Written by Makinde Isaac
In every group you belong to in life one thing usually makes your group stand out and distinct. The answer is not far fetch, it is leadership. A leader can be progressive or retrogressive. This is visible in the family, school, corporate world and in government. A great leader is therefore imperative to achieve a lot in every sphere of our life. A saying usually comes to mind when someone is referred to as a leader, which is “he who thinks he is leading and has no one following him is only taking a walk”.
Contrary to some people’s view, to lead is not to control. Leadership is about influence, support and guidance. It is the ability to influence other people around you. It involves being able to inspire your followers to achieve their desire goals. It is ability to create avenue for your followers to flourish. For you to stand out and be considered a great leader, you must possess some unique qualities. These qualities are vision, creativity, dedication, openness, humility, integrity, generosity, boldness, consistency and others good traits. My focus in this write-up is not on the over flogged topic on qualities of a leader but those attributes that have been arbitrarily misused by leaders. A few of the attributes wrongly use by leaders will be analyzed here.
Being Bold but not a bully
The quality of being bold means the ability to take some kind of risks in the achievement of goals where there is no certainty of success. Every followers like a courageous leader who can do the supposed impossible things. When a take-charge charismatic leader takes decision that brings about the desire goal this will increase his boldness which is good for the organization as the case may be. But the excessive use of this quality can be related to bully. When a leader became cruel and did not care about the feelings of others, or when intimidation has become his watchword, then it can be said that it is no more boldness but bully. A good leader must not coerce or forces others to obey his wishes but consider other people’s feeling and attitude in all steps taken.
Being strong but not rude
Any leader that has the ability to influence other people’s thinking to achieve a desirable result can be considered strong. Also every follower wants a strong leader who can confront any difficulty without moving an inch in his motives. This all capable leader always produce desire result for his people. This makes your followers to over depend on you for directions which sometimes make such a leader to be rude. This can make a leader to be arrogant in relating with people. Such leader can also be a tough nut that is hard to crack. This undue claim for power can make you to be careless and treat your people in ill-manner. Having a strong leader should be an advantage not the other way round.
Being Kind not weak
When Marcus Tullius Cicero said ‘never go to excess, but let moderation be your guide’ I wonder whether a leader can be kind, friendly and generous in moderation. Kindness is a virtue which a good leader devises to move close to his people, care about their line of thought as well as their future. The quality of being warm-hearted and courteous creates a platform for cooperation and teamwork in an organization. Since leadership is the ability to get people to work for you because they want to, the kindness you show to them make to be committed more. However, when you misuse this quality your followers take it for weakness which will flaw your position and status as a leader. Therefore, as a leader you must be able to draw a line where being kind will not be seen as weakness because some people will be tempted to take advantage of your relationship if you are too kind to them.
Being humble not timid
The quality of humility means modesty, that is, you have the self-confidence and self-awareness to recognize the value of others without feeling threatened. And it means that you are willing to admit you could be wrong, that you recognize you may not have all the answers. In the words of Larry Bossidy, the former CEO of Honeywell and Author of the book Execution, explained why humility makes you a more effective leader: “The more you can contain your ego, the more realistic you are about your problems”. He also said that humility allows you to acknowledge your mistakes and exhibit the attitude that you can learn from anyone at any time. Besides, if care is not taken your followers may take to you to be timid and unsure of yourself.
Being generous not wasteful
The act of giving willingly is another virtue a good leader should possess. It can be a monetized items, responsibilities, credit when due as well as respect and honor. You should be aware that giving is a means of motivating your people to do more and giving their best to task at hand. Ability to do this perfectly without antagonizing the ethic of your organization is another case to look upon. This is when generosity is questioned. You should therefore be careful when giving not to lead to waste.
To end, it must be emphasized that you are a leader only as long as people follow your directives. And you must also be able to set boundaries in all your doings.
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