Is that really all, the word “leadership” holds?
“Leadership is an action, not a position.” - Donald McGannon
People have been accustomed in working as a team under a leader ever since the life began. Hence, the word “leadership” has been shaped with different definitions for a long time. Most of these describes leadership as just leading a group of people but is that really all, the word “leadership” holds?
Leadership may be all about leading a team, but leading is not just about advising team members what to do and how to do. Rather than guiding the team, a leader should work shoulder to shoulder with all members in achieving team goals. Leader has to motivate himself and urge to give best of his abilities to the team work. Only then, subordinates get motivated to provide their best to the team. Likewise, leader should utilize his intelligence and experience to guide the employees in the correct path when necessary. A great leader leads a team by exemplary actions not only with words.
A leader should always have a comprehensive understanding of his teammates, including their level of competency as well as individual strengths and weaknesses. Awareness on their level of knowledge about a particular domain, is the most important factor for the accomplishment of a team goal. One member may be very talented in a certain field of study while another is not. So, it’s the responsibility of leader to deploy tasks according to the ability of individuals while creating an environment with opportunities for them to grow in different aspects. People are different so their personal goals also. Therefore, a leader should help members realize their goals by bridging individual goals and team’s objectives.
A leader must be responsible towards his actions as well as subordinates’. If the leader is accountable, the trust towards the leader within the team improve. Similarly, the leadership must be bounded with friendliness, humanity and empathy. A leader must be friendly with fellow members by sharing the feelings, opinions and desires. In a team, a leader can be superior but he always deals with another human being, so humanity is a must to be practiced. Leader should always try to look at problems with the employees’ point of view and to explore solutions favorable for them.
Leadership is not an easy task. If one misunderstands leadership as the exercise of power, he or she is not eligible to be a leader. One should be mindful of power he holds and the way of employing the power, as a leader. A leader is someone who gives life to the dreams of people who follow and believe in him. Leader has to keep exemplary footprints so that his fellow members can follow. Remember to lead with efforts and an understanding, as a leader to be able to hold the best leadership.
