Leadership

There has always been a need for great Leaders - Leaders who fought for others; for the good cause; for their independence; for social and economical issues; for a better future...

So what is Leadership and who are these Leaders? Is there a template for us to follow to become good Leaders?

This is a BIG topic and I feel minuscule blogging about it. But then I feel obliged to put forward my thoughts and get your feedback/comments and learn from those. In the last few years, as I got more exposure to leadership in my role, I attended numerous Leadership sessions, watched many YouTube videos and listened to several podcasts. I was amazed by how much information is out there on this topic. I always thought that Leadership is simple, but listening to all these great minds speak, make me doubt myself. Then I found this video and it reinforced (and channelized) my thought process. Please have a look when you can. Here is a summary and my own take on the above.

Leadership IS simple. Here are three basic rules to be a good Leader:

1. It is NOT about you

Don't think of Leadership as a KPI that you need to meet. Be a good Leader, in whatever scale and scope that be, and do it because you want to, not because you need to. It is not about having a fan following.

Think about others and how you can help them, or enable them to help themselves. Create more Leaders.

In most organisations it's assumed that for you to be a Leader you will need Exec, Lead, Leader or Manager in your title, and have a reporting line. So not true. We are all leaders in our own rights. We just need to broaden our purpose, that little bit everyday.

2. It is ONLY about you

First step to this journey is to know yourself and understand who you are; what modifications you need to make to yourself; what you want from this; do you even care. You need to know when to speak, when to be quiet, when to lead and when to take a back seat. This process is not easy. But the good thing is that most of us are not good at this .. so keep practicing. Know yourself, so that you can know others better.

3. Listening

For me "listening" is a tool. We can use this to execute 1 and 2 above. Listen to yourself and listen to others, and ideas, solutions and pathways will come to light. I have to say, it is a rare skill in today's world where everyone wants to talk ... the loudest always gets noticed. But what purpose does that solve.

In my tenure of managing/leading teams, I learnt that we are all individuals and we have our own ways of communicating. It is important that we listen to the intent of the speaker, what they are wanting to say, rather than just hear the words.

In essence of "simplicity", I am keeping this short. Please let me know what you think about this vastly important and interesting topic.