True Leadership: What Separates a Leader from a Boss
No matter how small (or big) the team you’re trying to lead is,
there’re always challenges that make leadership difficult. Maybe your team
is experiencing some setbacks and the morale is kind of low at the moment.
Maybe there’re members who can’t keep up with the progress like everyone else.
Or maybe your team always misunderstands what you mean, making it difficult to
keep your vision and their work in sync.
Leadership is never meant to be easy. But if you understand what
leadership really means, you’re one great step closer to becoming a successful
leader.
Leadership is
an art of enabling others to work toward the same goal together.
There is not a single definition of leadership and it varies
depending on the type of leader — the CEO of a company, the captain of a sports
team, a religious leader, a political leader, etc. However, when we talk about
leadership in general, according to leadership expert James McGregor Burns, leadership
is a process in which “leaders and their followers raise one another to higher
levels of morality and motivation”.
A leader creates visions and motivates team members to work
together towards the same goal.
With
a good leader, people are motivated to grow and will perform their best to
reach the goal.
A leader is the charismatic
head of a group of people, who possesses the skills to lead, inspire and
influence the others to pursue their personal growth and the team’s goals.
Leaders are important as they have a great impact on a team’s performance.
Good leaders will maximize the team’s productivity, shape positive
cultures and promote harmony and open communication within the team.
A
great leader is the source of inspiration and motivation for the team.
A
good leader works together with the team when facing
difficulties,[3]while
at the same time giving them great freedom with how they complete tasks. This
fosters creativity and eventually benefits the team as a whole. They also
ensure a friendly working environment for each member to make contributions,
and compliment and encourage the team from time to time.
A great leader promotes
values by setting examples.
A great leader is the role
model for their team. They set standards that they themselves follow
consistently through their own behaviors, such as punctuality, honesty and
integrity, etc., which are beneficial to the success of the team.
All
successful leaders share the same traits, no matter what kind.
If you want to become a
better leader, learn about the following traits that all successful leaders
share.
1. Visionary
Vision is the ability to
foresee the future and set goals for the team to achieve. A leader helps the
team to start and continue working toward the right direction, doing the right
thing at the right time. Without visions, a leader might make confusing and
misleading plans for the team, which would eventually harm the results of the
team.
2. Committed
Commitment to the role
of a leader means leading by example. If you are a team member, would you be
willing to follow a leader who acts differently than the rules they set for
you? Very unlikely. A leader must have high standards for themselves and
act consistently, so that the team members will respect their leadership.
3.
Curious
A leader must be
knowledgeable about what they work on in order to help solve any problems that
arise. They should always be curious and never stop learning. They should
also know the team members well enough to act for their own good. Without
knowledge and a strong curiosity, one is unlikely to be able to lead the team
to solve problems. Team members are also very likely to challenge the authority
of the leader.
4. Confident
Confidence is to be
self-assured without being aggressive. A leader needs to be assertive at times
to show their authority and confidence, so the team members are convinced to
follow their orders and plans. A leader also represents a team with its
own benefits and concerns. For instance, in a company with complex
organization, the leader represents the rights of their team members and that
is when confidence is required.
5. Morally good
Integrity is a must for a
respectable leader. A leader without integrity, who says one thing and does
another, can hardly convince team members to respect them. Without respect, a
leader won’t be able to persuade the team to do anything for the
company and leads to inefficiency in the team.
6. Trusting
A leader should trust the
team members’ abilities. Walking around every 30 minutes to check on the team’s
progress, or challenging them for everything they do will not build trust in
the team. Give team members a little faith and space to do their jobs, no one
wants a pushy paranoid leader.
7.
Decisive
Decisiveness is essential to
every business and company. As a team, we will have to make hard decisions
within a short period of time under a high-pressure environment. That is when a
leader should assume their role, and utilize their own knowledge and perhaps
the opinion of the members to make a decision before it is too late.
8. Positive
Optimism is a crucial part of
leadership. There will be times when the team has low morale or feels lost
in the middle of a project. A positive leader finds the positives in the midst
of the negatives and encourages the team members to keep moving forward.
A pessimistic leader at work can hardly believe anything good
will happen in the end.
9. Humble
A humble leader keeps
track of their own performance, decisions and accomplishments and reflects
constantly if there’s anything they can do better. By having
self-reflection everyday, a leader can understand more about what they’re
good and bad at, and can improve themselves accordingly.
It is not easy to acquire all
these characteristics in a short period of time, but you can learn and practice
more to become a better leader.
To
become a good leader, try to start by following the leaders you look up to.
There is always something
that we can learn from successful leaders. Following the one you look up to is
exactly the way for you to kick start your journey to being a good leader.[4]
Pick out 5 of your favorite
leaders and ask yourself why you like them. Is it because of their speaking
skills, their attitude to work, their confidence or the way they can make
everyone listen? Start by learning what you think are the necessary
characteristics and skills that a great leader possesses, and put it into
practice in your daily life leading positions.
Remember,
you can learn not only from their success but also their mistakes! Look at
Henry Ford. Ford Motor Company may be a success today, but Ford did not build
it without first failing hard. It was through paying attention to his every
tiny mistake and working out the underlying problem that led him to the
eventual success.
In
order to be able to teach others, learn something new about your expertise
every day.
Although it might sound
cheesy, it is always right to “stay foolish, stay hungry”.
Learn a new thing about your
expertise, job or market every day to better equip yourself as a great leader.
Never stop learning. Do not forget to make records of what you have learned
simply jotting down notes in a notebook or in an note-keeping app, because one
day your team members will need your advice, and your knowledge has to be
accumulated.
Always
ask for feedback, an active leader never waits.
One of the traits some
successful leaders possess is that they are always looking to improve.
Instead of waiting for the team members to give you feedback, actively ask them
for feedback. Stay open to
criticism because everyone has their blind spot, and having honest team
members sharing their feedback is valuable for a leader’s growth.
Are you ready to become a
leader? Stop wasting time and kick start your journey now by learning from the
leaders you admire. Remember, mistakes might happen along the way and that is
completely normal. Believe in yourself and do not be afraid to make mistakes.
http://www.lifehack.org/570520/what-leadership-really-means-and-why-need?ref=mail&mtype=daily_newsletter&mid=20170404&uid=687414&hash=707e797f7e757e6d794c856d747b7b3a6f7b79&action=click
No comments:
Post a Comment