What is true Leadership. Is leadership something we are born with or is it learned. My belief is that there are some natural leaders but many leadership skills are learned by hands on experience. Many great leaders show leadership skills while at school or at a young age but few of these children will go straight into a leadership role on leaving school. Lets define traits and skills associated with great leaders. ( not necessarily in this order) supportive innovative sensitive decisive tireless honest mentor available persistent experience considerate ready to listen lead by example apologize for mistakes good at delegating tasks good time management skills. keep level head under pressure. look at and weigh up all options equally. peace maker, looking at both sides of arguments. God has blessed you with many of these traits, continue to use them and to learn form your experiences and here is the biggie, learn from others around you and read books relating to leadership, mentoring, management, and other relevant material. Every day you and I play a leadership role as a parent, teacher, boss, at the office, team leader, Sunday school teacher, sports captain, or running your own small business. Every one of us play a leadership role at some time. As you build up your skill level and your planning ability other people around you will notice. You will be a member in some group or other either in your children's sports team or business and others will notice if you take control, sometimes just by offering to bake for a fundraiser and collecting cakes from the other mothers is showing leadership. You may love being a helper and because of your happy but organized attitude others will look to for guidance. This is displaying leadership, you may not want to be the chairperson of the fundraising committee but you may be the leader by default in that others look to you for guidance and accept your suggestions. On numerous occasions I have seen chairpersons on committees and sports groups for one reason only. They want to be seen to be the leader and want the publicity and lime light. True leadership doesn't always get noticed or receive the recognition or the appreciation it deserves. Many a leader has appeared from the most unexpected quarters and in times of the greatest need, the greatest leaders are born. Many of the Great leaders of the past have become leaders in times of the greatest need or times of upheaval. Leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, These and many other leaders would probably not have the same Hero status if it wasn't for the time of trial they lead their companies, countries or people through. But do not compare Abraham Lincoln with Elvis Presley. Elvis was a leading figure in music even the King of Rock n Roll but I would not class him as a great leader. There is a difference between having a following and being a leader. Abraham Lincoln said 'You can please some of the people some of the time, but you will never please all the people all the time.' That is the great difference between a Leader and a Dictator. In the Gettysburg Address Lincoln said, Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. In theory what Lincoln said is correct but in practice some people are more equal than others, we may all have the same rights, but we may be disadvantaged by being born in the wrong neighborhood or the wrong color. Many disadvantaged people make a choice or decision that they will succeed and usually they go on to leadership roles. There are people a lot worse off than you or me but if they apply their will to change and totally focus on bettering themselves they may get that promotion before you or may even take over your company and I'll bet they have many of the traits and skills in the list above and they would most likely have to have learned many of those skills. If there is a will there is a way! May you become a Successful Leader. |
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