In my opinion, a leader does not have any right to be called a leader if the person does not have the respect of their peers, superiors and subordinates. And this respect comes only from Humility and not getting stuck to a Title or Position; a disposition to be humble and a lack of false pride.
Leaders do not need to shout from the top of the roof about their leadership values. People will automatically ask a person to lead them if they respect him/her and the judgment. In most cases, a leader is given this power by either other people, by acts in organizations, by laws or by force. In each case, the power should be considered finite, particularly in the last three cases since the leadership is not really of the person, it is of the position, which will be taken away with time. However, if a person wants to build a lasting legacy in whichever field, it’s the respect of others which will define the leadership. Mahatma Gandhi never had any position in the British or Indian government but he is still the person who got India her independence and is considered the Father of the Nation.
There is a good chance that a person will get alienated if s/he tries to hold on to the position. The reason is simple. The person will be striving for the survival of the position than doing work selflessly to help others. More often than not, these very people are responsible for the leader and vice versa. Probably a reason why politicians are such a derided lot, at least in my country!
When a leader works to help others, it is those others who actually carry the person along when in dire need. There are so many examples of people who have rallied around a call of a leader and have been ready to even sacrifice themselves. These people know in their hearts that the one they are following is aiming for their collective success and not just their own. A leader needs to show humility simply because it’s the collective might which always gets the work done. Leadership qualities will come to naught if the support is not there. Something a leader should always remember however good that person is.
Leaders do not need to shout from the top of the roof about their leadership values. People will automatically ask a person to lead them if they respect him/her and the judgment. In most cases, a leader is given this power by either other people, by acts in organizations, by laws or by force. In each case, the power should be considered finite, particularly in the last three cases since the leadership is not really of the person, it is of the position, which will be taken away with time. However, if a person wants to build a lasting legacy in whichever field, it’s the respect of others which will define the leadership. Mahatma Gandhi never had any position in the British or Indian government but he is still the person who got India her independence and is considered the Father of the Nation.
There is a good chance that a person will get alienated if s/he tries to hold on to the position. The reason is simple. The person will be striving for the survival of the position than doing work selflessly to help others. More often than not, these very people are responsible for the leader and vice versa. Probably a reason why politicians are such a derided lot, at least in my country!
When a leader works to help others, it is those others who actually carry the person along when in dire need. There are so many examples of people who have rallied around a call of a leader and have been ready to even sacrifice themselves. These people know in their hearts that the one they are following is aiming for their collective success and not just their own. A leader needs to show humility simply because it’s the collective might which always gets the work done. Leadership qualities will come to naught if the support is not there. Something a leader should always remember however good that person is.
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3 comments:
Addendum:
1.Leaders must stop acting like autocrats.
2.They can allow a little bit of harmless mischief from the subordinates.
Here in my organization, trainees are not allowed to play games on computer. Just a couple of days back, my friend was caught playing a game. She had successfuly completed the training exams and had nothing else to do. The educator threatened to refer the case to HR, which would result in a big mess. She had to literally plead with the trainer to excuse her.
If someone is whiling away time when he/she is supposed to be working, it's perfectly all right to take action against that person. Expecting people to follow unreasonable rules is ridiculous.
Hey Sri
I will not agree with you here. Harmless mischief at work is just taking it a bit too far and particularly with your reference to playing games at office. Remember it is upto the concerned individual to actually find something productive to do if there is no 'direct' work. I am sure if she had been reading about company issues or even general news or spending time in the library etc, it would have been at least 10% productive.
Think of the time that people spend in wasting such valuable free time when they could have been adding value to their own careers.
However, i agree with the autocrats addendum. Though i would also point out that i have hardly seen autocrats who stay in an organization for very long. At least not without changing some aspects of their behaviour. Your troops will desert you during crisis situations.
Ritesh
Agreed, I barely find anyone in the library if there is no exam the next day. Not many utilise the free time productively.
This case I was talking about was different. Her code script(final practical test of the training) was just evaluated and just a few minutes later she started to play a game. She had been burning the midnight oil for the past 6 months continuously...
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