Anyone can be a leader
but not everyone can be an exceptional one. There are certain skills one has to
acquire to be an extraordinary leader. You must have good attitude towards your
colleagues and/or workers. Imagine yourself being part of an organization or
group. How do you prefer your leader to talk to you? Do you prefer him or her
to talk to you in a sympathetic and respectable way or you are happy when he is
harsh towards you. The answer is you
prefer him or her being sympathetic and respectful. That is basically the same
way you should address your workers or team.
Communicate
often with your colleagues, take time to listen carefully and understand their
needs and ideas. At the same time talk to them clearly in a way they understand
and be concerned about their families are or their personal being. When you
brainstorm for ideas, consult those you lead and try to reach a conclusion
together but remembering that there are times when you make the final decision.
Appreciate what they do and give praise when they have worked hard. Be truthful
if they have made mistakes.
One
important leadership skill is to lead by example in all the things you do.
Practice what you preach. Do not expect people to work hard when you do not
even contribute much to the group effort or team. Be influential, lead by
example and demonstrate how things are done.
Stick to
your word and be realistic. Have a good strategic plan. Although most leaders
are expected to be strategists, most leaders lack skills in strategic planning.
Without skills in strategic planning few leaders will not succeed. A good
leader must be willing to learn new things from other people. A learning mind
will not miss an opportunity to increase knowledge, gain experience and new skills
to teach others. For a leader to import knowledge he or she has to acquire the
knowledge first.
A good
should not be too cozy with those he supposed to lead. Being too cozy and close
should not be confused with being too interactive and consultative, two things
which are essential in progressive leadership.
Also a good
leader should not be afraid to make decisions him or her believes in. The first female and longest serving British
Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, stated ‘’if you take big decisions, people
will hate you that moment but will thank you for generations and generations’’.
You have to make tough decisions at times as long as the outcome is beneficial
to the cause.
No comments:
Post a Comment