Leadership, what is it
all about? When you be called a leader? Is it when you got a given position or
when you serve the community from your maximum?
Most often people
think that they are not a leader unless they are in this or that position. Also
most often those who are already in the given position rarely perceive
themselves as a leader. They may compare themselves to just a worker, manager,
or boss. However, their colleagues who are working udder their supervisory
called the boss as their leader. When exactly you should know that you are a
leader? How big and high you have to be on before you can call yourself a
leader?
The simply meaning of the term 'leader' comes from 'to lead'. For example, a teacher leads a group of students to investigate the construction of a ruined temple, Angkor Wat, in order to under more about her civilization. That's the meaning of leading but leader is not that simple. It has more means and tasks than just to bring one or a group of people from one to another place.
By definition from
many best experts in leadership, they offer variety of criteria and quality if
one's o be called 'LEADERS.'
For most experts,
LEADERS is the combination of words:
L = Look and Listen
E = Emotional Bonding
A = Awareness
D = Doing
E = Empowerment
R = Responsibility
S = Synchronicity
To be a leader, one
must have a long distance look. He or she must be visionary person. Be able to
see the picture of the future; what would be like if they keep do this and that
etc. Also, listen more than anybody else. In common, the boss we are working
with every day tend not to listen to his/her colleagues. They do not encourage
co-worker to talk up. Listening is one of the best ways to learn new theory or
knowledge. Leader should talk less and listen more as strongly express by His
Holiness the Dalai Lama that speaking is just a repetition of what you have
known but listen will add you more new ideas and knowledge.
Emotional Bonding is
quite important does listening. As the top person of a company or any working
environment, one can't understand other people's without playing with heart.
Leader must have heart. Use one's own heart to understand people's
difficulties. This emotional bonding will help increase deeper mutual
understanding between co-workers if the technique is properly and regularly
used.
The third element of
leader is awareness. Be always alerted with the surrounding environment. Be
mindfulness. Know what she or he is currently doing and the rest colleagues.
It's quite a bit tough duty to do but prove very effective one can stick it
more often.
Doing: Leader is not
just formulating an idea but they also put it on the ground and they do it by
themselves. This is the most important elements of leaders. Doing allow people
to model us. As a great leader, one has to talk less and do more. Those who are
successful leaders; they do not just thinking and thinking and they apply their
concepts into reality. They dare to fail since they expect trial an errors.
They would lost nothing by trying but will get a lesson-learned back from
doing.
Empowerment is
completely matched with the above picture. Leader is not just make his or her
own self to become a greater person but invest lots of efforts to change
others. Leader encourages their fellow people to live with principle and stick
to well-discipline behavior. Leader, if to be great, must think about interests
of their fellow priority than themselves. The devotion to peers and colleagues
becoming a better new person will automatically change a position as a leader
to the great leader. It seems easy to talk but in practice it's not until one
has very strong commitment.
Responsibility: No
finger point to others. Leader, a good one, will always blame him or herself
first. Leader must know the game that when it comes to success, must say it is
because of peer colleagues and all co-workers but where there is failure, it's
because his or her weak leadership. Doing this will stabilize the situation and
keep all workers under control. And for sure, the one who intentionally or
unintentionally made the thing wrong will come up to that leader and confess.
This tactic will increase more mutual understanding and respect from one
another.
This last qualitative
element is the ability to get together. The ability to unify the group as one
and work for a common purpose. This ability can't stand alone, It requires all
elements above to fulfill this one. How can a worker listen to you as a leader
if you value nothing to them? Hence, to get the last done it is very important
to not skip any elements above.
Now the question when
you become a leader is almost answered, however, we can't have much space to
say it in this article. Let's continue to our next series of leadership article
and you will be sure in obtaining the answer.