“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” —John Maxwell
True leadership inspires, dazzles and carries people along. People who possess high social and emotional intelligence are the ones who have a thirst for change and remain focused on things that make a difference. The modern leadership paradigm states that stoicism, toil, tenacity and clear thinking are the attributes required to be a leader. The old adage of ‘leaders are born not made’ seems to be losing its hold.
Anyone who has their eyes peeled on and mind set on being a leader must be able act on challenges and turn them in to opportunities. Such people are pro-active and will rarely let an issue become a problem. They have their priorities in order and are audacious enough to take onus of their actions and also of the people they are responsible for. Failure or change does not leave them flustered and they are seemingly indefatigable. Highly motivated and disciplined, a leader is able to motivate others just by mere presence. They won’t hide or shy away from tackling problems head on and are in fact ubiquitous especially under adverse conditions.
Leadership entails being able to transcend narrow limitations and having the resilience to adapt to any situations. They understand and accept change better than anyone and are even zealously devoted to it. Their ebullience is infectious and invigorates all those around to accept situations as they come. A true leader never assumes that they know everything and are keen learners and are willing to experiment. Every new experience is a lesson enabling them to pick up new skills along the way and also imparting them to the others.
Leaders are a committed people and are willing to go the extra mile to creating an environment where people want to be, want to belong to. They foster feelings of oneness, openness, trust and communication. Conflicts within their teams are few, if at all, which they can effortlessly put to rest. A true leader manages these relationships deftly allowing people to focus on their career aspirations.
Some of the qualities may be inherent yet most of them are skills and techniques that can be learned if one is receptive. Do you have what it takes to be called a ‘true leader’?