Important things about leadership

Leader (Definition): the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. There are umpteen articles on leadership or how to become a good leader, but I would like to share with you some important points I have learnt over a period of time.
Briefly these can be grouped as:

# Motive - Why do you want to be a leader?
The reason motive plays an important role is because there will be good days and bad days. Having the right motive:

  • keeps you grounded and humble on your good days.
  • keeps you motivated to persevere and lead on your bad days.

The books of Timothy in the Bible contain advice for leaders. 1 Timothy contains instructions for a new leader, and 2 Timothy contains advice for an established leader in the face of a storm.

# Entrustment - A privilege not an entitlement
A good leader can be entrusted with something that is someone else's - like Joseph or Daniel (refer to the books of Genesis and Daniel respectively in the Bible). He ensures that what has been entrusted to him multiplies and brings more benefit to all. This same principle applies to what you need to look for in people that you want to entrust work to or to lead.

# Be a student of life, Be a student for life
As leaders:

  • Am I teachable?
  • Am I receptive?
Leaders are all about conversations - Listen, Look, Learn. Read as many books as you can and apply the principles. If you cannot be self-motivated and self-disciplined then you cannot be a good leader. Expect the same from the people you choose to be leaders as well as you cannot teach that.

Ultimate question
To know if your leadership is successful or not, ask the question: IF THEY DID NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW YOU, WOULD THEY?

  • If your answer is NO, then it means you have been using the leadership style of power/position or coercion or manipulation which is not optimal in the long run in terms of your relationship nor the output of your team.
  • If your answer is YES, then you have found a way to do so by showing them that it will benefit them too - which incidentally is the best way to inspire or motivate people as well.

Conclusion

  • Leadership is all about the right motive and people entrusting you with something that is not yours.
  • As leaders, provide opportunities for people.
  • Ideally all will go well however because people are imperfect, they might let you down, so be careful, and remind yourself of the reason you chose to lead and persevere.
  • Be a student of life, Be a student for life.
Basically, leadership is how I can sort myself out so that I can lead others better!
What are your thoughts or views on this topic - comment below and lets begin this conversation.