We had seen in lesson one, Leadership is a process and it evolves with time. However We need to realise that such a process cannot come into effect, if one does not learn to act.
” What you are going to be tomorrow, you are becoming today.” John C. Maxwell, Developing the Leader Within You
Following is a list of 7 Steps that can help you become an outstanding leader in the world a complexity.
1. Leaders possess a high level of integrity
It is highly imperative for a leader to be true to oneself. When Sachin Tendulkar was asked by a press reporter, as he became one of the top millionaires at the age of 21, “what is the secret of your success”. Sachin’s answer came in a flash of a second, with no afterthought, “I am true to myself”. Leaders first and foremost are true to themselves in every way. They are true to their emotions, likes, dislikes, opinions and above all their person. They are integral in what they say and what they do.
2. Leaders are self-made
Leaders are men/women on a journey. They develop a passion for leadership. They learn from experiences of life. They are self-made people. What do I mean by that?. They constantly expose themselves to promptings of the world and its acts, and learn from them every second of their life. They learn from their experiences quickly. They work hard and are responsible people. They don’t repeat their mistakes. They take great responsibility for their actions.
3. Leaders are decisive
Leaders make decisions based on pro con analysis and they take responsibility for failure. They are instinctively decisive in word and deed. Their decisions are based on data and information. They have a collective consciousness and work for the well-being of others, that reflects in every decision, they make in their respective field.
- They are decisive even when there is no clarity
- They are decisive even when there is uncertainty
- They mix decisions with experience and exposure
- They analyse and explain reason behind any decision
4. Leaders are readers
They have deep knowledge and comes with a certain experience and expertise in a field of knowledge. Their knowledge is deep-rooted in reading. They are highly insightful and analysing. They rely on data and information. And that ocean of information, they accumulate, come from voracious reading of books and dealing with people of calibre. Here I must make a point clear. While leaders are readers, but not all readers are leaders. It is the choice they make in choosing the right material to read and apply.
5. Leaders are driven by clear direction
Here I must make a reference to two points – strategy and thinking. A clear direction is never an option without both.
Leaders have a clear minds and formulate right strategies for an upright path. Once they put their hand to the plough, they never look back. It is precisely because of this quality, leaders lead others to a destiny. Their direction sets the tempo for their follows to set the course. While leaders set the direction, they back it up with clear cut directives, vision and mission, that seldom their team/followers deviate from a set path.
6. Leaders are team-builders
Jack ma, the founder of Alibaba, once said, “a good leader has to focus most of his energy in building good teams, who then translate your vision into action, Hire people who are smarter than you and build on them”. The age old saying, ‘a leader is as good as his team’ is apt here. The failure of a leader solo depends on his team. Thus leaders focus their mite and energy in building right teams for right tasks. Above all, they make their team believe in their services and products.
7. Leaders are result-oriented
Just as a tree is judged by its fruits, so too, a leaders are judged by their results. The results yielded by leaders are timely and contextual. It is basically, as they are driven by a sense of direction, results become formality. To move a step ahead, the 21 century leaders ensure that their results are process driven in nature and are lasting
These seven traits or steps make leaders apt for our times.
Elias Moses, ManagingNext