This I Believe
Becoming a leader entails a deeper and honest understanding of one’s self. It is well noted that for a leader’s success, the weight of the journey does not heavily depend on the followers; rather, a leader’s success is dependent on the fact that the leader must convince and inspire his followers that he deserves to be followed. This motion is supported by the definition of leadership as established by Sharma & Jain (2013) wherein they define leadership as the system by which a person bears the capacity to inspire and motivate others in accomplishing a common goal. The leader achieves this in a way that he makes the tasks more cohesive and coherent. To achieve such a feat, this individual must first take into account his essence and purpose. Also, having a great sense of one’s self-establishes credibility among others. In support of this thesis, Warren Bennis states that “The point is not to become a leader. The point is to become yourself, and to use yourself completely – all your gifts, skills and energies – to make your vision manifest. You must withhold nothing. You must, in sum, become the person you started out to be and to enjoy the process of becoming.”
Through Warren Bennis, it is now identified that leadership also takes the form of one person’s self-expression wherein leadership has become a vehicle to express the leader’s ideas, his beliefs, and inspiration towards the achievement of his vision. To create credibility, he believes that a person must first express himself in a way that is unique from the great and established leaders. For one, this leader must first be able to create a sound basis for his beliefs and understanding of the world. Having none reduces his capacity to create an agreement between the leader and the follower. It can be observed that the people are not motivated to follow by using the proper techniques and tools; they follow leaders who are strong in their beliefs and who are unafraid of expressing their understanding of the facts.
In my case as an individual starting to create a strong foundation for myself, I have yet to discover the purpose of my journey. However, I do know that I would someday want to become a vehicle for the weak and the young. I want to create an impact on the people in a way that I can encourage a more active system for the world. I am well aware that having such a big vision as this entails a harder work and a more challenging journey. But then again, these are the very reasons by which I have decided to finish school mainly for the fact that I believe that knowledge is the key to everything. Although I am finding it hard to make any movements today from where I stand, I have always thought that someday I can achieve my vision and my goals. I am starting to realize now, while I write this paper that I have already begun my journey for this big goal that I am trying to achieve. This essay has helped me express myself and learn more about me instead of the knowledge given by others. Through this writing, I have made myself a more dedicated part of the society that is currently at a loss and in deep need for better leaders. This section of the course has helped me understand the true meaning of what it takes to make a difference in the world. Now I am starting to wish to have done something great in the earlier stages of my life. Despite this scenario being the case now, I can still say that I am optimistic about the future and that I am happy to be a part of the people who were given the chance to learn about the essence of leadership. I do know that it is not every day that people everywhere have the opportunity to make differences in the world. I am happy to learn about myself now for I know that I have years to acquire the wisdom that will only come to me as I age. Being a better leader means having to have a deeper sense of the world and having a more profound understanding about myself. I am learning now and still willing to know as the days come. As the great Bennis said and I reiterate, “enjoy the process of becoming.”
References
Sharma, M. K., & Jain, S. (2013). Leadership Management: Principles, Models and Theories.Global Journal of Management and Business Studies, 3(3), 309-318.
