Good Essay About Crucibles Of Leadership

Some are born leaders, others are not. However, for those who is passionate about being a leader, leadership is a trait that one can develop. Leadership potential is born out of how a person deals with and handles diversity. It is how one faces negativities in life and somehow coming out from it with a learning or two. Acquired skills from the struggles one face in conquering diversity is what makes a good leader. These events in the leaders’ lives help shape how they are as leaders, how they faced the challenges presented to them and how they were able to surpass them. Most often than not, the person emerging from these incidents is a transformed version of one’s old self.
One of the most common crucibles of leadership is prejudice. Having gone thru the experience of being prejudiced against can make a person realize one’s true nature and where his or her place in the world is. Facing prejudice forces one to see himself in a different light resulting to a realization of self-awareness. Overcoming cultural differences is also an example of how being prejudiced against can somehow transform you to become a good and empowered leader. Being different can be very traumatic. It separates you from the rest of your current world. However, having gone thru this experience and overcoming it at the same time will definitely cultivate the traits necessary to becoming a leader. As challenging as it may seem, going against the tide or what is normal, can be beneficial as well in one’s leadership transformation. This may be one instance when a crucible is not actually traumatic but rather challenging. It is how you manage to fit in your current world that makes you stand out and overcome this disparity in cultures.
Another crucible described in the reading involved overcoming violence. People in violent or unjust situations either have their spirits broken or emerge stronger than ever. It is upon overcoming these incidents of violence that one can realize that almost nothing in life can ever be difficult to handle. This the results to one having fervor in life and a form of commitment that enables you to become more engaged in any situation you are faced with.
Having to deal with a difficult boss is a challenge that almost everyone has experienced once in their lives. Dealing with one can be quite challenging, creating another crucible that one can draw leadership-forming experiences from. These trainers can be from both ends of the spectrum – the bullish type that beats you around in any way he can or the mentor type, setting standards of excellence any chance they get. Regardless of which type, they influence you one way or the other. These mentors set expectations that sometimes feel too much to handle. However, meeting these expectations, however difficult it may seem, can be life-changing.
Leadership goes beyond successfully managing one’s company or is much more than delivering results. It is about overcoming challenging and difficult bearings with flying colors and getting the most out of these situations with realizations and learnings. Leaders have in them four common skills, surprisingly also found in a person that has gone thru harrowing experiences in life. The first of these skills is when one can influence others to participate in a task that is so different from the norm. The next is when one has the ability to clearly and compellingly communicate his or her opinions. Having one’s values intact creates a sense of integrity. This separates the leaders from the followers. Leaders stand by what they believe in and often leans on these values for guidance when faced with challenges. Lastly, leaders have the adaptive capacity enabling them to rise above adversity with all its accompanying hardships and emerge with a stronger character than before. This adaptive capacity can further be broken down into the capacity to embrace the situation and consider factors influencing the situation. Another is the ability to grasp hardiness. When faced with difficult situations, it is expected that you can feel hopelessness. Leaders, on the other hand, has the ability to find hope in the most hopeless of circumstance. Usually, leaders draw from personal strengths to overcome harsh encounters. From this personal and inner strength, a leader withstands difficult situations, get the learnings he can acquire and emerge from them with a spirit more determined and committed as ever. The enumerated characteristics allow these individuals to identify opportunities where others only see hopelessness and in turn, carve them into the leaders that they are now.