WHO IS A LEADER?
It is okay to assume yourself a leader, but not okay to become a follower when it becomes dark and scary. Then the question is: Who is a leader?
Leadership goes beyond being defined by your temperament or having that sense of entitlement granted by astrology when it called you Airies- the bold and courageous leader.
Everyone has had a taste of leadership in some little way; from being kept in charge of younger siblings and making sure they don’t eat too much candy while the parents are away or being made the leader in a class project, occupying positions at work and in society such that you command several processes, to being made the President of a country, but very few have actually succeeded at it or been able to establish its true meaning for some reason. Leadership requires a definition agreeing of all its qualities to be able to succeed at it.
What is Leadership?
A survey shows that many definitions of leadership are tailored to people’s professional fields and areas of interest- it should be difficult getting a duplicate definition of what leadership is; the businessman attaches intelligence on the economic value in the business spectrum to his response.
The clergyman in humility will speak of sacrifice and will bring up the paradox of first becoming a follower, going further leadership will take meanings as adjectives- empathy, diversity, etc. but where all these definitions are correct by personal assessment and positive thinking, these definitions are dependent on culture, what a man is and who he hopes to be hence, they are subject to change. Seeing how flexible defining leadership can be, we would get a focused response on who a leader actually is.
Who is a leader?
There is a controversy in qualifying a leader i.e good leaders and bad leaders, where one side says a leader must be positive in all thoughts and qualities before that word is implied, the other side uses it to distinguish the quality of leadership conferred where authority speaks.
Such dispute is yet to be resolved as there have been bad leaders through history and one side questions if such honour should be given to these ones.
But a leader as should have been previously defined should be one driven by the passion to bring about positive change with constructive methods. A leader should not be by the opportunity of an assignment.
A leader is someone with vision, leading followers with a mindset of equality and not domination.
Qualities a leader should possess include:
- Empathy
- Good listening habits
- Team players
- Integrity
- Influence
- Gratitude
- Self-awareness
- Active participation
- Effective communication skills
- Courage
- Respect
Leadership may differ across various organizations, but it is important to have a standard to monitor its growth and evolution hence a leadership filter will prove useful in these organizations.
Leadership Filters:
These are qualities set by organizations as perceived to be standard criteria for selection of leaders in spheres matching these qualities they possess. Leadership fitters assure the organization of right selection with such consistent definition to represent the culture and value of that organization.
It can be likened to course selection in preparing for college, don’t go for engineering if scoring a C in math is like climbing a steep hill- math is not your forte, but if you love turning digits into hilarious images during math class, you should try out or art or comedy ( if college was a joke).
Don’t make one with the empathy of a Human Resource person your lead sales marketer, who obviously should be concerned with earning profits than being patient as to relate with other workers.
Leadership filters help select those suited for the job and promote a sense of orderliness in the work environment.
The dilemma faced when deciding leaders, such a dilemma during democratic selection can be avoided and the time maximized. There are naturally born leaders, these few have the most radiation of all leadership qualities, while the rest require leadership skill learning and practice and this is very possible as a discipline can be learned.
You can define the qualities you possess to become that leader, check your compatibility with its roles and descriptions, does it match? If it doesn’t don’t worry there are other areas your skills will come in handy.
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