Leadership is one of those topics that have been talked about so much that one sometimes wonders if there’s anything new left to be said about it at all. Sometimes, it might not even seem relevant, especially to those who don’t consider themselves leaders and have no intention of ever being leaders.
A readjustment in the definition of leader might help at this point. If a leader can be defined as someone who influences the behaviour of others, we could say that everybody plays the role of leader at some point or the other. This is because our behaviour is watched by the people around us, and is very likely to influence the watchers. For an example, consider the scenario of someone being verbally bullied—at school, in college, at the workplace, take your pick—by their peers. One of the people who are silently looking on decides to quit silently looking on and speak up. Just a few calm words, and yet just that small action might prompt one and then two others to speak up and end it. A small act of refusal to participate in a dishonest practise might end up emboldening others who were contemplating the same but needed that little push. Bottom line: in small, un-dramatic ways, we are all leaders.
For simple guidelines on leadership, we might turn to the two rules from Peter Anderton, motivational speaker and author, on leadership.
Rule number one: It’s not about you. Being a leader is not about what you can get, it’s about what you can give. Now that might sound a little cliched, but people from ancient times used to know this. Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be great among you, let him be your servant.” In those times, it was a slightly more accepted idea that leadership centred around service, helping, and giving your best to others; not doing things for your own benefit. Machiavelli’s ideas on his famous book, on the other hand, are characteristic of the other end of the spectrum: saying that being a leader is about manipulating other people for your own goals. We see examples of Machiavelli’s kind of leadership every day in the papers enterprising individuals, universally mistrusted, called politicians. While leaders are often expected to get maximum productivity out of others, it would help if this was done not Machiavelli’s way but the more altruistic way. This rule also means that the whole show doesn’t rest on one person’s shoulders, that is, the leader’s. Everybody’s talents, skills and perspective can be put to use.
Rule number two: It’s only about you.
Some think leadership involves changing and controlling others. There are books on the subject. Another misconception is that only loud, confident, attention-grabbing personality types make for good leaders. This second rule teaches that leadership involves being the best version of yourself, not changing completely to fit an imaginary profile of Best Possible Leader. By growing and evolving yourself, you set an example for others. You follow the rules that you expect others to follow. You work hard if you ask the same of others. Mahatma Gandhi was known for cleaning toilets—doing the dirty work that people of his time considered beneath them. This was a man who inspired a nation, the whole world, and generations. He did it by doing what he wanted others to do.
Begin your journey to becoming a good leader—today.
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