Leadership in my opinion is a paradox. It is both a blessing and a curse because of the magnitude of demands pertaining to the responsibility. It is not a simple task to be a leader because of the painstaking tasks and duties linked to the distinction. If an individual is a leader, there are many elements to take into consideration to the point that there are instances that you forget about yourself. There is a handful of leaders who made their marks in history due to their selflessness and utmost dedication to their advocacy. Leadership is not about making people follow you, but rather inspiring them to move with you. Leaders move their unit; they do not ‘boss’ them around or carry every load. Leadership entails harnessing the potentiality of all the members so that development will not only be limited to one but will follow among the team.
In an article written by Kruse (2013) he asked the same question, what leadership is. He provided striking statements that provide a holistic perspective of the true nature of leadership. One of the statements he mentions was that leadership has no relation with seniority or placing in the organization. Like what I mentioned earlier, leadership is more towards the principle of inspiring others rather than seniority, it does not really matter what position you hold, as long as you have that distinct influence on people you can be called a leader. In relation to this statement.I believe that leadership also has no connection to titles. Sometimes people feel that when they hold a high position or title on society it automatically deems them as a leader. However, that is not the case, you may hold a high position, but you do not have any effect on the behaviour of your constituent, and then your position is nothing.
There are many striking definitions of leadership, but I guess the most definitive for me is leadership is about translating visions to reality. One thing, it is not easy to translate plans to product because you need resources and people. Yes, people are vital components of any organization because they serve as the lifeblood, as a leader you have the distinct task to stir them into one common destination defined by your goals. The key is to empower everyone to teach them the values of accountability to each other. A leader must make his or her people feel that they are assets of the organization and therefore must acknowledge their contributions and skills. Members must also realize that they are part of the team and not only warm bodies to fill up the needed numbers. When people work together and feel responsible for each other realizing, the goal of the company will not be difficult.
In terms of organization, for example, employee engagement is often encourage teaching not only responsibility to everyone but also deviating from the traditional paradigm of ‘leaders.’ If before managers are expected only to supervise without interacting with people, a number of new organizational practices is already attempting to break the norms. Many organizations now advocate hands-on management wherein the manager (or team leader) is seen interacting with people and guiding them in the process. Leading also includes learning. Learning comes when you engage yourself with people both within and outside your sphere in order to widen the horizons of possibilities. It is difficult to be a leader; that is a stated fact, but it is also a fulfilling job. It is fulfilling when you see the fruit of your labor prosper and see everyone who contributed succeed. A leader will always have a special place in society, no matter what industry they came from because their legacy will remain imprinted in the minds of people who they managed to inspire.
Reference:
Kruse K (2013). What is Leadership? Forbes Magazine Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/04/09/what-is-leadership/
